Category Archives: Tires and Wheels

Beware of Cheap Tires in Scottsbluff

Do you like to shop for shoes in Scottsbluff?When buying a running shoe, is quality important?Does durability matter as long as the shoes look fabulous?Would you rather have one pair of long lasting shoes or two pairs of lower quality shoes at the same price?Is the warranty important when buying tires? Scottsbluff drivers should also think about the safety aspect of tires. The tires do a lot of work – they carry the weight of the vehicle and you and your passengers. You want to be sure they hold the road and provide good traction on NE freeways and surface streets. If you carry heavy loads or tow a trailer on NE highways, the tires need a high load rating.Ask your friendly and knowledgeable Scottsbluff tire professional at Twin City Auto. I think it's important that Scottsbluff residents understand the effect of price on a tire's quality, performance and durability. When I was a kid, my dad would say, “Pay twice as much and bu ... read more

Categories:

Tires and Wheels

Automotive Tips from Twin City Auto: Where Should New Tires Be Placed

When Scottsbluff drivers need to replace tires, they need to know how many they should get and on which axle they should be placed. Replacing a damaged tire may leave you with three others with significant wear, which could affect your traction control, stability control and anti-lock brake systems.If you can’t afford to replace all four tires at once, you should at least replace two on the same axle. New tires should always be put on the rear axle for stability in slippery conditions. Your friendly and professional Twin City Auto tire professional can help you know when your worn tires should be replaced, if you can have a damaged tire repaired as well as selecting the right tires for your needs.Give us a call.Twin City Auto1802 E Overland Suite #4Scottsbluff, NE 6936130

Categories:

Tires and Wheels

Winter Tires

What type of technology do you use? Do you prefer an 8-track tape or an iPod? When it comes to winter tires, much of Scottsbluff driver's perception dates back to when 8-track was the best way to listen to the Bee Gees.Twenty years ago in NE, winter tires differed from highway tires only in their tread design. NE drivers called them snow tires back then, and they had big, knobby lugs that were designed to give good traction in deep snow. They had the same rubber compound as regular tires and they weren't very good on ice, packed snow or wet NE roads. They were not even very good on dry roads. They really helped in deep or loose snow, but they did a poor job the rest of the time. They were loud and rode hard. People couldn't wait to get them off in the spring.Then all-season tires started to appear in Scottsbluff tire shops. All-season tires are really a compromise between summer and winter performance. They have acceptable hot weather ride and tread life and can get NE drivers through ... read more

Categories:

Tires and Wheels

Automotive Tips from Twin City Auto: Tire Replacement Overview

Tires are an expensive purchase, so knowing when tires should be replaced is important for Scottsbluff drivers. Tires will just wear out with normal use. The depth of the tread on your tire determines how well it will stop, start and steer – especially in wet conditions. 4/32th of an inch (3.2 mm) of tire tread is considered a safe amount of tread.Uneven tread wear can be a symptom of other problems, and simply replacing your tires will not prevent the same uneven wear from happening to the new tires. At Twin City Auto in Scottsbluff, we can inspect your tires for excessive or uneven wear. Unusual wear may lead to further inspection of steering, suspension or alignment problems. We can help with necessary repairs and with getting you the right tires for your needs.Give us a call.Twin City Auto1802 E Overland Suite #4Scottsbluff, NE 6936130

Categories:

Tires and Wheels

Buying the Right Tires and Wheels in Scottsbluff, NE

Everyone in Scottsbluff, NE eventually replaces their tires, whether it's because they're worn out or they're just looking for something different. There are so many great tire choices in Scottsbluff, it can be difficult to sort them out. Let's group the broad spectrum into several categories that will help in the selection process.One category is often referred to as "summer tires". Summer tires are designed to be driven on the road when temperatures are generally above 45 degrees F (7 degrees C). Their tread design is optimized for traction on dry roads around NE and they're also able to effectively displace water on rainy roads.So if you live where its summer all year round, these tires will work well for you. If you like maximum performance in warm weather, but still live where it gets cold and snowy, you'll want to change your summer tires for winter tires as the weather starts to change.There's a range of tires within the winter tire category. If you live where there's a lot of ... read more

Categories:

