Queens Tire Dealer

The temperatures are rising, flowers are beginning to bloom, and spring is in the air! Does your vehicle have what it takes for spring and summer driving? Here are a few items to check to make sure your car is ready for whatever the upcoming seasons bring: Wipers: You can only expect about a year out of even the best wipers before the sun's UV rays and normal wear take their toll on them. If you're seeing streaks on the windshield or if you are noticing strips or chips of rubber gone from the blades (or if they just seem cracked and dried out), go ahead and change them. Fresh wipers will make a world of difference during springtime rain. Cooling system service: At regular intervals, your cooling system should be flushed and refilled with fresh coolant, to protect the radiator and other components against corrosion. If you can't remember how long it has been since this service was performed, we'll be happy to check your coolant's co ... read more

Winter is almost here and with it comes cold, wet, and snow that can make driving a challenge. Here at 106 St Tire & Wheel, we want to make sure your vehicle is ready for any challenge winter may throw at it. Auto Maintenance Check List Believe it or not, there are several routine maintenances that you should have done to your vehicle before winter hits full force. Check Fluids- wiper fluid, coolant, and engine oil should all be serviced. Proper lubrication is just as important in cold weather as any other time of year. Wiper Blades- Install new wiper blades if needed to increase your visibility in wet driving conditions. Check Battery- Due to lower temperatures, older batteries can actually go out during the first cold days of the season. Have your battery checked or replaced to ensure you don't end up on the side of the road. Check Tire Pressure- proper inflation will ensure you have good traction on the road and also help with low-pressure signals the ... read more

Your vehicle's engine relies on three things to be able to run – air, fuel, and spark. The air that enters the engine's fuel system has to be clean and free of tiny particulates like grit, dust, pollen and sand. Were these particles to enter the engine, they would soon cause wear and damage. Prior to the 1960s, engines used an oil bath filter where air would enter the system and be directed across a sump of oil; hopefully, particles would be trapped in the surface of the oil. Oil bath air filters were messy and inefficient and were replaced by a paper element filter in the early 60s. Paper air filters draw air past a pleated paper element, not unlike the intake filter in your home's A/C system. So how often does the filter need to be changed? That depends on how you drive, and where you're driving. If most of your driving is in the city, your air filter can easily last 20,000 miles between changes. If you regularly drive on gravel or caliche roads, you can figure on that interva ... read more

Your car used to be running great, and all the sudden it’s running rough, doesn’t have a lot of power and is using more gas. Why is this happening? Truth is, there are all kinds of reasons for a rough running condition. The smart play is to start with the simplest stuff, then work your way from there. Here’s a brief rundown of a few of the culprits for a rough-running condition: --A dirty air filter can literally smother the engine by restricting air flow through the fuel system. This is a quick and easy fix; just locate the air box, take out the old air filter, toss it and replace it. --Newer vehicles no longer have a coil, distributor and plug wires. Instead, they’re designed with a coil-on-plug setup that delivers spark at the spark plug itself. If these COP units start to fail, it can cause the vehicle to buck and run horribly. --A dirty fuel filter can cause a lot of problems. Fuel filters are located in the fuel line on newer vehicles, or possibly in the fuel tank by the ... read more

The automotive battery hasn't changed much for a long, long time. It's still a series of cells that are connected in parallel to deliver about 12.8 volts, and each cell is still comprised of lead plates and acid. Just like in vehicles from the 1940s, the battery still relies on chemical processes to store electricity and deliver it again, and it's still charged by an alternator that's driven by the engine. Unfortunately, whether it's in your laptop, phone, tablet or car, any battery that can be recharged is only good for so many charge/recharge cycles before it starts to weaken. Cold weather is particularly hard on automotive batteries; the chemical reaction in the battery is only at about 50 percent efficiency in 35-degree weather. Here are some tips to make sure your battery lasts through its entire warranty phase: --Try to never completely drain the battery. Any time the battery is completely discharged, it has a definite tendency to weaken and compromise the batter ... read more