34 — Friday, January 29, 1999 —- North Shore News lating some ti TIRE engineer Bill Egan deflates a popular myth about filling your tires with ats. MYTH: 17 should inflate my ures according to the pres- sure indicated on the tire side- wall. FACT: According to Egan, the handwriting’s not on the wall — the tire sidewall, thar is. The tire’s) maximum inflation pressure — not the recom- mended — is moulded on the sidewall. For normal operation, tol- low inflation pressure recom- mendations in the owner’s manual or on the vehicle plac- ard located in the glove box or on the door post. The function of air in a tire is to support the weight-carrying potential of a vehicle. “Thus” Egan continues, “tires are built amd rated to carry certain dead) capacities, and automakers select: those sizes Compatible with the ride, handling, traction, fuel ccono- my and load requirements of their vehicles.” Vehirle manuiacturers determine inflation pressures based on these requirements. A racing slick — a tire with- out any tread -— provides the ultimate in dry traction due to the maximum amount of rub- ber touching the road. A tread pattern, with its groove voids, actually impairs this adhesion capability on dry roads. Tire tread acts as a squeegee on wet roads to remove water from under the ure and channel it through the grooses for improved wet Traction Ifo for chy cost, mace tires would be the ideal street ure tor high -pertormance vehicles. Race Ures are engineered: tor specific track surfaces and race vehicle suspensions. Ona. high-performance vehicle, race tires would wear too auickly. provide an uncomfortable ride and deliver poor handling on wet or icy roadways. But in many cases, the tech- nology used at the racetrack is engineered into high-pertor- mance street tires. For exam- ple, ultra-high performance tires employ a. stiffer carcass and aggressive tread com- pounds to provide the perfor- mance attnbutes required for red high performance vchicles. Performance tires wear out faster because of the steky compounds, MYTH: Wide ures provide better traction onder ali weath- er conditions. FACT: The opposie is truce. Wide tires tend to “float” on deep snow, according to Egan, and the tread lugs never have oa chance to “dig” through the snow to the road surface to gain traction. Narrow tires are a better opiion in deep snow, The tire acts similarly to a knife cutting through butter, the blade works best when using the nar- row edge to push through the butter rather than the wide flat side of the blade. MYTH: All-season tires are so good that winter tires are never needed. FACT: Ina very tew parts of Canada this may be true, bor vou dive ina snow belt area, Hie traction provided: by wunter tires cart be beat. Winter tires reign supreme in rurab areas where snow remains on the road for days. They provide 25% improves traction in deep snow over all- season tires. Fgan reports that metal- studded tires deliver up to 40% greater, traction on hard- packed snow and ice over all- seasons. MYTH: Never rotate tires trom side to side, only front to back. Radial tires can be crossed from side to side in the roration pattern. FACT: The old front-to- back rule applied co bias piv tres. Regular tire rotation — every EO.Q00) kitometres — Promotes mere uniform wear tor all tires on a vehicle. Goodyear recently designed a fight truck tire svstem that requires no rondon. The Wrangier RF-A provides a rear tire with a different. tread desi from the trent tire. MYTH: Put your new tres onthe drive wheel position to get the most traction. FACT: This is only trac on a rear wheel-drive vehicle. In all cases, install new tires on the rear axle. Most tire buyers purchase new rubber for the drive-wheel position to get the most traction; however, by doing so, they transfer most of their traction capabilities from the rear and make it suscepti- ble to oversteer. TAYLORMOTIVE’ ‘eden BCAA, ARA-; Warren SPECIALS. a : Luse, On & Fater : Chack battery, test antifreeze, a check tires & brakes, visual inspection “eo Ss aces Super Lue All above with written B.C.A.A., inspection $ report, rotate tires. top up all fluids F-Series owners te ARE you a Ford F-Series truck owner with a story to tell? If so, Judy Scott would love to here from vou. Scott is in the process of com- piling such stosies for a book called ToughTales. General Store Publishing House says the book will be a diverse col- lection of stories by and for owners and fans of the Ford F-series pickup trucks, The tales will be short human interest stories Which feature the F-series trucks. “We've heard from men and women from all walks of lite and all age groups who just love their Ford truck,” Scott said. “A 40-something woman bought an F-6 Fire Engine and was flooded with memories of her father’s 1952 dump truck when she first climbed into her F-6 cab. A collector of Porsches (18 in total) bought an F-150 to help him restore a 240-year-old store.” Stories can be read on the Tough Tales Web site at . Tuses-Up fo With scope checkty one of B.C'stopAirCare | §, technicians, road test & report any findings - {heyheperta ALIGNMENT asomeces an ease High tech, full 4 wheel check out, fort ial 4 Fs with print out & road test “Prices cover most cars & light trucks on ens = OO E All service by Govt. registered iecnaicians KING a :s Appointments: TAL YELLOW PAGES if x Bae Govt. licenced inspection + . . station S2564 A soon-to-be-released book entitled ToughTales will tell first-person stco- ties of Ford F-Series truck owners. Shown above is the 1999 model. 419% eq! § Cars that fit your i ea! | budget as neatly as 3 your lifestyie. 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