Tires & Wheels Archives - Page 4 of 4 - HomeTowne Auto Repair and Tire Blog

Customer review of the BFGoodrich g-Force Comp tires

In Tires & Wheels, Vehicle Maintenance by HomeTowne Auto Repair & TireMay 13, 2016

Our customer Ashley came to HomeTowne Auto Repair & Tire to replace her tires recently, and opted for the BFGoodrich g-Force Comp 2 A/S tires on her Mazda 3.

Here’s what she had to say about her new tires, and how they perform on the road.

“I can’t say more things about how much I love about them. When it comes to performance, these things, you know, you really feel planted. You really feel the grip in each turn. I had previous to this, Michelin Pilots, and I really enjoyed those, I just kind of wanted a little bit more of a grip with when I’m taking turns, and I was referred by Eddie here in the shop to try these out. And I was really open to trying them out, and I’m really happy. I feel a difference. I really feel like each turn I take, it’s going to take it. I think you guys in the performance industry, or just in the performance community, if you want to try some really good tires that will take each turn how you want it, these are the ones to go. And I think this is a good tire for you guys,” Ashley said.

At our shop we offer several tires for a variety of vehicles, seasons, and preferences, and the BFGoodrich g-Force Comp 2 A/S Tire is definitely a fan favorite. They’re specifically designed to accelerate faster, corner harder, and brake quickly – even in wet and slippery conditions.

UPDATE: The BFGoodrich Comp 2 A/S Plus Tire has replaced the BFGoodrich Comp 2 A/S Tire. You can read more about the BFGoodrich Comp 2 A/S Plus Tire in this article we published.

HomeTowne Auto Repair & Tire is an authorized Michelin and BFGoodrich tire dealer located in Woodbridge, Virginia. Automotive repair services are performed on all makes and models, including oil changes, brakes, alignments, inspections, and computer engine diagnostics.

7 things to do, to get your car ready for spring

In Brake Fluid Flush, Cabin Air Filter, Oil Change, Tires & Wheels, Vehicle Fluids, Vehicle Maintenance by HomeTowne Auto Repair & TireMarch 7, 2016

Now that the hard winter months are behind us and we’re moving into spring, it may be time for you to do some ‘spring cleaning’ and bring your car to the shop for some maintenance.

Here are some seven things we recommend to get your car ready for spring:

Get your cabin air-filter swapped out.

While getting your cabin air-filters changed regularly is an important part of regular maintenance, it’s even more important when it’s springtime, in order to keep pollen and other things in the air out of your car.

“That cabin air filter filters your pollen, the dust, and getting ready for spring you want a good, fresh cabin air filter in there,” said Rich Campbell, manager at HomeTowne Auto Repair & Tire.

Get your car’s fluids flushed, especially your coolant.

Radiator hose replacement at HomeTowne Auto Repair and Tire

Now that winter is pretty much over, it’s a good idea to get all of your car’s fluids checked, flushed, and refilled – especially your coolant, as the coolant keeps your car cool and working properly, as temperatures continue to climb.

“Given the fact that we’re going to start coming in to warmer weather, your car’s going to be running a little hotter because the ambient temperature’s going to be warmed up, so coolant’s a good fluid to get changed now,” said Campbell.

Get your tires inspected, to make sure they’re in good shape.

Brake fluid flush on Jeep at HomeTowne Auto Repair and Tire

During the winter, driving through snow and ice can really take a toll on your tires. Having your tires inspected, to make sure that they’re still safe to drive and have enough tread on them is huge as spring rains move through the area. If your tires are worn down, you won’t be able to have the traction you need, for stopping time on wet surfaces. A few seconds may not sound like much when it comes to traction on your tires, but can make a huge difference when your stopping time is impaired.

“You need to make sure you’ve got adequate traction,” said Campbell.

If you use winter tires, it’s time to swap them out.

While many people now opt for an all season tire, if you’ve invested in winter tires for the bad weather in Virginia, then now it’s time to preserve the life of those tires, and switch over to some all season or summer tires.

Get all of your bulbs and lights checked.

Replacing tail light bulb at HomeTowne Auto Repair and Tire

This is another part of good vehicle maintenance that you should be doing year round, but as part of your vehicle ‘spring cleaning’ it’s a good idea to make sure that all of your lights and bulbs are working correctly, and replace the ones that have fizzled out.

Get your hoses checked for dirt and grime buildup.

During the winter time, things like salt and grime can work their way into your car, specifically your houses, and cause a problem later if it goes unchecked. You don’t want to wait until you’re having a problem with your hoses, to find it was something that could have been prevented with a little maintenance.

“Dirt and grime accumulates from the winter salts we’ve endured. That salt’s pretty tough on the underside of a car,” said Campbell.

Wheel Alignment at HomeTowne Auto Repair and Tire

Get your alignment checked.

In the winter you’re bound to deal with all of the potholes that have accumulated from snow and plowing, and maybe you even ran into a few curbs during a storm. No matter what the reason is, getting your alignment checked and corrected, and having a technician check for tire wear are important parts of getting your car ready for spring.

