AFS Service

A lot of Greenville drivers get custom wheels. When you do this yourself (over the internet . . .) you could run into trouble if you’re not careful. Sometimes, once they’re mounted, they just didn’t fit right. The tires rub in turns or on bumps. You don’t want that.

Consulting a tire professional at AFS Service can ensure you get the right fit. First he’ll ask you a series of questions about your driving needs in Greenville and what you want in your new wheels.

At AFS Service, we advise Greenville tire buyers that not every wheel can go on every car. Care must be taken so that tires and wheels are not too large or that the wheel is centered too far towards the outside or the inside so the tires rub.

If you don’t want to make any modifications to your midside sedan, you need to focus on the wheels that fit. With trucks, some Greenville people like much bigger tires so they need a suspension lift.

Also, most Greenville people don’t realize that you need to keep the rolling diameter of your new tires – that’s, like the overall height of the tire – very close to what came from the factory in order for your anti-lock brakes and stability control systems to work properly.

The midside sedan’s computers that control these systems are calibrated to a certain size tire. When you go bigger or smaller, the computer doesn’t know what changes you made so it can’t tell how fast you’re going. This, of course, means it sends commands to the brakes and traction control that are based on the wrong speed. If you go with a different rolling diameter, your midside sedan’s engine control computer can be reprogrammed for the new tire size. For information on reprogramming the engine computer, call us at 920.779.4199.

Either way, there are hundreds of wheel and tire choices to choose from in Greenville. You can pick the style of wheel you want and then talk with your AFS Service tire professional about how big the wheel should be – and select the right tire to meet your style, performance, ride and handling needs.

At AFS Service in Hortonville WI (54944) we install quality NAPA replacement parts. Give us a call at 920.779.4199. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.

Today’s AFS Service article discusses the effect of tire tread depth on braking. When talking about stopping power, Hortonville drivers tend to focus on brakes. But our tires are where the rubber meets the road. So having good brakes isn’t enough. Hortonville motorists have to have tires with enough traction to translate braking power into stopping power.

Let’s focus on stopping in wet Hortonville conditions. In order for a tire to have good contact with the road, it has to move the water out of the way. If it can’t move the water, the tire will actually ride on top of a thin film of water.

That’s called hydroplaning. At AFS Service we want our customers to know that if it’s really bad, you can actually spin out of control. At best, you won’t stop as fast.

So how does a tire move water? It has channels for water to flow through. Look at a tire and you’ll see channels: channels that run around the tire and channels that flow across the tire. They’re designed to direct water away from the tire so it can contact the road better.

And the deeper the channel, the more water it can move. A brand new tire has very deep channels and can easily move a lot of water. As the tire wears down, the channels become shallower and can move less water. When it wears down enough, it can seriously affect your ability to stop on wet Hortonville roads.

So that’s why it’s so important for Hortonville drivers to replace the tires on their midside sedans when they get worn. Consumer Reports and other advocate groups call for a standard of 3/32 of an inch and they have the studies to prove it.

By comparison, you’ve probably seen the wear indicator that’s molded into tires. When tires are worn 3/32 of an inch, the tread wear bar is visible. So the recommended standard has twice the tread depth as a completely worn out tire.

And that little bit of additional tread makes a big difference. Stopping distances are cut dramatically on wet roads. A safe stop from WI freeway speeds with 4/32 of an inch of tread would result in a crash with worn out tires.

There’s an easy way to tell when a tire’s worn to 4/32 of an inch. Just insert a quarter into the tread. Put it in upside down. If the tread doesn’t cover George Washington’s hairline, it’s time to replace your tires. With a Canadian quarter, the tread should cover the numbers in the year stamp.

You’ve probably heard of this technique using a penny and Abe Lincoln’s head. That measure gives you 2/32 of an inch – half the suggested amount.

Of course, tires are a big ticket item for Hortonville car owners. Most of us want to get as many miles out of them as we can. But there’s a real safety trade-off. It’s your choice.

