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I’m referring of course to the Motor Trend long-term update that has a lot of people talking…

Now granted, automotive journalists are an agressive bunch, but I can’t see how a company known for products that don’t require much in the way of care and feeding can spec brakes and tires that wilt so easily… Not that soft tires and brakes are a bad thing – they usually bring with them better handling, stopping and feel from the driver’s seat. It’s just that in the LS’ case it has no excuse – no one’s every penned a flattering word on the car’s handling or braking; it’s not the car’s M.O…

When your tires were new, they had 10 to 11/32 of an inch of rubber on them.

To pass state safety inspection you are required only to have 2/32s. That’s only 18-20% of what you started with.

Here’s the thing – testing shows that you’d have to have a deathwish to drive with less than 4/32” (just over a third of the original) in the rain or 6/32” (just over half original depth) in the snow.

Most mechanics still follow the state minimum but given that tires are typically cheaper than insurance deductibles as the wet and slippery weather approaches I hope you’ll consider replacing yours a bit too soon rather that a bit too late.

I went with a friend of mine to pick up his car after alignment the other day, and as I reviewed the alignment printout eyed the ‘thrust angle’ specification first – it was not at 0 or .01, not at .02. it read .03, far greater than I find acceptable for my own cars. (Thrust angle is the angle at which the car is going down the road – the greater the thrust angle the farther to one side the rear tires are in relation to the front).

So I looked at the rest of the specs – it was the toe at the rear that bothered me; there wasn’t symmetry – one rear wheel was toed in 50% more than the other.

We questioned the tech on why that wasn’t brought in closer and were told, “I hate to give you the Dobbs answer but it is within specification.”

That phrase is a red flag, Read the rest of this entry »

Anyone who knows me can tell you I’m addicted to my phone. Taking calls 24/7 or pictures of the one paragraph in your average car magazine worth reading, my phone gets more use than most. So when it failed last Friday I was understanding; we’d been through a lot and it had given me good service…

What I didn’t realize until I got an identical replacement phone was how badly I needed a new one. Apparently the speaker, the headset port and the battery were barely functioning but I’d accepted their performance as normal because the degredation happened over time.

And so it goes with tires, wiper blades, air filters and especially shock absorbers (the old bounce test or visual inspection doesn’t work anymore now that shocks are gas pressurized rather than simply hydraulic). If you have any doubt, replace ‘em with the same or higher quality and you’ll see what you’ve been missing. Come to think of it this applies to significant others too…

But I digress… If you’re considering a used car, factor in how much it would cost to replace these items or have the seller include them in the deal.

Mercedes is going back to fixed service intervals rather than ones based on how the car’s been used. Click here for more…

Q: When I get gas in my new car I put the cheapest grade in, because that’s what I’ve always done. Is that what is best?

A: The answer is that there is no one answer. It depends on a number of factors, and understanding them will help you make a better decision for you and your car.

First you should know that most any fuel injected car will run on any fuel; ignore anyone who tells you ‘if you don’t feel or hear anything use the cheapest gas you can find.’

Also consider that premium gasoline often contains more detergent, and this detergent keeps valves, spark plugs, etc. clean. A clean engine runs more efficiently and will need fewer repairs.

That said, whether your car will benefit from higher octane fuels depends on two things: the engine and your driving habits.

Your first step should be to check your owners manual, but we suspect many manufacturers avoid saying ‘premium required’ or ‘premium is suggested’ even when they’d like to out of fear that tehy might lose sales to a competing product that simply says ‘unleaded fuel only.’

The higher a car’s compression ratio, the more likely it is that it will benefit from higher octanes. Octane is actually a measure of how resistant the fuel is to igniting – the higher the octane the less likely the fuel will ignite before the spark plug lights it. Higher compression ratios and higher heat increases the chances the fuel will combust before it is desirable. For this reason turbocharged or supercharged engines or engines that run at higher speeds tend to do better on high octanes.