Tires and Wheels

All About Your TPMS in Scottsbluff

Scottsbluff drivers know that underinflated tires wear out more quickly. Underinflation is also a major cause of tire failure for NE auto owners. More flats, blow outs, skids and longer stopping distances are all results of underinflated tires.It's hard for many Scottsbluff drivers to tell when a radial tire is underinflated. If your owner’s manual recommends 35 pounds of pressure, your tire is considered significantly under-inflated at 26 pounds. The tire may not look low until it gets below 20 pounds.Uncle Sam to the rescue! A recent U.S. federal law required vehicle manufacturer’s to include a Tire Pressure Monitoring System - or TPMS system - in all vehicles. Many Canadian vehicles have them as well.  The system is a dashboard mounted warning light that goes off if one or more of the tires falls 25% below its pressure recommendations.Obviously, all of this doesn't come free for Scottsbluff car owners ... read more

Categories:

Tires and Wheels

Shake It up in Scottsbluff!: Why Wheel Balancing

Our vehicles are not massage chairs. While we may enjoy a good vibration in an overstuffed recliner, we generally want as smooth a ride as possible in our vehicles. One way to achieve this is to keep a vehicle's wheels in balance. When a tire is mounted onto a wheel, it is usually out of balance. This means that as the wheel spins, there is a slight wobble to the path of the tire. For best handling performance and safety on the road, Scottsbluff drivers want to minimize this wobble as much as possible. So we balance our tires. To balance a tire, your technician at Twin City Auto spins it on a machine or drum to determine where it is off-balance. He then attaches weights that counter-balance the uneven weight. Most people in Scottsbluff are surprised at how much balancing improves the smoothness of their ride. High-quality tires generally hold their balance well. But over time, wear and tear take their toll and tires can become unbalanced. Scottsbluff drivers can ... read more

Categories:

Tires and Wheels

How Much is Enough for Scottsbluff Auto Owners? Tire Tread Depth

Most Scottsbluff drivers know that tires wear out and that the wear has to do with tread depth. Most of us have heard that “bald” tires are dangerous, but most of us picture a tire with no tread at all when we think of a bald tire. And when we take our vehicles in for preventive maintenance, the technician tells us they're need to be replaced long before all the tread is worn off. Just how much tire tread wear is too much? And how can you tell? Tires are and their condition is important to the safe handling of a vehicle, so it's for Scottsbluff vehicle owners to know the answers to these questions.First of all, it's important to understand that there may be a legal limit to tread wear. If your tires are worn past this limit, you have to replace them to be in compliance with NE auto safety laws. That's why measuring your tread wear is part of a vehicle safety inspection.In some jurisdictions, tread must be at least 1.6 millimeters or ... read more

Categories:

Tires and Wheels

Saving Lives in Scottsbluff with Tire Pressure

All new passenger vehicles on our Scottsbluff, NE, roads now have tire pressure monitoring systems – TPMS for short. They are designed to alert you if your tires are underinflated. Since they are fairly new, a lot of people have questions about them.First off, the most important thing is that you still need to check your tire pressure every week – or at least every time you gas up. The TPMS system alert comes in when your tire is 20 percent below the factory recommendation. So if the recommended pressure is 34 pounds per square inch, the TPMS warning won't come on until the pressure is at 28 pounds. That's significantly underinflated, enough to raise safety concerns.The worst is tire failure. A severely underinflated tire can overheat and fail. Also, handling degrades to the point that you may not be able to steer out of trouble. Also underinflated tires wear out faster and they waste fuel. S ... read more

Categories:

Tires and Wheels

Under Pressure in Scottsbluff: TPMS

Have you noticed an increase in price when you get a flat tire fixed in Scottsbluff, or have your tires rotated? It might be the result of your TPMS, or Tire Pressure Monitoring System.The federal government began requiring a TPMS system on 2008 model year passenger vehicles and light trucks. Some 2006 and 2007 models may have them as well. The system has a warning light that is mounted on the dashboard that will go on if one of the tires becomes severely underinflated.Why the new requirement? Because underinflated tires are the number one cause of tire failure. Tire blowouts cause crashes and sometimes fatal accidents. Underinflated tires also need longer stopping distance and can skid, both of which also present dangers on NE roads. Many flat tires can also be prevented by proper tire inflation, and though this may seem an economic consideration, Scottsbluff drivers who have changed a flat on the side of the road recognize that this has serious safety concerns as we ... read more

Categories:

Tires and Wheels