Definition: On the sidewall of every tire is information about tire size, maximum load rating, maximum inflation pressure, tire construction (See Radial Tire) and performance standards. Treadwear is a comparative rating of how long the tire will last compared to other tires. The higher the number, the longer the predicted life of the tread. A tire with a 200 rating should go twice as many miles as one with a 100 rating.Related Terms – Aspect Ratio- Radial Runout- Radial Tire- Speed rating- Wheel AlignmentThe numbers do not correspond to a fixed mileage figure because there are so many variables that affect the life of the tread (maintaining the correct inflation pressure is one of the most important). The traction rating is a measure of the tires ability to stop on wet pavement. An “A” is the best rating, “B” is average, and “C” is the lowest acceptable rating. The temperature rating is an indication of how cool the tire runs as highway speeds. Again, an “A” is the best while “C” is the lowest acceptable rating. Performance tires also carry a speed rating: “H” rated tires are good for speeds up to 130 mph, and “V” rated tires are certified for speeds above 130 mph. News source: About Auto Repair Old System:205/60VR15 New System:205/60R1591V 205 = Section width in millimeters 205 = Section width in millimeters 60 = Aspect ratio 60 = Aspect ratio V = Speed rating (unlimited V) R = Radial construction R = Radial construction 15 = Rim diameter in inches 15 = Rim diameter in inches 91 = Load index* V = Speed symbol (limited V)* Note: Always consult the manufacturer for the maximum speed of Unlimited V and Z tires. Speed rating is identified as a part of the tire’s sizing or service description (see above). * In the latest attempt to standardize tire designations, all ratings except unlimited VR and ZR incorporate the speed symbol and load index as the tire’s service description. “ZR” Rated TiresWhen “ZR” appears in the size designation with the service description, the maximum speed is as indicated by the service description.Tire Designation Maximum Speed P275/40ZR17 93W 270 km/h (168 mph) P275/40ZR17 93Y 300 km/h (186 mph) For tires having a maximum speed capability above 240 km/h (149 mph), a “ZR” may appear in the size designation. For tires having a maximum speed capability above 300 km/h (186 mph), a “ZR” must appear in the size designation. Consult tire manufacturer for maximum speed when there is no service description.Speed Symbols SpeedSymbol Speed(km/h) Speed(mph) SpeedSymbol Speed(km/h) Speed(mph) A1 5 3 K 110 68 A2 10 6 L 120 75 A3 15 9 M 130 81 A4 20 12 N 140 87 A5 25 16 P 150 94 A6 30 19 Q 160 100 A7 35 22 R 170 106 A8 40 25 S 180 112 B 50 31 T 190 118 C 60 37 U 200 124 D 65 40 H 210 130 E 70 43 V* above 210 above 130 F 80 50 V 240 149 G 90 56 W 270 168 J 100 62 Y 300 186 above 300 above 186 * For Unlimited V tires without the Service Description, the speed category is over 210 km/h (130 mph).

A record number of cars have been affected by recent hurricanes. The National Automobile Dealers Association estimates that Hurricane Katrina alone may have damaged as many as 400,000 cars. Unfortunately, many of those vehicles may be finding their way to a used-car lot near you. That means that many car buyers may unknowingly buy a vehicle that has hidden water-related problems. Flood damage may be hard to spot, but it can permeate the vehicle and cause ongoing problems for the rest of the car’s service life. Flood damage can ruin electronics, contaminate lubricants, and threaten mechanical systems, often without leaving outward signs. It can take months for incipient corrosion to find its way to the car’s computer systems or air-bag controllers. Mold and mildew is another major problem. Even after soggy seats and carpets dry out, the lingering smell may never go away completely. News source: MSN.com Most flood-damaged vehicles will be written off by insurance companies. Once it’s declared a total loss, a car is supposed to get a new title, called a salvage title. Such titles, depending on the state, are usually either plainly marked or “branded” with the word “salvage” or “flood,” or obscurely marked, with a coded letter or number. They are then typically sold at a “salvage” auction to junkyards and vehicle rebuilders, who may resell them. This practice is legal, as long as the flood damage is disclosed to buyers on the title, say experts at Carfax.com, a Web site that tracks vehicle histories and sells reports to consumers online. But some flood-damaged vehicles will make their way back onto the used-car market, rebuilt and disguised as ordinary used cars with clean titles. State Farm Insurance recently settled a $40 million lawsuit after it was disclosed that the insurer had dumped almost 30,000 totaled cars at auction without retitling them as salvage vehicles. In addition, local mechanics who buy vehicles privately and resell them might not generate a paper trail indicating that a vehicle has been flooded. Some cars may not even have a title, so be wary. “We’d be naive to think that the system can handle (this many cars),” says Larry Gamache, a spokesman for Carfax. For now, Carfax reports include an alert notifying consumers of any car that was last registered in an area declared a flood-emergency zone by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Reports are available online at [url”>www.carfax.com or from Experian at [url”>www.autocheck.com for $19.99. Such vehicle-history reports can alert you to some types of problems, but they are no guarantee that a vehicle has no hidden problems. That’s why it is important to get any used car inspected by a trusted independent mechanic before you buy it. Fortunately, cars damaged by the New Orleans floods should be easier to spot than other flood-damaged cars, says Paul Taylor, a spokesman for the National Automobile Dealers Association. The brackish water from Lake Pontchartrain, which flooded New Orleans, will cause rust very quickly. How to spot a flood-damaged car Here are some quick checks that you can perform yourself: Look under the carpets to see if they are wet, damp, or muddy. Check the seat-mounting screws to see if there is any evidence that they have been removed. To dry the carpets, the seats must be removed–not generally a part of normal maintenance. Inspect the lights. Lights are expensive to replace, and a water line may still show on the lens or the reflector. Inspect the car in difficult-to-clean places, such as the gaps between panels in the trunk and under the hood. Water-borne mud and debris may still cling in these places. Look for mud or debris on the bottom edges of brackets or panels where it couldn’t naturally settle from the air. Look at the heads of any unpainted, exposed screws under the dashboard. Any unpainted metal in cars flooded in New Orleans will probably already show signs of rust. Check the rubber drain plugs under the car and on the bottoms of doors. If they look as if they have been removed recently, it might have been done to drain floodwater. If you need to dig deeper, remove a door panel to see if there is a water mark on the inside of it.

