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Tire Industry Editor Approves of Inflation Keeping your tires properly inflated can enable you to drive another 500 miles a year on the same gasoline you are presently using, according to the editor of Tire Review Magazine, a publication for the tire in­ dustry. William B. Whitney reports that tire industry studies show one car out of four, on the average, has at least one tire seriously underinflated. The result, he notes, is a double penalty: The engine has to work harder, requiring more gas, and tire life is reduced. Underinflated tires also flex more, increasing the chances of tire separation and blowout, the magazine editor says. Another concern is over- inflation. Overinflated tires are prone to more cuts, impact breaks and more wear at the center of the tread. Air pressure should be checked at least once a month, preferably weekly, Whitney advises. This frequency should be increased during the winter months, when changes in out­ side temperatures can result in drastic changes in the pressure in your tires. The tires should be checked when they are "cool;" that is, no later than two or three miles of driving. Even driving a mile can increase those read­ ings ^ccau-" normal heat build K-mperatures. Wf notes that the Auto' ;-arts & Accessor­ ies A'sy<-»*>'ion advises allow­ ing a' -as; ihree hours after drivir-, ,r tires to cool before "readir-" mem. Motorists should have their own tire gauges, Whitney ad­ vises. Here's how to use them: • Remove the valve cap from the tire and put the rounded end of the gauge over the top of the tire valve. • Press down with firm, even pressure. • Release the gauge, then read the air pressure shown. There are other ways to in­ crease your safety and the per­ formance of your tires. • Keep car wheels balanced. When wheels are out of balance, they shimmy and shake and cause unusual vibrations through the steering wheel. Unbalanced wheels shorten tire life and don't help the engine, either. • Put the right tires on your car. Talk to your tire sales­ person about the "shoes" for your car. Describe the loads the car carries, the roads travelled, the type of driving (business, errands). All four tires should be the same type and construction. Mixing tires (radials with conventional tires, for ex­ ample) can affect vehicle control severely. • Keep your wheels aligned. Poor alignment, which means the wheels aren't pointed in the right direc­ tion, makes your tires wear faster on the inside or out­ side edges because they are scuffing along instead of rolling. Misalignment also can make your car "pull" to the left or right. Check Treads • Check your tire treads. If the grooves are less than deep, you are inviting trouble, especially on wet roads. The grooves have the job of carrying rain water out of the way and if they are too shallow, your car will "hydroplane," which means your car isn't even touching the road. Instead, it is skating atop a slick sur­ face of water -- totally out of controls • Rotate your tires when necessary. Because the front tires do more work in turn­ ing and braking, they tend to wear faster. Rotate front PAGE 18 - PLA1NDEALER to rear or as shown in your car's owners manual about every 7,500 miles. Cars with front-wheel drive are an ex­ ception and don't need to have their tires rotated. • Practice safe driving habits. It is a touchy subject. YOU are a safe driver, but make sure that others driving your car are, too. Avoid jackrabbit starts and sud­ den stops, slow down before you come to a corner or curve or on rough roads, don't ride the edge of the pavement, avoid curbs and chuckholes, and don't speed. These driving tech­ niques, editor Whiteney assures, will save on tires and gasoline. Hoarding gas: Tempting but dangerous Maybe you can stash away a gallon or so of gas for the power mower--nobody's going to fault you for that. But for your sake, and safety's sake, better make that the limit. This is the word from Mit­ chell Jones, an Amoco Produc­ tion Company safety director, who says hoarding excessive amounts around the home or toting emergency supplies around in the car as a hedge against running out can be ille­ gal and even fatal. It can also imperil insurance coverage, Jones says, although the insurance companies proba­ bly would tend to overlook a small amount on hand to supply small motors. If gasoline must be stored, Jones urges the use of only thick-walled metal safety cans designed for the purposes which carry Underwriters Lab­ oratory approval. Types generally acceptable are the metal screw and pour- cap design, or the metal spring- loaded, pressure venting type. The cans also should have flash arresting screens in the outlet and fill connections, Jones said. "Under no circumstances should gasoline be stored in - FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3,1980 Driving Less? Smaller Cars Do Not Need Less Maintenance By DAVID GILMORE Motorists are buying smaller cars, driving them less and holding on to them longer, a trend which has important car maintenance implications. Small cars, with their down­ sized power trains, have to work extra hard to deliver the performance car owners are ac­ customed to receiving. This alone makes it more im­ portant than ever to follow the manufacturers' recommended maintenance schedules, says Julian C. Morris, president of the Automotive Parts and Ac­ cessories Association (APAA.) The wear cycle tends to be accelerated in small cars, he says, making compacts and subcompacts more susceptible to damage if their maintenance is neglected. Down-sizing of the automo­ bile comes at a time when Americans are cutting back on their driving because of the high cost of gasoline. Total vehicle miles driven in 1980 is running about 6 percent below last year despite a record 150 million cars and trucks in use. If you drive your car less you can cut down on its mainten­ ance, right? Wrong! "Just because you do less driving doesp't mean you can do less maintenance," says Tim Tierney, APAA director of technical services. "It's important to follow the car owner manual's mainten­ ance schedule that is set to time intervals." For example, oil should be changed at the time interval specified in the manual -- even if the mileage interval hasn't glass containers of any type," Jones said. Plastic bleach bottles which have thin walls and are easily ruptured also are considered unsafe. •TUNE-UPS •BRAKES •TRANSMISSIONS •MAJOR & MINOR REPAIRS •MECHANIC ON DUTY 7 DAYS It takes real pros to do any auto service job ef­ ficiently and effectively. Why settle for anything less? Our car mechan­ ics are the best in the ft business . . . and our rates? . . . Reasonable! 