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Be very careful if you are considering changing your vehicle’s stock size. Using an inappropriate tire size could make your vehicle unsafe. Before switching tire sizes, try using an online tire size calculator to help keep your vehicle safe.

You don’t have to be a tire professional to use these free tire size calculators. You just have to know how to read the information. When you enter a tire size into a tire size calculator, a variety of information is returned.

Tire Section Width: The tire’s width can be important in preventing clearance issues. A wide tire could rub on the wheel well or suspension components, particularly when the wheels are turned. A wider tire also lowers your gas mileage.

Rim Width Range: Each tire size can only fit on wheels within a particular width range. If the tire is too wide or too narrow for your wheels, there is extra stress on the tire which could result in tire failure.

Overall Diameter: Your tire’s overall diameter is very important as tires with different heights rotate at different speeds. This would interfere with your speedometer and odometer. It could interfere with ABS brakes and other vehicle parts. You should keep your overall tire height within 3% of the height of your original stock tires.

Revolutions Per Mile: A taller tire has a larger circumference. So it covers more distance with each rotation of the wheel axle. This means a taller tire will have lower rotations per mile. The revolutions per mile is used in calculations by various vehicle components such as the speedometer & odometer.

Speedometer Difference: If you change your tire size and it is not the same as stock tire height, your speedometer and odometer will be inaccurate. Tire size calculators will show just how much your speedometer will be thrown off. A taller tire will make your speedometer read slower than actual speed. Conversely a shorter tire will make your speedometer read faster than actual speed.

That is the most important information that you can view with a tire size calculator. Most tire calculators offer a lot of other information, but that is primarily for advanced users. Your main concern is usually finding a tire size that is very close to stock height. After doing some research, always consult a tire professional before switching tire sizes.

Visit http://www.1010tires.com to buy tires & wheels online with features like tire reviews, technical articles and more.
To compare tire sizes now, try our tire size calculator.

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A lot of good ’skull sweat’ has gone into the rubber under your car and when it comes to complexity, most people probably wouldn’t put tires very high on the list. After all, they look pretty simple, don’t they?

True, but this apparent simplicity is deceptive. A modern tire is actually a very complex piece of equipment, consisting of many different components. You can’t see many of these but without them your tires simply wouldn’t work.

Let’s take a look at how the most common type of tire, radials, are constructed.

The first step is assembling raw materials. Raw rubber and various chemicals are an obvious starting point, but modern tire manufacturing uses a lot of things you wouldn’t expect to find, such as pigments, wire, and special fabrics.

Tire manufacturers today use many kinds of rubber, both natural and synthetic. Some counts place the different kinds of rubber used in radial tire construction as high as 30. No matter what kind of rubber is used, the manufacturer will add other materials to get the compound they want. These can include antioxidants, oils, carbon black and numerous other additives depending on the type of tire being made and the manufacturer.

Once the raw materials are assembled, they are mixed together in Banbury machines. These are extremely impressive pieces of machinery that look sort of like God’s blender, assuming God wanted his smoothies subjected to intense heat and pressure.

After the Banbury machines have had their way with the rubber compound, it is repeatedly milled by putting it through rollers again and again. After the rubber is milled, it is ready to be formed into sidewalls, treads and other parts. But before they are put to use, the interior of the tire is assembled on a tire building machine.

The first part of the interior is called a bead or bead bundle. This is a hoop shaped length of rubber coated steel cable. The bead fits against the wheel rim and gives the tire the strength to stay seated on the wheel rim.

Next, a double layer of rubber (a synthetic in this case) is added that seals in air. It is this “inner liner” that allows modern tires to be tubeless.

Two layers of rubber coated fabric, the cords, are placed over the inner liner. Synthetic fabrics are commonly used as cords, including polyester, rayon, and nylon. The most common fabric in use today for this purpose is polyester.

The machine then shapes the radials into something very close to their final dimension. This is done to make sure all the parts are in the right position. Next, steel belts are added. These help to hold the tread on the road surface and make the tire more puncture resistant.

The last part to be added is the tread. Rollers press all the parts firmly together, and what we are left with is a tire that looks pretty close to what will go on our car.

However, this “green tire” is not ready yet. For one thing, it needs to be cured. For another, it is as bald as a cue ball.

At this point another reject from God’s Kitchen comes into play. The curing press, which looks similar to a giant waffle iron, gives the final shape to the tire, imprints a tread pattern and vulcanizes the rubber.

Although the tire is now fully constructed, it must still go through one more stage in the manufacturing process, that of inspection. Tire manufacturers use both human inspectors and special machines for different parts of the inspection. Some tires are even X-Rayed to check for internal flaws. Others are randomly selected from the production run to be ripped apart and/or tested to destruction in order to look at every aspect of the tire that could affect safety or performance.

Although they look simple on the outside, a modern automobile tire is truly a masterpiece of engineering. Now that you know how they are made, chances are you will never take your tires for granted again.

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.

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If you are ready to get rid of an old car, why not donate it to charity? You may help a person in need and even apply for a tax deduction. Most donated automobiles go to non-profit charity organizations and these benefiting groups usually will take care of all the cumbersome paperwork. Usually the automobile is then auctioned off, the proceeds going to the charity. Not only is donating your used car a smart, financial choice, but you can help out the community too.

Here are some tips for donating your vehicle.

First, find a charity that accepts automobile donations and avoid for-profit charities, as their integrity is more questionable than non-profit charities. Even the most reputable agencies often keep up to 50% of the value of your donation for internal needs - some keep as much as 90 to 100%. If you have a favorite charity or if there is an organization you’ve donated to in the past, find out if they have an automobile donation program. Make sure the charity that you donate to is worthy of your donation.

Also, when donating a car, make sure to minimize the costs this may incur on the charity group. Drive the car to the destination yourself - don’t require it to be towed.

Next, if you are using an intermediary agency to process your donation, research the percentage amount that it will scrape off of the funds that will finally end up with the charity. Try to find a “middleman” that only asks for a small percentage. Many non-profit groups are afraid to criticize agencies that process donations because they understandably don’t want to lose money. State attorney generals frequently investigate these agencies for fraud and deception, but you must do your part to make sure they are legitimate.

Lastly, it is time to transfer the automobile to the charity! Some organizations will ask you to leave the ownership title blank, as they don’t wish to re-title it just yet. This is not a good idea - because in this scenario, you can then be liable for any parking violations or crimes that are committed with the car.

Donating an automobile is beneficial to both you and your community but it is a task that must be taken seriously.

Daniel Richards has an interest in Automobile related topics. To access more information on donate car or on car donations, please click on the links.

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