The multi-point courtesy check that HomeTowne does will pick up a lot of these issues and more, and comes free with all of our standard oil changes. Be smart this spring, and make sure your car is ready to go for spring and summer road trips, not stuck in the shop for costly problems.

Do you need winter tires?

In Tires & Wheels, Vehicle Maintenance by HomeTowne Auto Repair & TireDecember 3, 2015

Winter tires

Before you know it, snow will be falling and ice will be accumulating on the roads. You may be thinking that your regular tires will do the trick, and will be able to get you around safely this winter, but that may not be the case. Being in Virginia, it may not be as prone to snowy weather as other parts of the country, but it does snow here, and snow and ice can put you and your vehicle at serious risk.

Chances are that your current set of tires are either summer performance, or all-season tires. Like the name ‘all-season’ implies, you will hypothetically be able to drive with your tires in winter weather, but that doesn’t mean they’re the safest option. If you want to make sure you’ve got the best chance of avoiding crashes and damage, you need to invest in a good set of winter tires.

Let’s talk about the benefits of winter tires:

More traction. They’re designed with tread patterns that are meant to have better traction when driving on snow and ice. The more traction, the safer it is to drive on slippery winter roads.
What they’re made of. What they’re made of plays a big role in how they handle snow and ice. Quality winter tires have rubber compounds like silica and sunflower oil in the tire, which makes it ‘softer’. This softness allows the tire to maintain grip, instead of freezing and locking up, like what happens with a traditional tire.
Increased brake performance and stop time. You never know when an extra 10 to 15 feet of stopping time could prevent a collision, especially when there are inclement weather conditions. When you get winter tires on your vehicle, you’re maximizing your braking performance and stop time on icy and snowy roads. Recent tests have shown up to a 35 percent improvement in braking capacity with winter tires, according to Tire Rack.
It’s a good investment. Other than the fact that you’re investing in your safety and the safety of your vehicle by purchasing winter tires, you’re also going to be saving money in other ways too. Yes, buying a set of tires up front is an investment. But there is nothing you can do to stop the snow and ice this winter, and when you’re driving on icy and snowy roads, it will eat up your all-season tires far quicker than winter tires. You can alternate between sets for the seasons, and extend the life of your tires overall. This in turn will save you money.

Winter tire benefits.

Now is the time to head in to HomeTowne Auto Repair & Tire, to see what tires will work best for your car. You don’t want to wait until snow is actually falling, or you’ve been in a collision to make your seasonal switch over. Our advisors are here to help, and we will walk you through all of the options that will work with your vehicle. We carry an extensive line of quality tires, including some of the best tires on the market.

All-season versus snow tires: What’s the difference?

In Tires & Wheels by HomeTowne Auto Repair & TireNovember 27, 2015

All season tires can perform reasonably well in most weather, but not quite as much on snow and ice.

When you think of ‘all-season’ tires and ‘winter’ or ‘snow’ tires, do you think that they’re the same, or that they perform equally?

Many people think that all-season tires work equally well in all weather conditions, but when it comes to snow and icy patches on the road this winter, those tires may not be your best option.

According to HomeTowne Auto Repair & Tire manager Rich Campbell, all-season tires are designed to perform reasonably well in all seasons, but that doesn’t mean they’re the best tires to put on your car for the winter months.

“In an all-season tire you’ll feel relatively comfortable, but as soon as you get some snow and ice in there, they don’t perform nearly as well. You may lose the ability to brake – which in winter driving, is one of the important things is being able to stop. You can get moving on almost any tire, but they will lose grip when you start to apply the brakes, whereas a winter and snow tire, you’ll gain that grip back,” said Campbell.

Winter and snow tires give you extra grip on those icy roads.

One way to ensure that you get additional traction, grip and safety without purchasing winter or snow tires is to select tires with the mountain snowflake rating. But if you’re serious about ensuring that your vehicle has as much traction as possible in the snow and ice, then snow tires are the way to go, according to Campbell.

“Typically snow tires are purposefully built. They have a chemical compound that keeps them pliable – or soft – in the extreme cold, to maximize grip. They also are designed with certain siping, a certain tread block, to give maximum traction. Also, some of those come with the ability to be studded,” said Campbell.

Many performance vehicles, like Audi and BMW, tend to come with a summer tire, which won’t safely get you through the winter months.

“You can’t really put a price on being able to stop 10 to 15 feet sooner, to avoid an accident,” said Campbell.

Those extra 10 to 15 feet of brake time you gain with snow tires can make a huge difference.

Drivers can invest in a good set of winter or snow tires for the colder months, and then store them during the summer, and switch over to summer or all season tires. This helps keep your vehicle and passengers safe in all weather, throughout the year.

There are many options available for winter and snow tires. HomeTowne Auto Repair & Tire carries winter and snow tires from several established tire companies including Michelin, Bridgestone, Goodyear and Pirelli.

How Tire Speed Ratings Affect the Safety of Your Car

In Tires & Wheels by HomeTowne Auto Repair & TireAugust 8, 2015

This is a condensed speed rating chart for most cars and trucks on the road today.

