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It’s amazing how some people put so much emphasis on trips to the automotive care center for oil changes but so little emphasis on trips for wheel alignment.

Truth is, periodic wheel alignment is extremely important to maintaining your car’s peak performance. Our Grapevine TX wheel alignment mechanics offer complete front-end and four-wheel alignments, and we suggest you take advantage of the service.

Proper wheel alignment aids in tire wear reduction, and it offers better handling for your car. Alignment can be altered by getting into a fender bender or hitting an oversized pothole while driving, as this can cause tire wear. This also can cause your car to pull left or right and lose its feeling of full handle and control.

Wheel alignment, in addition, assists in your automobile’s gas mileage. Proper wheel alignment will make your wheels completely parallel, which helps to keep rolling resistance to a minimum. This, in turn, will increase your gas mileage because of the resistance against your tires.

Let our Grapevine car care specialists assist you with your next wheel alignment service. Call us today, or visit us online for more information.

When it comes to black ice, even the most experienced drivers can have all kinds of issues on the road. Black ice, also known as glare ice, is the transparent hazard that may look like a puddle of water but actually is a sheet of ice that can be detrimental to you and other drivers on the road.

Black ice, often times, is the melted snow or refrozen ice that deceptively appears as a dry road. If you are driving in below-freezing temperatures, it’s best to keep an eye out for black ice and to make your travel as safe as possible.

Our Grapevine TX automotive experts want to provide a few driving safety tips to help you combat black ice:

• When it comes to your brakes, do not slam them. This will cause your car to lose control. Be sure to gently tap your brakes. If your car does slide, take your foot off the gas pedal.
• If you have a truck or SUV with 4-wheel drive, be extremely cautious on the road. Larger automobiles traditionally are more vulnerable to have accidents in icy conditions, as 4-wheel drive automobiles have no advantage in driving on ice.
• If your car skids on the ice, turn your steering wheel toward the direction of the skid. This will help your car steer back properly.
• Take extra precaution when driving on overpasses and bridges. This is where black ice is most prevalent and can be most dangerous.
• Make sure there is ample space between your car and the car in front of you. Many accidents during icy conditions occur when a car rear-ends another.

Our Denton TX car care specialists hope that you are safe on these icy roads. For additional tips, do not hesitate to either call our Denton TX auto company, or visit us online today.

With all of the ice and snow that has invaded the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and with all the accidents that have occurred because of the ice and snow, many people are considering trading in their old tires for a set of new snow tires.

Before you make that decision, do yourself a favor – don’t.

Because of the predominantly warm climate in the area, it’s best to stay with your all-season tires. Performance winter tires such as snow tires, M+S (mud and snow) tires or studded tires are designed especially for those who live and work in places where winters are cold from start to finish. You will see more people from the eastern and northern states with these tires.

Consider the fact, in addition, that performance winter tires are more expensive to purchase. You could pay more than $100 per tire even at discount locations.

When it comes to the unorthodox icy conditions of the Metroplex, it may be best to just stay at home. The performance winter tires may serve as peace of mind, but in this area, they aren’t really necessary. Let our Grapevine TX car specialists assist you with choosing the proper tire for your automobile. Give us a call today, or visit us online for more details.

Need a sure-fire way to tell when it’s time to purchase new tires? It’ll only cost you one cent.

Many car care experts will agree that the penny test, once considered a myth in determining tire tread capability, is one of the best methods possible to ascertain how much life your old tires have in them. The penny test is a dependable process that will accurately determine tread life.

First and foremost, find a penny. As we all know, a penny features Abraham Lincoln’s face and upper torso. To check tire tread depth, take the penny and put Lincoln’s head into a tread groove. Try choosing a place on the tire where treading appears low. Observe the penny, and if you can see the top of “Honest Abe’s” head (and where the penny reads “In God We Trust”), then your tread needs replacing. If his head is hidden, your treading is in drivable shape.

Inadequate tire tread can be extremely dangerous for you and those traveling on the road around you. Experts suggest your treading should not go below 2/32 of an inch, which ironically is the distance from the tip of Lincoln’s head to the rim of a penny (check it for yourself).

