Portland observer., February 15, 1995, Page 5, Image 5

P age A5
T he P ortland O bserver • F ebruary 15, 1995
____ Automotive
Getting a Grip
On Tire Purchases
Different Roads, Same
Lubrication Needs
B \ N orin Hudecki
For New > USA
(N U ) - The dem and fo r lig h t
trucks is grow ¡ng v irtu a lly as last as
auto makers can produce them . In
tael, lig h t truck sales hit a record 6 . 1
m illio n in 1994 and accounted fo r
m ore than 40 percent o f a ll lig h t-
vehicle sales.
It is hard to say w h y have sales
ot these vehicles have reached such
heights. C ertainly auto makers have
done a great jo b in developing and
Auto Safety
Hotline Puts You in
The Driver’s Seat
m arketing the products.
Industry surveys have shown that
at least tw o-thirds o f the people who
buy light-duty trucks use them solely
as personal vehicles, not fo r hauling
loads or p ulling a trailer. The growth
in this area is expected to continue.
Not surprisingly, companies tied
to the truck industry are ca p ita lizin g
on this trend w ith e ve ryth in g from
bedliners to s lid in g w indow s to spe­
cial wheels and tires.
One area that I o fte n receive
questions about is lu b ric a tio n fo r
these lig h t trucks. Should lig h t truck
owners treat their engine’s lu b ric a ­
tio n system any d iffe re n tly than a
passenger car's system?
" N o " is the response I give v ir ­
tu a lly every tim e. Then I te ll them to
consult th e ir ow ner's manual, w hich
recom m ends a v is c o s ity grade o f
m otor o il fo r their application — not
a g im m ic k p ro d u c t m arketed as a
truck o il.
Q u a lity o ils have the proper m ix o f
foam inhibitors, extreme pressure and
an ti-w e a r fric tio n m o d ifie rs.
B Y E 'S B O D Y S H O P
(N U ) - W hen i t ’ s tim e to replace
y o u r tire s, d o you go 'ro u n d and
'round tryin g to decide what to buy?
Here, fro m N TW . N ational T ire
W arehouse, are some facts about
tires to help yo u get a better g rip on
things.
• Tread design determ ines how
w ell your new tires w ill evacuate wa­
ter and provide traction in the snow.
F or instance, la te ra l sh o u ld e r
grooves provide a path fo r the wa­
ter to travel fro m the center o f the
tire out to the sides.
The tread design also determines
how much noise the tires make.
• Steel belts are the layers o f fine
steel w ire s encased in so ft ru b b e r
that provide stiffness and spread the
load across the tread face to improve
tread life and traction.
The belt edge cushion provides
cu sh io n in g d u rin g c o rn e rin g and
braking.
• Carcass p lie s d e te rm in e the
size, load, c a rry in g c a p a city and
shape o f the tire. In passenger cars,
they're usually made o f polyester.
• The key to tire operation is the
"co n ta ct patch." o r area o f the tire
that comes in to actual contact w ith
the road. A lthough it's only about the
size o f yo u r hand, it allow s the tire
to g rip the road and transm it torque.
(shapeband a h ig h e r p e rfo rm a n ce
ra tin g can im p ro v e ste e rin g , re ­
sponse and overall cornering force.
— Larger diam eter w heels w ith
shorter tire sidew alls w ill im prove
your car's response performance and
handling, but can also s tiffe n y o u r
car's ride.
— A tire 's speed ra tin g is
marked on the sidewall. W h ile y o u 'll
p ro b a b ly never d riv e that fast, re ­
ducing the o rig in a l equipm ent speed
rating may have a negative im pact
on your car's handling capability.
For more in fo rm a tio n on m aking
a successful match between your car
and its tires, ca ll N TW . To locate a
store near you, call I -8(X)-355-95(X).
Performance
H ow do tire s a ffe c t y o u r ca r's
perform ance? Here are some tips to
keep in n.ind.
— C h o o sin g tire s w ith w id e r
section w id th s , a lo w e r p ro file
News USA
(N U ) - Brakes that fa il, im prop­
erly manufactured tires that may blow
out unexpectedly, w irin g problem s
that result in a fire or loss o f lighting
— all are examples o f safety defects
that can have tragic consequences.
The N a tio n al H ig h w a y T ra ffic
Safety A dm inistration is asking con­
sumers to help protect themselves and
others by c a llin g the to ll-fre e A u to
Safety H otline — 1-800-424-9393 —
to help identify and learn about safe­
ty problems w ith m otor vehicles and
automotive equipment.
Operators, in clu d in g a Spanish­
speaking operator, are on duty week­
days from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. EST, and
an answering machine is available 24
h o u is a day, seven days a week.
H e a rin g -im p a ire d consum ers can
c a ll the te le p r in te r — 1-800-424-
9153.
A new feature o f the hotline this
year is "fa x on demand." Just call the
hotline, enter yo u r fax number and,
w ithin minutes, you w ill receive 1995
crash test inform ation. C h ild safety
inform ation and Tire Q uality Grading
reports can be obtained the same wav.
Remember, i f a safety-related de­
fect exists, the m a n u fa ctu re r must
re p a ir it at no cost to the ow ner.
N H T S A uses the in fo rm a tio n from
hotline calls (1 -800-424-9393) to get
that d e fe ct id e n tific a tio n process
started.
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