Winterizing your car is so much more than tires! So here goes... in 106 St Tire & Wheel's continuing role as educator for our community. We are a family owned business and our customers are our family too. You have made 106 St Tire & Wheel Queens number one tire and wheel discount center in NYC and we provide all the most famous names in tires like Bridgestone, Firestone tires, Goodyear, Continental, Falken tires, Hankook tires, Yokohama, great quality used tires, Asanti Wheels, D2 Forged rims, Concept One rims, Savini, Konig wheels, Vossen, Vellano rims and more.
106 St Tire & Wheel will beat Pep Boys and Sears, deliver unprecedented education in staying safe in your car and help in anyway we can to make Queens a safer, more recession conscious borough.
First, let’s talk tire pressure. 106 St Tire & Wheel with 4 locations is #1 in Queens with decades of experience in all phases of tire and wheel care. Our customers know that we inspect tires and do free tire pressure checks, winter, summer, fall and spring. What most people don’t know is tire pressure is one of the most overlooked facets of driving with many
accidents, injuries and deaths happening across America each and every year due to something so simple & avoidable: UNDER-INFLATED TIRES!!!
Your tires must be properly inflated to ensure you’ll have the best possible traction as you drive along — and traction is severely jeopardized in wet, snowy, cold and hot or icy conditions and when your tires are UNDER INFLATED or OVER INFLATED in order for you to maintain the safe tire pressure, your pressure should be checked once a month. For those who feel this is a nuance, 106 St Tire & Wheel will do this for you FREE. Also we can recommend nitrogen fill which requires less rigorous monitoring and will improve your gas mileage. What is the tire pressure for your car? Check the owner’s manual or the door jam on the driver’s side of your car.
Snow tires, are they a necessity? Do you live in a mountainous place that gets its fair share of snow? Then you might want to improve traction even more by investing in winter tires and using them over the next few months instead of your usual all-season tires. For driving in NYC where we hope there is a snow plow or two, some might opt for an all weather tire. 106 St Tire & Wheel has plenty of recommendation when shopping around for snow tires so syop by and ask about: Bridgestone BLIZZAK Performance winter / snow tires featuring high-performance winter tread compounds molded into directional tread designs that provide thousands of biting edges to combine stop and go traction in snow with responsive handling in wet and dry road conditions or BLIZZAK Studless Ice & Snow tires or Continental ContiWinterContact and Continental 4x4 WinterContact Performance Winter / Snow tires feature rubber compounds that remain flexible in cold temperatures while their asymmetric tread designs combine responsive handling with snow traction. Two choices not enough? So come on in and talk with one of our highly experienced tire experts to get the best tire for your specific driving needs…have a consultation FOR FREE.
Are you using the right kind of oil? If you are approaching the 30,000 mile full service check up for you vehicle, don’t put it off. This is a very important check up for the life of your vehicle. This check should include an oil change and the proper “thickness” of the oil, also called VISCOSITY, is very important at this time of the year. Oil thickens when temperatures drop and if it gets too thick it’s not going to a sufficient job in keeping your engine properly lubricated. 106 St Tire & Wheel advises you to read “your Bible” of proper maintenance…your owner’s manual. Your manual will give you the best advice specifically aimed at your car, engine size, etc. If you’ve lost it, find it on the web and follow all directions to keep your vehicle’s warranty in tact to save your self hassle, time, costly, uncovered repairs, etc.
Can you “see the light” AND other cars, pedestrians, the road? Windshield wiper blades have a life expectancy just like everything else and it’s only about a year. Replace wiper blades sooner if the rubber starts to crack or leaves heavy streaks across your windshield. Another important step with regard to seeing the road and driving safe? Keep your windshield washer reservoir filled with windshield washer fluid; don’t use water as it will freeze and you won’t be able to keep your windshield clean. This is critically important as road mist, ice, etc will prevent you from being a responsible citizen and driving safely. It’s important to check to see that your heater and defroster are working properly, also. Both are critical in keeping your windshield clean. Another important tool for winter driving: have one of those ice removers for your windshield that can chop ice with one side and brush snow off with the other…we will have a whole list below on what you need to include in a safety kit.
