How to change your own tire

Nothing puts the damper on a road trip like a flat tire. Many of you out there have AAA or some form of roadside assistance, but what happens if your stuck on the side of the road with no cell reception? Unfortunately these scenarios don't just happen in horror flicks. But never fear, we're here to teach you a few easy steps to change your own tire.

First, pull safely off the side of the road, giving your call every sign of distress. Put your car in park, preferably with the emergency brake on and put on your hazard lights. Make it obvious you are there to give yourself the most amount of safety precautions. Next, get out all the tools and spare tire from car. If you do not have emergency tools or a spare tire, invest in that ASAP!!! The most basic tools you need are lug nut wrench and a jack. Remove the hub cap and loosen lug nuts without actually removing them. Jack up your car far enough off the ground so that the fully inflated tire can replace the old flat one.

Now comes the actual change. Remove the lug nuts and flat tire and place the spare tire in alignment with the holes with the air valve facing you. Secure the flat tire with the lug nuts and replace the hub cap. Lower the vehicle with the jack.

Now that wasn't so bad was it??

For more information go to:
http://automotive.hardwarestore.com/learning/how-to-change-a-tire.aspx

Night Driving Made Safe

Now that daylight savings has taken effect we are all driving in the dark just a tad bit more. Some say they would rather drive at night, but that can be more dangerous. Traffic fatalities are actually 3 times higher at night due to several different obstacles not faced during daytime driving.

Humans are not built with night vision, therefore we need to rely on technology to be able to see in the dark. Unfortunately, technology fails us sometimes so we need to be vigilant and ensure that headlights are all working properly. As a courtesy to other drivers, make sure that your head lights are not too bright and turned on before its pitch black in those hours that the sun is setting. To avoid glare keep internal lights off and dash lights dim.

Do not be a deer in headlights! Instead of looking directly into the headlights of an oncoming vehicles look a little bit to the side to avoid seeing spots and getting distracted. Depth perception is a little bit off at night, so make sure that you leave an even bigger distance between you and the car in front of you than you would during the day.

We can all be creatures of the night if we just follow a few extra safety guidelines. For more information on night time driving safety, please visit: http://www.roadandtravel.com/safetyandsecurity/safenightdrivingtips.htm

Why you should keep tires well maintained

If you do not wear shoes that fit correctly, aren't weather appropriate, or falling apart, your feet would not be very happy with you. Can you imagine how your car feels when it's tires are not well maintained? Think about it. How can your car properly cruise you around town safely when the parts that come in contact with the road the most are not taken care of? Talk about a blister for your car.

Besides the obvious safety benefits for you and your family, keeping up with your tires is healthy for the function and life of your car.

One of the main causes of tire failure is under inflation, which can easily go unnoticed by the naked eye. All you need to do to prevent this is regularly check the air pressure in your tires. Check regularly for objects that may have gotten stuck in your tire as a result of driving through debris.

For more information on how to maintain tire safety, check out: http://www.tiresafety.com/

Buying a Repossessed Vehicle May Be the Right Move for You!

With today's economy it is not so uncommon to find repossessed vehicles. If you are not a victim of having your vehicle repossessed, this could be good new for you!

Repossessed vehicles have the potential to be a great deal as long as you do your research first. Make sure that the vehicle in question is in good shape, because some repossessed vehicles were not taken care quite like they should have been.

Be aware that there are 3 ways to purchase repossessed vehicles: by auction, dealer, or lender.

Auctions are the most common ways to purchase repossessed vehicles. The main thing you should be aware of is to ensure that the auctioneer actually has the title of the vehicle before any transactions are made. Buying from a dealer can be simple and easy if you find a dealer that specializes in repossessed vehicles - this just requires some research prior to shopping. Buying from a lender such as a bank can be a great way to get your repossessed vehicle as well. For more information on how to go through the process of buying a repossessed vehicle check out: http://autos.aol.com/article/how-to-buy-repo-vehicle/

Back Seat Safety

A new study shows that back seat passengers have a higher risk of injury compared to front seat passengers in the occurrence of an automobile accident. These findings are surprising as previous tests had found that back seat passengers were at less risk than front seat passengers.

The cause for this unbalance seems to stem from the fact that during last quarter century a lot of emphasis has been placed on developing safety features for front seat passengers, making the gap between the safety of those in the front and the back far more pronounced. Improvements on airbags, seat belts, and driver ergonomics has helped to improve front seat passenger ratings.

This means that more attention needs to be paid on the safety of the back seats of the cars to protect both children and adults.

Read more: http://www.articlesbase.com/cars-articles/back-seat-car-safety-3511848.html#ixzz13abQ2MIC

Will Your Car Be the New Smart Phone?

A week long series by CNN on smartphones and their effects on society makes us ask ourselves, will your car become your next smartphone?

The notion really makes sense looking at new technology evolving for automobiles. Electronic companies are developing ways to enable talking and texting through the dashboard of your car. Eventually you will be able to surf the web and update facebook through voice commands while driving. Talk about multi-tasking!

Now the big question is whether or not this technology will make for safer roadways. On the one hand, this may reduce drivers from using their actual mobile phone while driving. Usage of phones while driving provides many dangers including not having both hands on the wheel. On the other hand, will people realistically embrace the new hands-free technology? Some may argue that even hand-free surfing the web and texting while driving is a huge distraction.

For more information, check out http://11thr.com/blog/?p=1332.

Get the Correct Tire Fitting for Safety Purposes

Avoid tire failure or poor handling performance by selecting the proper tires for your vehicle. Check your owner's manual or consult a tire technician specialist for size, weight limits and inflation rate before buying new tires.

Considerations

Choosing the right tires for your vehicle contributes to your safety while driving. Always select tires able to carry the full weight of your car or truck. Even the best tire is not safe if overloaded and unable to respond quickly in an emergency, according to TireTrack.com. Tires too large or too small for the vehicle can affect safety and performance.

Tire Size

The tire wall has letters and numbers that signify their intended use and their size. Those designed for passenger vehicles, meaning cars, sport utility vehicles, minivans and light duty pickup trucks, are marked with a "P". The numbers indicate the diameter. When fitting a new tire to a rim, be sure the wheel diameter number and tire number match.

Correct Inflation

Of equal importance is correct inflation. Check your tires to ensure the number identified by the psi--pounds per square inch--number on the tire wall matches the number on the gauge you use. Over-inflated or under-inflated tires are not safe. Too much pressure in a tire may cause it to explode. Never inflate to pressure greater than 45 psi, as cautioned by CDX Online eTextbook.