Shopping for a new car doesn’t have to be a stressful (or wallet-draining) experience. Just be sure you follow the rules:1. Shop when you don’t have toThe best way to get a great deal on a new vehicle is to avoid being in the position of having to replace the one you’ve got because it just broke down and it’s beyond fixing (or you just don’t want to put any more money into it). Desperation rarely results in a good deal — for the buyer, anyhow. Smart shoppers anticipate the need for a new vehicle — and begin looking at what’s available long before they actually need a new car.2. Shop for money firstUnless you are buying outright, you should think about financing (and interest rates) before you think about what color to get. Many buyers forget that the cost of money is just as important to the bottom line as the purchase price of the car itself. If you end up with a less-than-favorable loan, whatever you saved “up front” on the sticker price can easily be lost over the course of the loan period if you sign up for a loan that’s got a higher rate than you could have/should have paid. Check with several potential lenders — including credit unions, banks and the automakers’ captive financing arms (GMAC, etc.) — then shop for the car. This way, you can focus on one thing at a time instead of two things at once — and will know you got the best deal you could have gotten on at least one of them. News source: AOL.com 3. Compare incentivesTo jump-start sales, many automakers will offer various incentives (cash back, “customer loyalty” discounts, special financing deals, etc.) that can be worth as much as several thousand dollars off the purchase price of a new vehicle. If you’re considering two otherwise similar (but different brand) vehicles, the availability of one or more incentives on one of them could be all the incentive you need to make the choice between them. You can also use incentives on one brand as a negotiating point on the purchase of another. Point out to the salesman that you could buy brand “x” for $2,000 off the sticker because of the incentives being offered by the manufacturer and ask him if there’s anything he can do to make his brand more cost competitive — such as tossing in a no-cost extended warranty or free oil changes for two years, etc.4. Know what you’re buyingMost models of new cars (and trucks, SUVs and minivans, too) come in several trim levels, with your choice of engines, transmissions, safety equipment and other features. You should always know at least as much about your next car as the salesman does — so you don’t get pushed into buying things you don’t really need or end up with one that lacks some things you end up wishing you had bought — and so you can talk about the car knowledgeably with the salesman. Information is readily available (see the automakers’ web sites and read as many expert reviews as you can find, etc.). You should also take a thorough test drive of at least two hours’ duration before buying — to make sure the vehicle is comfortable and there are no design problems (such as excessive blind spots, uncomfortable seats, noisy engine/hard to shift transmission, etc.) that you might hate to have to live with if you actually owned the car. You may save yourself a big headache — and a lot of money, too.5. Know how much your old car’s worthA big mistake made by many buyers is to focus on the new car (and its price ) while forgetting to know just exactly what their old one’s worth. It doesn’t do you much good if you save $2,000 on the new one but lose an equivalent amount on your trade-in. While the exact value of every used car is vehicle-specific (because unlike a brand-new car, there are almost always significant differences in condition, equipment, mileage and so on when it comes to used vehicles) you can still get a very solid “ballpark” idea by checking current trade-in/re-sale prices for cars like yours in the classified ads section of your local paper and trade guides such as Kelley Blue Book and the National Automobile Dealer Association’s used car price books. You can adjust the value up or down for things like higher-than-normal mileage, excellent (or just average) condition — and so on. Be aware that there is a difference of about 10 percent in retail vs. wholesale prices. “Retail” refers to what the used car would be advertised for by a private seller or dealer; “wholesale” refers to the offer the dealer would make you for the car as a trade — with the difference reflecting his profit margin (as well as the costs involved in cleaning up and otherwise “prepping” the vehicle for re-sale.And finally…6. Don’t wear your heart on your sleeveGetting emotional about a new car or truck is fine, once you get home. But while you’re shopping, you’ll almost certainly do better if you can remain as aloof and detached as Mr. Spock. Never betray more than casual interest in a car; salesmen react to emotional buyers like sharks react to blood in the water. If you feel your heart might get ahead of your head, bring a spouse (or a good friend) along to keep you out of trouble. You should convey a “take it or leave” it impression — and the more convincing your performance, the more likely you’ll drive home a deal instead of paying more than you probably should have.