Check your battery before winter! Fall is the right time to check your battery and make sure that the battery terminals are free from corrosion, your battery has water and it can hold a full charge. Cold weather often makes us painfully aware that our batteries are older than we think. If your battery is more than 3 years old, come on into 106 St Tire & Wheel and let us test your battery’s ability to hold a charge. Often times a taxi, TLC or car service vehicle will give you a jump start for $5 but why wait and be inconvenienced? Some times these kinds of vehicle issues can happen when it’s snowing, freezing cold or in the middle of the night. AVOID THIS by thinking a head and be safer. And, by the way, 106 St Tire & Wheel stores have batteries for your convenience.
Remember your car’s belts and hoses! Cold weather can do a number on belts and hoses so make sure they are checked prior to the weather getting cold. 106 St Tire & Wheel locations do a 47-Point Safety check and hoses and belts are always checked at our locations and it’s FREE. Winter can really cause some issues here as the cold weather makes rubber brittle. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, folks.
Do you have four-wheel drive? Make sure your system is working correctly before the first snowfall especially because most drivers don’t use their 4WD systems in the pleasant summer months. Be sure that the system engages and disengages easily and that all drivers of the vehicle know how and when to activate the system.
Get the antifreeze mixture just right & remember every year too many children and pets are poisoned by antifreeze! Please keep this out of reach of kids & clean up leaks or risk losing a pet. Aim for having a 50-50 mix of antifreeze (coolant) and water inside your radiator or you can have one of our experts do this for you. This will prevent the mixture from freezing even at extremely cold temperatures. It’s easy to check the status of the mixture with an inexpensive antifreeze tester, which you can pick up at any auto parts store, or once again, 106 St Tire & Wheel will do for you. If the 50-50 mixture is off, your cooling system should be drained and refilled or flushed. Be sure you’re equipped to dispose of your old antifreeze properly if you do this job yourself….it’s toxic or just leave it to we pros at 106 St Tire.
The Lesson of Hurricane Irene: prepare an emergency kit! Get one of those large plastic containers with a lid and place those items that must remain dry inside and in your trunk:
• a warm blanket or two
• extra boots and waterproof gloves
• an extra set or two of warm clothes for members of your family
• extra water, non perishable food, hard candies like peppermints
hooded sweatshirts
• an ice scraper
• a small shovel
• a flashlight and an extra set of batteries
• windshield washer fluid
• windshield wipers
flares
• jumper cables
• a tool kit
• tire chains
• a tire gauge
• a spare tire with air in it
• tire jack
• a first-aid kit
• paper towels
• a bag of abrasive material such as rock salt, sand or non-clumping kitty litter- all are excellent ways to increase traction if a tire gets stuck in snow.
• keep your gas tank as full as you can to prevent the gas lines from freezing
• a phone charger for your cell phone (plugs into cigarette lighter)
Here’s some other 21st century items you might want to consider to make the most out of the power in your battery through the cigarette lighter:
12V Spotlight Halogen Spot Light
USB Heated Travel Mug
Stainless Steel Heated Auto Mug w/12 volt Power Adapter
12v Electric Scissor Car Auto Jack + 1/2" Impact Wrench
Audiovox VBP5000 Portable DVD and VCP Mobile Video System with 5.6" LCD
Roadpro 12V Heater and Fan with Swing-out Handle
12V, 3 Outlet Platinum Series Fused Cigarette Lighter Adapter w/90 Swivel
Triple Socket W/Extension
Shinn Fu Of America 12V 260Psi Compressor W1557 Auto Air Compressors
Slime COMP04 Portable 12-Volt Air Compressor
Wagan Total Rest Massage Magnetic Cushion
Heated Car Seat Cushion & Cover
Wagan EL2296 10.5 Liter Personal Fridge and Warmer
Do you know what to do if you get stranded? Don’t wander away from your car unless you’re completely sure about where you are and how far away help is. Call someone first and let them know your location as a precautionary safety measure. Light two flares and place one of them at each end of your vehicle to call attention to your situation. Put on the extra clothes and use the blanket to stay warm. If you have enough gas in the tank, run the engine and heater for about 10 minutes for each hour you’re waiting for help to stay as warm as possible. Leave at least one window open a little bit so that snow and ice don’t seal the car shut. Suck on a hard candy to prevent your mouth from getting too dry.
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