10°o DISCOUNT TO SENIOR CITIZENS 3702 W. ELM McHENRY. ILLINOIS been reached, he says. "In a way, it's harder on a car to drive it infrequently than to run up the mileage." When engine oil is dormant it can break down and turn to sludge, Tierney says. Oil keeps its shape by being heated regularly. "If a motorist is putting only 6,000 miles a year on his car in­ stead of 12,000, he still needs to change the oil at the recom­ mended time intervals," he says. Less frequent driving doesn't reduce the need for other routine maintenance. The moisture that accumulates in a seldomly driven car is hard on the battery terminals. Belts have to be adjusted as often; if left in one position they have a greater tendency to dry rot. "Even if a motorist hasn't cut down on overall mileage, he faces special maintenance problems if he drives his car for short distances," Tierney says. This is because an engine doesn't warm up to peak operating efficiency until the car has been driven at least 13 miles. "If a vehicle is driven five miles during a commuting trip, it's running on choke most of the time," Tierney says. "The oil never gets a chance to heat up and as a result it doesn't cool the engine as it should. This results in an accumulation of dirt." An even more important development in the car maintenance field is the aging of the automobile fleet. The average age of the 117 million automobiles on the road has been increasing in recent years and is now 6.5 years. Longer Car Ownership A few years ago it was com­ mon practice to trade in for a new car every two or three SEE MILLSIREAM um»n FOR YOUR CmMkCkiil Mchenry's Headquarters for Complete Repairs on Domestic & Foreign Cars (815)344-2510 Own a 4-WheeJ Drive Thick? Own a 2-Wheel Drive thick? Whether you're running a 4 x 4 or 2 WD truck, Western offers a dependable snoWplow that's designed to handle the worst winters. For homeowner or light commercial use, count on the NEW SnowKing™ by Western. The SnowKing is the first lightweight snowplow designed specifically for 2WD trucks. ' To turn your 4x4 into a real money maker, there's the master in dependable performance... Western's 4-wheel drive snowplow. This winter...depend on Western. SEE: EBIfl ADAMS ENTERPRISES Manes! 3017W. Rte. 120- McHenry, Illinois v 815-385-5978 iMii.f nteihiiiiii .in v r - v Mte'rt On The Move years. This becomes difficult for some motorists to manage when they pay $8,000 or J10,000 for a new car and finance it with a 48-month loan. As cars get older the need for constant maintenance to retain their fuel efficiency characteristics also increases. With higher gasoline prices, that's something every motorist should keep in mind. To neglect maintenance of older cars is penny-wise but pound-foolish. Coinciding with the trend to longer car ownership is a growth in the do-it-yourself in­ dustry. There are about 44 million do-it-yourselfers in the country and their numbers are growing by 9 percent a year, according to APAA estimates. More than 60 percent of car- owning households have a family member who performs some automotive maintenance, APAA studies show. Although cars are becoming more sophisticated in their engineering -- with electronic ignitions, turbocharging, energy-saving devices and microcomputer controls -- help for the do-it-yourselfer is keeping pace. "The range of products for the do-it-yourselfer is greater than it has ever been," says Morris. "Educational materials also are available to a degree not previously known. "Many merchants help the do-it-yourselfer with product information, car maintenance clinics, films and point-of- purchase literature. Diagnosis is obtainable, with instruc­ tions, tools and equipment, and all in all a great deal of assistance is available to the do-it-yourselfer." With fewer models offered by manufacturers, Morris says more and more motorists will want to distinguish their cars by accessorizing them in uni­ que ways, such as using op­ tional wheels, racks, stripes, radios and lights. And computers will come in­ to increasing vogue to monitor performance and alert owners to maintenance needs. Com­ puters that provide a constant check on various automotive systems are now available as options on luxury models, and this trend will accelerate, Mor­ ris says. But computerization will be a waste of money if an owner buys the system but ignores the maintenance information it provides. "If you have a com­ puter behind the dashboard but fail to respond to the infor­ mation it generates, it's counter-productive," Morris says. Open Hood Open your car's hood occa­ sionally and make sure that the hoses are in good condition. You can tell whether a hose is soft, cracked or leaking with­ out being an expert mechanic. Battery terminals should be cleaned and tightened to assure no power loss and the fan belts should not be loose or worn. Align Up Have your car's wheel align­ ment checked at least once a year, advises the Automotive Parts & Accessories Associa­ tion. Not only will this con­ tribute to safety, wheels in alignment cut repair bills and make driving more comfor­ table. If you drive on unpaved or poorly maintained roads, have alignment checked more .^frequently