• Auto Tech
    It’s All In The RIST Actually

    Having a wheel come off or fail because of bad installation is never fun, nor is being unable to remove a wheel by the side of the road because some chimpanzee overtorqued the lugnuts. A lot of customers think that wheel installation is so easy that a monkey could do it, to which I like […]

  • Auto Tech
    Tell You All About Lugnuts

    There is quite a bit of knowledge and technique that goes into dealing correctly with lugnuts and lug bolts. Between the fact that you’re dealing with relatively small parts and extremely large forces and the fact that those small parts are absolutely critical to holding the wheel on the car, that knowledge and technique is […]

  • Auto Tech
    5 Mistakes Newbie Tire Techs Make

    Sure, everyone makes mistakes, and even the best and most experienced techs will have a bad day sometimes, but there does seem to be a set of mistakes that new techs just make all the time. In my experience, by addressing these mo Ah, brand-new tire techs. I think of them as somewhat like new […]

  • Auto Tech
    Tire Pressure Monitoring Via Bluetooth

    7 years into the great experiment that is mandated TPMS, the data on underinflated tires is pretty clear.   NHTSA tire pressure surveys indicate that 26% of passenger cars have had at least one tire that was under-inflated by at least 25% Therefore, on average, passenger cars could lose about 5,440 miles / 8,704 km […]

  • Auto Tech
    Preview: Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2

    Featuring an all-new tread pattern and a next generation compound, the Blizzak DM-V2 tire from Bridgestone gives drivers more control when driving in ice, snow, slush and other winter conditions. Bridgestone recently announced the July 2015 launch of the Blizzak DM-V2, the company’s newest winter tire for CUVs, SUVs and pickup trucks. The Blizzak DM-V2 […]

  • Auto Tech
    Show You Do-It-Yourself TPMS Tools

    It used to be pretty easy for anyone who was even slightly mechanically inclined to swap out their own wheels and tires. If you had your winter tires on a set of steel wheels, all a good DIY’er needed was a decent jack, a good wrench and an hour or so to change out the […]

  • Auto Show
    Long-Term Review: Toyo Observe GSi-5

    When I first reviewed Toyo’s flagship winter tire, I had not yet had the chance to drive it. I found the collection of winter technology interesting, not to mention that owners were talking about it in glowing terms I usually only hear from owners of top-tier winter tires like Nokian, Michelin or Bridgestone. While Toyo […]

  • Auto Tech
    Tell you why using winter tires year-round is risky

    While it may seem like a way to save time and money, using snow tires year-round can have unintended consequences and may put you at risk for unexpected expenses or worse. What are the possible perils? You wouldn’t be the first person tempted to leave winter tires on your vehicle all year long. However, because of how […]

  • Automotive News
    Apple Wishes to Get Into Electric Car Charging

    Well, it sounds like you can add one more to the list, because Apple seems to be secretly trying to find ways into the electric car charging business. Electric car charging is kind of a shambles right now. Some models use the CHAdeMO plug standard; others use the SAE-developed J1772 design. Tesla uses its own […]