Automotive & Tire Tips | A & B Tire Service | Leominster, Fitchburg, Princeton, MA

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Give Your Family the Gift of Safety - New Tires

posted on 11/17/2017 10:05:20 AM

We are the land of the man (or woman) who has everything. We have electric dog nail trimmers, vacuums that work without your help and phones with more computing power than a fleet of space shuttles. With all this great and not so great stuff, it's getting harder and harder to give a great gift. Before you go flailing around for a gift nobody wants or needs just to say you have something to wrap, consider the gift of safety; a new set of tires for a friend or family member. Maybe you think this ...

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Car Maintenance Items you Should Always Leave to the Professionals

posted on 11/17/2017 9:47:26 AM

It used to be as common as falling leaves in autumn for people to work on their own cars. And while this red-blooded American pastime has not completely disappeared from our world, the expense and complexity of newer cars make some repairs best left to the professionals. Here is a quick list of, "Don't try this at home"' auto repairs: 1. Check Engine Diagnostics - With everyone from big box parts stores to smartphone app developers making it possible to talk to the computer in your car, many...

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19

A Brief Explanation of Tire Information

posted on 10/19/2016 3:08:14 PM

Ever wonder what the designations stamped on your tire sidewall actually mean? We’d like to break it down for you. Let’s take for instance, “P195/60R15 87S”. This is a full service description of a tire. In this case, “87S” denotes a tire’s load capacity and speed rating. The higher the number, the greater the load capacity – an 87 load capacity means that tire can support 1,201 pounds. Speed ratings range from L (75 mph) through V (149 mph), and an S speed rating means the tire is good...

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What To Do With Those Old Tires

posted on 10/19/2016 2:08:07 PM

Every year, about 290 million tires are discarded; of those, about 233 million are recycled in one way or another. Shredded tires can be used for playground surfaces, welcome mats, hot-melt asphalt, bark mulch and even made into building material for “green” construction. But what can you do with your old tires? Here are some ideas: --Fill a tractor tire with sand to make a great sandbox for kids --Hang a tire from a rope as a tire swing --Stack a couple of tires on top of each other, bolt th...

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25

Things To Look For When Buying a Used Car

posted on 8/25/2016 8:47:25 AM

Buying a used car is somewhat less of a crapshoot than it was at one time. You can get detailed information on a vehicle's history via the CARFAX report, and a technician can use onboard diagnostics to get a good picture of what's going on under the hood and what problems might be coming up. It's always a good idea to get a mechanic to look over any prospective purchase, but there are things you can get a look at yourself before you spend the money for a professional inspection. These are th...

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Tips On How To Keep Your Car Organized!

posted on 8/25/2016 8:22:03 AM

For some, the idea of an "organized car" is almost blasphemous, but having your vehicle set up so you can actually find things can be pretty nice. The bigger the vehicle -- minivans, SUVs -- and the more people they haul, the more disorganized they can get. Don't let your minivan turn into a rolling dumpster -- here are some great ideas for keeping it organized. -- While newer vehicles have come a long way in terms of driver and passenger ergonomics and an abundance of cubbies and cupholders...

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25

A Brief History of the Tire

posted on 8/25/2016 7:45:18 AM

The tire is such a commonplace item -- it's on every car, every truck, every bicycle, every aircraft. It's easy to not give the tire a second thought, but like every other technology, the tire has an interesting history of advances and failures. In the 19th century, carriages and wagons used steel strips for "tires" on their wheels, with the punishing sort of ride that you'd expect. In later years, they were shod with strips of natural rubber, which was an improvement but was still problemat...

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25

What's Leaking From My Car?

posted on 8/25/2016 7:26:40 AM

You go out to your car, start it up, pull out of your parking space and see a puddle of...something...where you were parked a moment ago. This is never a good feeling. What could it be? Fortunately, some automotive fluids are dyed different colors to make this a little easier to narrow down. Does it appear to be water? Were you recently running your A/C? Chances are that's just condensation from the A/C system, which drips out through a rubber tube and is perfectly normal. No worries ther...

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