Automotive Equipment » tires http://www.gptoolkit.org Automotive Tools, Automotive Equipment Thu, 02 Dec 2010 17:21:23 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 Car Tires, Your Link With The Road http://www.gptoolkit.org/car-tires-your-link-with-the-road.html http://www.gptoolkit.org/car-tires-your-link-with-the-road.html#comments Mon, 25 May 2009 03:41:43 +0000 Admin http://www.gptoolkit.org/?p=191 Car tires are more important than many people give them credit for being. They are literally your link with the road. The most dangerous place for you to be is out of or in poor contact with the road. In this predicament you are not able to have any input into your course of direction and that is a bad thing when you are going 60 plus miles per hour with no way to avoid crashing into something. Friction is what we are going for and there are some things that you have control of and some things that you don’t in this area. You are responsible for your own and anyone else’s life in the car you are driving and so you had better be sure that you have taken all the measures that you can to prevent a problem.

Now the contact of the road has several factors as already mentioned. The majority of the friction comes from the contact of rubber of the tire with the concrete or asphalt of the road. The action of gravity on the mass of your car is the only thing that is causing this contact and so naturally more weight equals more friction between the road and your car tires. A good thing but can turn against you in the form of inertia after the friction has been overcome say after you’ve locked up the brakes, now inertia is greater with a heavier vehicle and takes more in the way of friction to stop it. Anyway rubber and concrete naturally have a lot of friction.

Air pressure in tires will change the properties of the rubber by stretching it so that if a tire is overfilled it can decrease the amount of friction. There is also less surface area in this case. Anyway so you have rubber tires and concrete roads what more can you be responsible for? Well tread for one. How does tread affect the ability of car tires to make contact with the road? Well now we have to talk about outside factors that affect the surface of the road, namely weather. Water and snow and mud decrease the amount of friction by filling the natural grooves and not allowing contact between rubber and road.

So how does tread help in this situation. Well tread is actually good because of the grooves in the tread of your car tires. The grooves allow the material no matter what it is to have a place to go other than between the rubber of the tire and the road. This decreases the “hydroplaning” effect that you get with all the different natural elements that can make driving conditions bad. So the moral of the story is to make sure that you always have good tires with lots of tread on your vehicle in order to maximize the ability of your car to grip the road and therefore provide you with control over the vehicle that allows you to slow down and steer to avoid problems.

]]> http://www.gptoolkit.org/car-tires-your-link-with-the-road.html/feed 0 You Can Examine Your Brakes http://www.gptoolkit.org/you-can-examine-your-brakes.html http://www.gptoolkit.org/you-can-examine-your-brakes.html#comments Sun, 24 May 2009 03:32:13 +0000 Admin http://www.gptoolkit.org/?p=185 Regular brake inspections are an essential part of good automotive maintenance that can save you money and keep your car from wrapping itself around the first tree out of your driveway. Make sure that your brakes and rotors are receiving the proper maintenance by following the steps outlined. Your safety as well as that of your passengers, pedestrians, and other drivers is at stake.

1. Time for a free inspection. Many local brake shops as well as national brake repair chains offer customers free brake inspections at no obligation to you. The inspection typically includes the following steps:

  • Check your vehicle’s brake pads and shoes for signs of wear;
  • Fill and/or replace hydraulic fluids;
  • Examine rotor/drum wear and calipers;
  • Examine the anti-lock brake system [if you have one]An annual check up of your brakes is wise, but do it more often if you drive well above the national average [about 15,000 miles per year] or if you do heavy stop and go driving.

    2. Awareness is the key. Most brake system problems can be avoided if motorists would pay attention to certain signs of pending problems including:

  • Your brake warning light comes on.
  • Your brake pedal is either squishy, difficult to push down, or you must pump the brakes to get them to work correctly.
  • Your brakes grind continuously and you hear a loud metallic racket when you push down on them.
  • Your car pulls to one side when you push down on the brakes, instead of stopping in a straight line.
  • Your car jerks to a halt when you push down on the brakes.
  • One or more wheels are strikingly hot even after a brief trip.
  • You observe fluid leaks in the vicinity of any wheel or in the engine section near the master cylinder.If you are an at home mechanic, you can complete your own inspections and fit your vehicle with top notch replacement parts including brake pads and calipers. You can save on parts by purchasing them from a reputable online wholesaler such as Pit Stop Auto Parts who can offer to you top quality parts at sensible prices, typically much lower than what your dealer or an auto parts store would charge you.

    Take care of your vehicle and it will take car of you especially in an emergency situation where a properly working brake system is an absolute must.

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