The Toll Men

Can you rotate your own tires? The answer is yes, but it’s really the wrong question to be asking in the first place. A better question is: Should you rotate your own tires? The answer in this case is probably not.

Rotating your vehicle’s tires is a breeze if you have the right tools. Unfortunately the right tools for rotating your own tires consist of a lift, a powerful compressor, and the air tools to go along with it. You could make do with a tire iron or even the right size of socket wrench, but it’s the lift that is the real sticking point. Even the most dedicated of do-it-yourselfers rarely has a hoist in their garage. If nothing else, the cost of the equipment and installation can prove prohibitive. If you could afford to put in a lift, you could probably afford to have your tires professionally rotated every single day for the next year

With that said, if you’re still set on rotating your own tires here is the procedure to use.

Get your jack, spare tire and tire iron out of the trunk.

Starting with the front left tire, place the jack in the indentation provided and illustrated in your vehicle’s owners manual. If you can’t find it, keep looking. Placing the jack anywhere else can result in costly body damage.

Jack up the car.

Remove the wheel (and tire.)

Put the spare on and make sure it is secure. Halfway measures just won’t do. If the nuts are even slightly loose the weight of the car once it is off the jack can bend or even snap the bolts.

Lower the jack.

Take the tire you have just removed to the position where you are rotating it to. This will either be the left rear position, or the right rear position. Check with your manufacturer to see what they recommend.

Jack the car up again, once again making sure that the jack is in the indentation provided.

Remove the wheel (and tire) and put on the one you took off in step 4.

Lower the jack…again.

Take the rear wheel (and tire) you just took off and place it either in the front left or front right position depending on manufacturer recommendation. Naturally, doing this means you will have move the jack…again, jack up the car…again, and remove either the spare or the front right wheel (and tire)…again. Once you’ve got the wheel (and tire) secured, you can lower the jack and repeat the procedure with the other tires, assuming that you haven’t already collapsed from exhaustion or had a massive coronary.

Can rotating your own tires save you money? Unquestionably. However it probably isn’t worth it. Having the tires rotated by a professional doesn’t cost very much and it is pretty quick. Also, tire dealers and mechanics will often run specials where if you get your brakes inspected they will rotate the tires for free or at a ridiculously low cost.

You will save a little money, but you will also spend a lot of time and energy. Even if you have time to spare, you will likely end up with skinned knuckles and grease under your fingernails. For most people, it simply isn’t worth it. For those who enjoy this sort of thing, I know where you can a good deal on your own hoist.

The Goodyear Guy is the friendly face of Goodyear Canada…And now he blogs, not just any old blog mind you, nope - this one’s a doozy. So if the ‘behind-the-scenes’ secrets of Goodyear Canada and their favourite spokeperson appeal to your curiosity check it out! Save $100 on your next set of Goodyear tires? Grab your digital rebate coupon today.

There is plenty of information about buying new Buick cars and how to shop for the best deal, but what happens after the sale? What about warranty coverage and recalls? In this article, the focus turns to the post-sale questions and how to find the answers.

As with all new Buick cars, a warranty is offered to the new owner. It is important to remember, however, that not every repair is covered under warranty. Problems that are covered under warranty must be repaired at an authorized Buick cars dealership. The company actually recommends that all repairs, including those under warranty and those that are not, be done at an authorized dealership in order to maintain quality and knowledgeable service. The best way to find out if the shop is authorized to perform Buick cars warranty repairs is to simply ask.

Now that we know where to have the repairs made, it’s important to know about the warranty coverage period. When it comes to Buick cars, the warranty period on new automobiles covers four years or 50,000 miles, whichever comes first. The limited warranty promises to cover only registered vehicles that are located in the United States and Canada. The coverage period begins on the first day of delivery and provides bumper to bumper coverage on any automobile defect that is proven to be related to workmanship or materials. The company maintains that any Buick cars dealer will honor the warranty even if it was not purchased from that specific dealer.