When it comes to tires and the safety of those inside the vehicle, there’s a lot riding on the letters of the alphabet.

All tires have a speed rating, and those tire speed ratings determine how fast the vehicle can safely travel on those tires, from about 75 mph to 186 mph.

An “H” rated tire, originally known as a high performance tire, will allow a car to go up to 130 mph.

A customer recently came into our shop and told us his Nissan was pulling to the right when driven. A perfect candidate for an alignment, we pulled the tires from the car and noticed two different tires on the front and two matching tires on the rear. The right front tire, a T-rated tire capable of traveling up to 118 mph, and an S-rated tire that can go up to 112 mph.

This is where you find the speed rating on the tire.

The matching rear tires installed by the factory were faster, H-rated tires.

It was clear that the tires were causing the alignment issue, but we also know having three different speed rated tires on the same vehicle is an issue that impact the car’s overall ability to run safely. The higher “H” speed-rated tires originally installed on the rear of the car were the right tires for the vehicle.

So, how did the car come to have tires with three separate safety ratings? The customer told us a local shop that deals in used tires put them on the car. Afterward, the customer called the tire shop and was told “tire ratings don’t matter.”

We couldn’t disagree more.

Michelin tire with a Y speed rating

“As professionals, we are counted on to provide expert opinions and advice based on facts and supported by experience,” said Rich Campbell, manager of Hometowne Tire and Auto.

“The customer’s safety and security was compromised by a shop that first installed the incorrect tires with different speed ratings,” said Campbell.

Cooper tire with a V speed rating

Hometowne put on new tires to match the speed ratings of the rear tires, and that not only fixed the alignment problem, it allowed our customer to drive away with four evenly matched speed rated tires making for a safer drive on the road.

So the next time you’re due for new tires, or you’d like to make a tire upgrade, make sure you talk with our technicians about the speed rating of your current tires, and how a higher speed rating could improve your vehicle’s performance.

Toyo tire with a T speed rating

BFGoodrich tire with a T speed rating.

How tire quality and tread depth can impact your safety on the road

In Tires & Wheels by HomeTowne Auto Repair & TireJuly 31, 2015

Worn out tire edge dry rot, at tread bar indicators, string plug in tire. Time for a NEW one..!!

Have you noticed that your tires are low? Are you having difficulty gripping the road in your vehicle in the rain? Then it may be time to get your tires assessed. If they do need to be replaced, there are some things that you need to think about when you are selecting new ones.

Many people think that tires aren’t something that needs to be invested in, just because they wear out, and the urge is to slap on the cheapest set of wheels a shop can offer. But there are safety considerations that you need to take into account before you opt for those cheaper tires.

worn out tire edge wear

All tires start out with a tread that measure between 8/32ths and 10/32ths, depending on the tire. As you drive on the road, the tire starts to wear, due to resistance and the weight of the car as you drive. This is completely natural, and happens over time. Each tire has grooves and siping, that aid in stopping your vehicle safely – especially in bad weather. When you’re dealing with a cheaper, entry level tire – as you drive on the tires, and the grooves wear down – you’re dealing with a tire that is not as good at stopping you safely.

This is different from higher quality tire that tire manufacturers understand that this happens, and incorporate this into their design – like the Michelin Premier.

Michelin Premire tire safe when new model

Michelin Premire tire safe when worn model

“As that tread starts to drop, as you put miles on it, it starts to lose its ability to maintain traction like when it was new. Whereas the new Michelin Premier is designed to be safe when new, safe when worn. So when it starts to wear down, you can see some of the emerging grooves, and those grooves start to open up as the tires wear down. And some less expensive tires don’t have that,” said Rich Campbell, manager for HomeTowne Auto Repair & Tire.

Once the tread hit 5/32ths and 4/32th, that’s when you will start to get recommendations from our technicians about replacing your tires.

“Once you start to reach 5 and 4/32ths, the tire isn’t going to be helping you very much in the rain. And you’ll start to feel that in your performance, and you’ll feel it kind of hydroplane a little bit. That’s because your tires are having difficulty gripping the road,” said Campbell.

A more expensive tire tends to have a higher speed rating, which also improves your safety when driving. The higher a tire’s speed rating, the softer the rubber. And soft rubber in high end tires is much better at gripping the road, than a stiffer and cheaper tire.

new tire deep tread and sips

“The higher the speed rating, the better the grip, the better it stops,” said Campbell.

When something as minor as 1/32ths of a tire’s tread can make a huge difference in stopping time, grip and safety, you need to take replacing your tires regularly seriously. By investing in more expensive ones, you’re actually prolonging the life of your car and the tires, as they will wear down more evenly and provide less risk as they wear down because of the added safety features.

Keep yourself and your family safe, and make sure that you are purchasing high quality tires for your vehicle. Our technicians at HomeTowne Auto Repair & Tire will be able to explain all of the high quality tires that we offer, and help you to choose the best ones for your vehicle.

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