Be safe on the road, and keep those unused cents – at least one of them – handy for this occasion. Feel free to contact our Grapevine TX auto experts today for more information. Call our Grapevine car care company, or contact us online for additional information.

Happy New Year to you! We at Family Tire & Auto Service hope that your 2011 will be a prosperous year. We also hope your automobile continues to run at full throttle.

Our Dallas TX automobile service experts know that a great set of tires can make or break your vehicle’s productivity. It’s very important to know the proper air pressure your automobile desires. A recent story in suburban Michigan supports this.

An 8-year-old boy was killed in Michigan’s Bloomfield Township area on Christmas night. He died when a truck tire exploded while being inflated. The tire, which was for a tractor trailer, had roughly 11 pounds more than what experts recommend it to have.

This may have been an extreme case, but accidents and injuries can occur if a tire doesn’t have its proper weight – no matter what the size of the automobile is. Improper pressure can aid in the reduction of tire traction and potential wear such as a tire splitting. It is extremely important to know your car and its tire pressure capacity. Check your owner’s manual, or call a service representative if you are unsure.

Experts will suggest carrying a tire gauge in your automobile.  Checking a tire’s pressure after each gasoline fill-up is recommended. Be alert that a tire’s pressure can change with chillier temperatures.

Our Dallas car care specialists are more than willing to offer assistance, as well. Feel free to call us today or contact us online about tire maintenance, inflation safety or for other automobile information.

If you own a sport utility vehicle (SUV), chances are you thoroughly enjoy driving on a daily basis. With the proper care, SUVs can be the most fun forms of transportation you can ever have.

In order for enjoy SUVs to maximum capacity, you definitely need to make sure they are riding on the proper tires. Selecting the correct tires all boils down to how you use your SUV. If you use it as a get-to-work-and-back vehicle, you’ll need highway rib tires. If you’re someone who likes to get your ride dirty with off-road trips, your best bet is to go for all-terrain tires.

If you are even more extreme with your adventures (lots of mud, tons of rocks and hills, etc.), it is strongly suggested to purchase maximum-traction tires. For those who receive a lot of snow, make your life simple and buy snow tires.

The bottom line is this: Your SUV deserves the proper treatment, and that treatment includes the tread that it drives on. Tires, particularly on an SUV, need to be treated like the engine and the oil. Make sure you’re checking them periodically. Rotate the tires every other oil change. Make sure the tire pressure is checked regularly. Align the tires. Check the tread for wear and tear, especially if you are the consummate off-road driver.

Take care of your tires, and they will help take care of your SUV.

When it comes to any automobile, it’s a pretty safe bet to say nothing is more important than a well-run engine. It is the head of the proverbial body, and as that old adage involving a snake indicates, if you chop off the head, the body will perish.

This is why your car’s engine must be treated with the utmost care at all times. To assure that your car has a long, healthy life, make sure your engine receives the following treatment.

Keep it lubed: Engine oil to a car is like water to a human. Without it, the body can suffer an insurmountable breakdown. For cars, the oil level should be checked regularly. Without oil, proper lubrication will not occur, and it can cause the entire car to shut down – which could result in a four-figure repair payment for you.

Coolant is cool: The last thing you want is for your car to overheat – moreso in the summer than the fall or winter, but still. Your car should have the right amount of engine coolant or antifreeze, as it simply protects your car from extreme conditions and weather climates.

Check for corrosion: This is pretty much with anything and everything under the hood. Corrosion can effect the performance of anything from an engine to a car battery. Have all the major parts of your car inspected regularly. And speaking of which, make sure your air filter doesn’t get too dirty. If you see any signs of corrosion, take care of it yourself, or solicit the assistance of one of our professional technicians.

Keep timing belts timely: The timing belt basically controls how an engine’s valves run. If this fails, consider yourself out of a lot of money, as it can cost a pretty penny for timing belt repair. Most timing belts need to be replaced between the 60,000- and 90,000-mile mark. Some belts can go a little longer with no problems.

Take care of your engine, and the engine will take care of your car. Call our Grapevine TX car experts, or contact us online for additional information.