Category: Tires
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Give Your Car a Rest: Addressing the Toll of Summer Driving
Labor Day weekend marks the unofficial transition from sun-soaked road trips to structured autumn routines. While you may be using the long weekend to relax and recharge, your vehicle likely hasn’t had a single day off all season. From humid afternoon traffic jams along the Edens Expressway to weekend getaways across the Midwest, summer demands… Read more
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School Supplies, Packed Lunches, and Safe Brakes: A Wilmette Parent’s Guide to the Back-to-School Rush
As a local mechanic who’s been keeping Wilmette families safely on the road for decades, I know the exact moment summer ends. It isn’t when the calendar hits September—it’s when the traffic on Green Bay Road doubles overnight, Sheridan Road turns into a slow crawl, and the morning dash to drop-off begins. Whether you’re loading… Read more
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The Declaration of Maintenance Independence: Keeping Your Summer Road Trips Worry-Free
July on the North Shore is spectacular. Between the Wilmette Independence Day star-spangled celebration, beach days at Gillson Park, and loading up the car for a classic family road trip, July is all about freedom. As our nation marks its historic Semiquincentennial 250th Anniversary, we are celebrating freedom, exploration, and the great American pastime of… Read more
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New Year, New Tires
Why Are There So Many Different Types of Tires? Different types of tires permit you to choose a tire that better suits your driving style and the climate you live in. Once you know the type and size of tire recommended by your vehicle owner’s manual, you may want to modify the other characteristics… Read more
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Let’s Talk about Your Vehicle’s Shoes
There are more makes and models of cars on the road today than ever before. Regardless of their size, shape, or manufacturer, one thing every car, truck, and SUV has in common is that they all have “shoes.” By shoes, we mean the tires, brakes, shocks, and struts. These are very important items that not… Read more
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Dashboard Lights: What Do They Mean and Why Should I Care?
Oh, those annoying dash lights. One minute, your car is running fine, the tunes are good, and life is smiling at you and then some symbol pops up on the dash and you don’t know what it means. Is this something serious? Do you need to take the car in right away? Can this be… Read more
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Top 8 Powerful Winter Car Care Mistakes
If winter weather hasn’t hit Chicago by the time you read this, you can bet that it’s on the way. When the weather is frightful, your morning commute can be slow but uneventful or it can be downright nasty. It’s the little things that count and while winter won’t wait, you may have put off… Read more
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Top Signs Your Car Needs Tires Before Winter Strikes
We have avoided looking ahead all summer long. It feels as though we never got to enjoy spring and summer was over way too fast this year. Like it or not, the fact remains that the weather is turning colder, bit by bit, every day. You can ignore old man winter for only so long… Read more
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Why Tire Pressure and the TPMS Matters
OK, we get it. Tire pressure is BORING. Unless the tire is flat, who cares, right? And that tire pressure warning light on the dash: It will go away sooner or later, won’t it? While tire pressure may not be the most fascinating subject in your day, it matters more you realize. Especially if the… Read more
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When Do I Need New Tires?
Question: I took my minivan to a quick lube for an oil change last week (it’s near my office), and they said I was due for new tires. I only have 40,000 miles on the vehicle. How can I be due for new tires already? Answer: While 40,000 miles doesn’t seem like a lot, tires… Read more
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How Do I Choose the Right Tires for My Car?
Are you in the market for new tires? Many of our clients bide their time through the summer and make a plan to buy new tires in September and October…still leaving plenty of time before the snow flies. While many of you have a go-to brand or rely on the team at Hong Kong Auto… Read more
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What you need to know about your “Low Tire Pressure” warning light
For those of us who dread long, cold and dreary Chicago winters, the mid-February thaw we had was a sunny and joyful reprieve. But sudden and extreme swings in the air temperature can also trigger a dashboard warning light that many of us might not recognize: A glowing orange or red “Low Tire Pressure” indicator.… Read more