Now that the Wonder Lake winter has passed, is it time to rotate your tires?

Now that we can pretty well count the Wonder Lake winter of 2021-22 as over, even if it does sneeze up another late snow, it may be time to replace your snow tires with your all-season tires.

Snow tires are a great idea in this neck of the woods – Wonder Lake, that is. They give a boost of traction that is invaluable during the winter. They don’t ensure guarantee that you’ll never loose your grip on a slippery road, but they definitely make a difference. But, with winter ending, their job is done, for now.

If you didn’t use snow tires this past winter, you might want to think about using them next winter. You don’t have to toss out the tires you replace. Rather, you simply put those properly into storage. Some auto repair shops will remove your all-season tires, store them, and mount the snow tires in time for winter.

And when winter is over, again, they’ll take off your snow tires, remount your all-season tires, and store the snow tires until next winter.

It’s not a big deal and the snow tires are well worth the cost. Keep in mind that, since you’re only using them for winter, they won’t wear out as fast. You’ll probably have the same snow tires for several winters, depending on how much driving you do.

Even if you don’t use snow tires for winter driving, this is a good time of year to have your tires rotated.

Rotating your tires spreads the wear across the tires more evenly and extends their lives. This also ensures that your tires have the maximum amount of tread on the road giving you the best grip and traction. However, it’s important to rotate the tires properly.

While the tires are off the vehicle, the auto technician has a chance to inspect the tires. They can check for damage or defects, as well as the tire pressure.

You really don’t have to make a special trip to have your tires rotated. Especially this time of year, you can bring your car in for an oil change and to have it checked out to see how it made out with the Wonder Lake winter that just passed.

Comments

Is your antifreeze safe from freezing this Richmond winter

You still have time to have it checked Well, there’s no denying it – winter tends to get chilly here in Richmond. We have to deal with snow and ice on the roads, scraping the same off our windows and windshield, and staying warm while we drive. Of course, you had your antifreeze checked before winter rolled into town. What?! You didn’t have your antifreeze checked before winter clamped down on Richmond? So, how’s your antifreeze doing? If you haven’t had it checked, there’s really no way of knowing, is there? This car has overheated in the middle of a Richmond winter. But, on the other end of the spectrum, the antifreeze can also freeze if it's not up to its job. Hopefully, you haven’t had a serious problem with your antifreeze already. If you did, you’d probably know. When antifreeze fails, it’s a potentially catastrophic condition for your vehicle’s engine. You could have hoses that have burst because of freezing antifreeze. Worse than that, your engine block may have crac...

Blocks of ice falling from cars in McHenry could cause accidents or damage

We’ve all seen those blocks of snow falling from behind the rear tires of a car when the snow rolls into McHenry . Fortunately, they’re just packed snow that will disintegrate under your vehicle’s tires as you simply drive right through them, right? Don’t count on it. Those blocks of snow are often packed so tight, condensed by the thaw-and-freeze cycle, that they’re anything but oversized snowballs . They’re often more like boulders. Hit one of those blocks and the collision between the block and one of your tires could send you careening off the road or into oncoming traffic. In some cases, they’re so solid you could pound them with a sledgehammer with little effect. They truly can represent a serious road hazard. The problem is that it’s difficult to tell how solidly they’re packed when you see them on the road, left their unwittingly by another driver. Either way, your best bet is to try to avoid them. But you want to be careful dodging blocks of ice in the road, too. You need...

Get out to McHenry Music Festival for a good time and music near to home

Some folks here in McHenry will load up the car and head out to Red Rock Amphitheater near Denver to see a show. Some will go to the MSG Sphere near Las Vegas. Some will go to the Bonaroo Festival Concert to see a show. That’s quite a bit of driving and you’d better make sure your vehicle is up to the trip. What happens, however, if something goes wrong – if your vehicle breaks down while driving there or back? What happens if the show is canceled, as happened this year with the Bonaroo Festival? We’re talking about some serious inconvenience, aren’t we? Wherever you go, whether your driving to Colorado, Nevada, Tennessee or anywhere else in this continent, you want to perform your due diligence and make sure the vehicle is up for the trip before you go. And it doesn’t really matter if you’re driving somewhere to see some live music or for any other purpose. A breakdown can be costly and may put you at the mercy of weather conditions or nefarious characters that come across you while y...

Performance Unlimited Blog

Search This Blog