Tires Archives - Oldsmar Automotive

Car Inspections You Can Do

March 30, 2021 By Oldsmar Automotive Leave a Comment

Spending just a few minutes inspecting your car a few times a year can prevent a lot of issues. If you’ve never learned about car inspections you can do yourself, it’s pretty easy. We do recommend doing it with the help of another person, but if that’s not possible, you can do it yourself.

Exterior Visual Inspection

Walk around your car, look at all the lights. Is the plastic cover secure? Do you notice water inside any of the lights? Water is an issue that means something isn’t properly attached and you may need a mechanic to fix. Also look for cracks or breaks in your wiper blades. If you notice either, replace them.

Also take a penny and insert Lincoln’s head upside down into the tread. If the tread doesn’t reach his forehead or eyes, you may need new tires. Doing this regularly can help you plan for new tires rather than having your licensed mechanic doing your tire rotation that they can not longer rotate the tires for safety reasons.

Light Check

The next check is easier with a helper as they can tell you what they’re seeing. If you don’t have someone who can help, pull your car as close to a solid wall or garage door as possible and do it near dark. You should turn on your headlights, high beams, turn signals and depress your brakes and check that they are all working. If not, head to your automotive center and get the right replacement bulbs or let your licensed mechanic handle it.

Fluid Check

A while ago we blogged about your car’s fluids. If you missed it, click here. Keeping them at the right level and clean is essential to your car. When you check them a few times a year, you can proactively top them off or have the system flushed before there’s a catastrophic issue with your car.

Car Inspections Don’t Take the Place of Regular Maintenance

Your car inspections should never take the place of regular maintenance by a licensed mechanic. Be sure to follow all manufacturer guidelines for automotive maintenance in addition to the recommendations above. If you realize you need maintenance or something repaired you discovered during your inspection, our ASE certified mechanics will provide you with a full and honest assessment of your car’s needs and professionally handle the work. Come by Oldsmar Automotive at 3166 Tampa Road in Oldsmar or call (727) 784-3501 for an appointment.

Tips to Boost Fuel Economy

December 14, 2020 By Oldsmar Automotive Leave a Comment

Although gas prices continue to remain low, you should always strive to get the most out of every tank. If you’ve noticed that you’re not going as many miles per tank as you once did, chances are something is off in your car’s system. Here are a few things you should check that may help boost fuel economy.

1. Tire Pressure

A tire that’s underinflated (which happens often in cooler temperatures) can reduce fuel economy by up to 3%. That may not sound like a lot but over time those miles add up! Just look inside your driver’s door or at the tires for proper pressure, expressed in PSI. This is one of the cheapest and easiest ways to boost fuel economy.

2. Air Filter

If you schedule regular maintenance like oil changes and tune-ups, you should have clean air filters. However, it’s always worth checking if you notice your fuel economy decreasing. Clean filters impact your car in many ways, one of which may be a boost in fuel efficiency.

3. Your Gas Cap

If yours is cracked or missing, you’re leaving your car open to potential damage and reduced fuel economy. The only solution is to replace yours. Newer cars don’t have gas caps but if your self-sealing fuel point isn’t closing, take your car to a mechanic.

4. Tune Up Recommendations

Every car has slightly different recommendations for when to perform a tune up and what should be checked or replaced. If you’ve never looked at your manual or keep putting off necessary maintenance, your fuel economy will suffer. You may also do damage to parts of your car by not replacing fluids or flushing systems.

5. Dash Indicators

Are there any indicators on your dashboard you’ve been ignoring? If so, call your local mechanic and have them check which code your vehicle has an alert. Things like a fault O2 sensor or other maintenance issue can impact your car in more ways than just reducing fuel efficiency.

If you need regular schedule maintenance like a tune up, new tires, a tire rotation, a fluid flush or just need to know why your dash light is on, come by Oldsmar Automotive. We’ll let you know if we see any thing that should be repaired to boost fuel economy. We’re conveniently located at 3166 Tampa Road in Oldsmar. If you prefer to make an appointment, call us at (727) 784-3501.

Is it Time for Suspension Service?

October 15, 2020 By Oldsmar Automotive Leave a Comment

Your car’s suspension not only keeps you comfortable but it also keeps you safe. There are many consequences when even one part of your vehicle’s suspension isn’t working right. You may experience a rough ride, see poor gas mileage, and cause greater wear and tear on the engine, tires and braking system. Here are some signs it’s time for service.

Noticeable Pulling

If you’re driving on a dry, flat and relatively straight road and feel the car pulling in one direction, chances are there’s an issue with your car’s alignment which is part of the suspension. Although the most common reason for needing an alignment is time and regular driving, hitting just one pothole the wrong way can negatively impact the car’s alignment.