Another way of looking at this is to calculate your engine’s ‘specific output’. Divide the claimed horsepower by the size of the engine in liters. A higher number indicates a more ‘stressed’ engine and will be more likely to benefit from higher octane. A low number indicates a lazy engine that can lope along on lower octane.*

Our premium gasoline is the rough equivalent to the lowest octane available elsewhere in the world (we may pay less for our gas but it’s not of the same quality). For this reason the engines in European and Japanese cars tend to be ‘happier’ on higher octanes.

Those patterns stated, it is a case by case basis. A good way to see if your engine benefits is to try different grades and keep track of the car’s mileage and how hard the engine seems to have to work for a given level of acceleration. I notice the biggest difference in throttle response and smoothness – with a low octane the engine might hiccup then rush forward when you toe the gas pedal whereas it might be easier to increase speed smoothly on the higher octane (again IF the car can take advantage of it). If you do a lot of stop and go or city driving the benefits will be more obvious. If you’re on a highway where the engine is droning along at a constant speed you probably won’t feel a difference unless you need a burst of power for passing. The extra cost of higher octanes is often offset by better mileage so experiment and see if its ‘worth it’ in your case.

If you’re sensitive you can ‘fine tune’ an engine using higher or lower octane than is suggested. The VW/Audi 1.8T for example feels more refined to me on 89 for example. On 87 it feels breathless, on premium its rougher and more difficult to drive smoothly. I also use a lower octane when roads are slippery because torque causes wheelspin and the ‘wrong’ octane can reduce torque at low rpm.

Because octane diminishes over time, 93 from a station that doesn’t do much business might be no higher in octane than the 89 from a station with a larger volume. For the same reason if you don’t drive your car much it might be best to use a higher octane so the fuel is still ‘fresh enough’ by the time you make it to the bottom of your tank.

And so called ‘Top Tier’ stations are more fuel and less water by volume – I’d rather buy lower octane gas that contains 1% water than a higher octane from an off-brand station that contains 5% water because water ages oil and makes exhaust systems age faster.

To be honest many of the cars on the road today have far more power than drivers use or need – even if you are losing some responsiveness ask yourself “Will I miss it?”

Can be found in this interview Slate.com’s shopping guru did with me a few years back.

(Note that the tires I suggested then have since been surpassed… aside from that the ‘best’ tire varies based on the car, driver, conditions, etc.)

If there’s one bit of advice everyone can benefit from it’s to avoid any place where you can hear the sound of air guns being used.

Why?

Because these guns often scratch alloy wheels and overtorque lug nuts, particularly in places that service more than one make or type of car (SUVs or large cars require far more torque than your average family sedan). Overtorquing can instantaneously warp brake rotors and cause damage to wheel bearings and hubs.

Lucky for shops it’s difficult to prove that your pulsing brakes or rumbling bearings were caused by their negligence so they stand to make more money when you come back complaining. The only way to protect yourself is to insist an air gun never be let within 5 feet of your car. If a technician isn’t willing to take an extra 60 seconds to use a torque wrench instead, they don’t deserve your business.

(It doesn’t hurt to find out your car’s lug torque specification and ask for it each time you hand over the keys).

I come from a family of automotive hypochondriacs. Perhaps it’s my influence but the smallest squeak or vibration has my mother or sister scheduling an appointment. (This is great when the car’s under warranty – their cars are better sorted out after 50,000 miles than the day they leave the factory).

But there is one thing both of them are far too sensitive to: the dreaded check engine light.

The check engine light is tied into the car’s emissions control system. It simply means the car isn’t running as intended and therefore may be polluting more than it was meant to. If you don’ t feel or hear anything unusual it is unlikely driving the car with the check engine light illuminated will cause any harm. (The lightning bolt on the warning lamp means the issue is with an electrical sensor, not that your engine will soon explode). You may notice a drop in performance or fuel economy, however.

As a general rule, warning lamps that light up in yellow are gentle reminders whereas any light that lights up in red – e.g. the oil light – requires immediate attention.

Before you buy new tires check if you have a full size spare. If you do, why not use it before it dry rots and becomes unusable?

Not only will you save 25-50%, you’ll also have the chance to hide that embarrassingly scraped wheel that indicates to everyone you don’t know how to parallel park and screams ‘damage!’ come trade-in time.

(Note that we only suggest this if you’ve been happy with your car and and are planning on replacing your tires with an identical set).