Lifetime Fuel Economy: 39.49 mpg

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

New Tires...Yay!!


I took a trip with my daughter, Charlotte, to AutoTire today. I did some calling and they had the best deal, and the best warranty/free service that goes with the tires. They got the car in quick and put on 4 new tires for $200 including tax. I had one tire that leaked 5psi per week, two that were worn to ~ 2/32" - around the state minimum. The fourth tire on the car was horrible, with flat spots and bulges. All four wheels were out of balance, which resulted in lots of my down-the-road energy being converted to up and down vibration. Aside from being noisy as heck on the highway and making the back seat the "rumble seat", it takes a lot of energy to shake the car as much as it did. Time to top off and watch the next couple tankfuls!
I noticed a very quiet ride on the way home and longer coasts, even with the tires at the same pressure as before. School starts tomorrow, so I can run the car down my official "coastdown testing hill" a few times over the next two tanks to observe any change.
One other bonus for after I establish how much gas I was wasting because of bad tires: my old tires' max pressure was 35 psi. The new ones? 51. :)

Monday, August 18, 2008

More Mainstreaming of Ecodriving

Although they're later than others, so I don't think they should be able to trademark the term, "ecodriver", I'm happy to see US automakers and everyone's favorite governor backing ecodriving. Check it out!
http://www.ecodrivingusa.com/
Official testing of the 'scort is due to begin in a couple of weeks. It's due for some new tires, and my commute will become regular once our little one begins daycare. Stay tuned!!!