Bumpy Ride

The next most common sign it’s time for suspension service is that your car’s ride isn’t smooth as it once was. A car that bounces on a smooth road or doesn’t bounce on a rough road needs to be looked at. You’ll cause more wear and tear on your suspension, brakes, tires and shocks if you don’t pay attention to this sign.

Worn Tires

Although tires are supposed to wear, if you’re rotating them at the proper intervals you should see fairly even wear. If one tire is wearing more than the others, chances are good there’s something amiss with your suspension.

Unlevel Vehicle

The next time your car is parked on a level surface, take a look at how it’s sitting. If there’s nothing unusually heavy in the trunk, your car should sit level as well. If one corner or side of the car is lower than the rest, you should call for suspension service.

Oldsmar Automotive Offers Total Suspension Services

Come by 3166 Tampa Road in Oldsmar and we’ll inspect your suspension. We offer total suspension services including alignments, tire rotations, new tires shocks or struts to remedy your suspension issues. You can also call us at (727) 784-3501 to schedule an appointment or find out more about our services.

What to Know When You Need New Tires

September 29, 2020 By Oldsmar Automotive Leave a Comment

If your tires need replacing, and you’ve never replaced tires before, you may not know how to find the right new tires. Because we’re in Tampa, we don’t need tires that can handle snow or ice, however, we need tires that are good in water and good for our car.

Know Your Car’s Tire Needs

There are many sizes of tires. You need to know what your car requires. You can find that information inside the driver’s side door or on your current tire itself. The code will have a combination of letters and numbers that are easily decoded. It might look something like this: P215/65R15 95H. Here’s what each part of the code means:

P – passenger car (can be LT for light truck, SP for special trailer, T for temporary for spare tires)
215 – tire width in millimeters
65 – aspect ratio of tire (height to width)
R – radial tire (if there is no letter assume it’s a cross-ply tire but B and D are other codes)
15 – wheel diameter in inches
95H – load index and speed symbol (95 doesn’t mean 95 pounds or tons, it is a code that corresponds to about 1500 pounds. H means 130mph and other letters have other top speeds)

Although you don’t have to get tires with the exact same code, you will need to make sure you choose tires that will fit on your rims so you’ll need to look at the first part of the code carefully. You can click here for more information on each part of the code you found on your tires.

Quality

What you can’t tell from the code on the tire is the quality and performance of the tire. A quality, high performance tire has a lot of engineering put into it. Better tires have been proven to have better stopping distance. You will also notice a difference in how the car feels and sounds when you’re driving, especially at high speeds. Quality tires can also have longer tread life and provide you with better gas mileage.

Ask Our Tire Experts

We can help you find a quality tire that fits your car that is also in your budget. We know that replacing tires can be confusing, but we want to help. Come by Oldsmar Automotive for a free quote on tires for your car or truck. We’re conveniently located at 3166 Tampa Road in Oldsmar. You can also call us at (727) 784-3501 and let us know the tires you’re consider and we’ll let you know if we have or can order them and the cost.

Understanding the Benefits of Tire Rotation

January 16, 2020 By Oldsmar Automotive Leave a Comment

We understand that there are some auto maintenance tasks that most people rather not deal with. Tire rotation seems to be one of them for some reason. It does take a bit of time but in the long run the benefits outweigh the inconvenience you experience about every 7,000 miles.

Benefit # 1 – Better Gas Mileage

This might be the benefit the fewest people know about. There are two reasons that your gas mileage improves with regular tire rotation. First, when your tires wear evenly, the engine doesn’t have to work as hard due to decreased friction. Second, part of a tire rotation includes checking that they are properly inflated, which also benefits gas mileage.

Benefit #2 – Fewer Tire Replacements

New tires are expensive. If you want yours to last their estimated life, rotate them on schedule. When you don’t, one or more tires may wear unevenly due depending on whether you have a front wheel drive, all-wheel drive or occasionally use your four wheel drive function. Uneven wear leads to a premature tire replacement for one or more tires.

Benefit # 3 – Increased Safety

Your auto center checks the tires during a tire rotation. Without regular rotations, you may not realize you have a bubble in the tire wall or another issue that could lead to a blow out or loss of control of the vehicle. A safe car is one with tires in good condition and tire rotation helps ensure yours are.

Tire Rotation is More Than Just Moving Tires Around

Depending on your car and the tires, you may find that you need a rotate and balance. You can learn more about that in a previous blog by clicking here. However, if all you need is a tire rotation, it is more than just what the name implies. It’s also a check of the tire’s safety. Your auto center will look for screws or nails in the tires as well as measure tread depth. You may also find they include a visual inspection of the wheel well and other exposed parts of your car during a rotation.

Oldsmar Automotive is your local full-service auto center. You can call us to schedule a tire rotation at (727) 784-3501 or come by 3166 Tampa Road in Oldsmar and see if we can fit you in.