Many people believe that only new Buick cars carry a warranty, but that isn’t the case. Used Buick cars also carry an optional warranty, which is available by purchase. In other words, used Buick cars are not automatically covered as new models are, but a warranty can be purchased and even financed directly through the dealership. Known as GM Repair Protection (GMRP), any optional warranty must be purchased at the same time as the vehicle.

At times, certain vehicles may need to be recalled. Should a recall on any Buick cars occur, customers are to be notified by mail. In the meantime, however, car owners may call 1-800-422-8425 for recall information.

Whether you are in the market for new or used Buick cars, there are a number of authorized dealerships that offer both. If you are interested in a new model that has yet to be released, you may ask a local dealer for the release schedule and possibly pre-order one of the new models before they even arrive at the lot. This advance order system allows customers to confirm a purchase and know that owning their new automobile isn’t far down the road.

Find more Buick news, including reviews for 2006 Buick Lacrosse, 2006 Buick Lucerne and many other Buick and automotive news on AutoNews24h.com

The other day I was driving and I noticed that someone had candy striped a stop sign in reflective tape; boy did it stand out. In fact, I know why someone did that, as it was not a place you might expect a stop sign and probably a death had occurred there or some serious accidents. I was not from the area and I had to get on the brakes a little to make the stop due to the way the road was designed. Why do I bring this up? Well, simple; what if we did this on all stop sign poles? Your headlights would hit them and reflect back. You would notice them sooner and there would less chance of people running the stop signs either on purpose or out of lack of attentiveness.

The cost to do this is very low and the chance to save lives and injury is very good? Did you know that 40,000 Americans die each year in automobile deaths, did you know that most of these deaths occur at intersections?

What if we tried this as a test in a couple of states and then in a year let’s take a look at how many lives are saved. This could be big. If we could cut the auto deaths by 5-10% from something so simple, what an incredible gift it would be. That would be 2000 to 4000 more Americans still alive and think of all the accidents and injuries it could prevent. Let’s look for simple ideas to prevent auto deaths. Think of some other ideas, lets get the word out.

“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

History of Cement and Cement Mixers

Cement mixers are a way of carrying and mixing cement while you are working to repair a foundation, sidewalk, or building a mold. Cement is mostly known to be made out of asphalt, which stands for secure in the ancient Greek language.

Cement is a mixture of several different types of materials. This includes sand, limestone and asphalt. Asphalt and cement were found to be used beginning in 625 BC in Babylon as well as in Greece. The idea of this secure foundation was lost for centuries, and began to be experimented with beginning in the 1500’s. After much exploration, European’s found that this type of material was being used in Venezuela. They took the idea and began to use cement for re-caulking ships.

Road building using cement became popular in America in the middle of the 1800’s. This was part of the revolution that began with the industrial age. Cement was first taken from natural resources, such as the lakes that were in Trinidad. However, by the beginning of the 1900’s, the mixture for roads and pavement began to be a mixture of several different types of rocks.

Cement mixers first became popular in the 1920’s, when automobiles started to become popular. Mixers were first seen as trays that were heated over coal fires. Aggregate was dried in this tray, than asphalt would be poured on top of it. This mix was then stirred by hand. Drums were soon after invented to be used, and soon wheels were added in order to make it easier for the building of roadways and sidewalks. These were known as floating screeds and were popular until the 1960s.

By the 1970s, these types of construction were becoming a concern with the environment. This caused even better technology to be produced in relation to cement mixers. The mixtures that are being used now have an increased improvement with mixture, allowing for less noise, skid resistance, and weather resistance.

Because of the ability to use the cement mixer in relation to the types of roads and sidewalks that are being built, it is allowing for greater roadways and sidewalks. It has also caused the major modes of transportation to be supported by this type of rock. More than ninety-four percent of the ground that is used for transportation is made out of cement. The cement mixer plays an important role in making sure that this secure surface is made.

Everything you need to know about cement concrete mixers.