At AFS Service in Hortonville WI (54944) we install quality NAPA replacement parts. Give us a call at 920.779.4199. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.

Today’s AFS Service article focuses on the effect of tire tread depth on braking. When Hortonville and Appleton drivers talk about stopping power, they tend to focus on their brakes. But our tires are where the rubber meets the road. We have to have tires with enough traction to translate braking power into stopping power.

Let’s concentrate on stopping in wet Appleton conditions. In order for a tire to have good contact with the road, it has to move the water out of the way. If it can’t move the water, the tire will actually ride on top of a thin film of water. That’s called hydroplaning and it is a factor in many WI auto accidents. If it’s really bad, you can actually spin out of control. At best, you won’t stop as fast.

Your midside sedan tires have channels for water to flow through. The deeper the channel, the more water it can move. A brand new tire has very deep channels and can easily move a lot of water. As the tire wears down, the channels become shallower and can move less water. When it wears down enough, it can seriously affect your ability to stop on wet WI roads.

That’s why it’s so important for Hortonville and Greenville motorists to replace their tires when they get worn. Consumer Reports and other advocate groups call for a standard of replacing tires when the tread is worn down to 4/32 of an inch. That’s 3.2 millimeters. By comparison, you’ve probably seen the wear indicator that’s molded into tires. When tires are worn to 3/32 of an inch, the tread wear bar is visible.

And that little bit of additional tread makes a big difference. Stopping distances are cut dramatically on wet Hortonville surface streets and Appleton highways. A safe stop from WI freeway speeds with 4/32 of an inch of tread would result in a crash with worn out tires.

There’s an easy way to tell when a tire’s worn to 4/32 of an inch. Just insert a quarter into the tread. Put it in upside down. If the tread doesn’t cover George Washington’s hairline, it’s time to replace your tires. With a Canadian quarter, the tread should cover the numbers in the year stamp.

You’ve probably heard of this technique using a penny and Abe Lincoln’s head. That measure gives you 2/32 of an inch – half the suggested amount. And if you have uneven tread wear – have us check it out at AFS Service. It could be a problem with your steering or suspension components or a wheel alignment problem. If you need new tires or have any concerns about your brakes, give us a call today at 920.779.4199.

AFS Service  920.779.4199
330 E Main St
Hortonville, WI 54944

At AFS Service we install quality NAPA replacement parts. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.

When talking about stopping power, we tend to focus on our brakes. But our tires are where the rubber meets the road. So having good brakes isn’t enough: we have to have tires with enough traction to translate braking power into stopping power.

Let’s focus on stopping in wet conditions. In order for a tire to have good contact with the road, it has to move the water out of the way. If it can’t move the water, the tire will actually ride on top of a thin film of water.

To move water out of the way so the tire has channels for water to flow through. Look at a tire and you’ll see channels that run around and across the tire. They’re designed to direct water away from the tire so it can contact the road better.

The deeper the channel, the more water it can move. A brand new tire has very deep channels and can easily move a lot of water. As the tire wears down, the channels become shallower and can move less water. When it wears down enough, it can seriously affect your ability to stop on wet roads.

Consumer Reports and other advocate groups think that a good standard of replacing tires when the tread is worn down to four-thirty-seconds of an inch. That’s 3.2 millimeters.

When tires are worn to two-thirty-seconds of an inch, the tread wear bar is visible. So the recommended standard has twice the tread depth as a completely worn out tire – and that little bit of additional tread makes a big difference. Stopping distances are cut dramatically on wet roads. A safe stop from freeway speeds with four-thirty-seconds of an inch of tread could result in a crash with worn out tires.

There’s an easy way to tell when a tire’s worn to four-thirty-seconds of an inch. Just insert a quarter into the tread. Put it in upside down. If the tread doesn’t cover George Washington’s hairline; it’s time to replace your tires. With a Canadian quarter, the tread should cover the numbers in the year stamp.

Give us a call at 920.779.4199 or stop by and visit:
AFS Service
330 E Main St
Hortonville, WI 54944

At AFS Service we install quality NAPA replacement parts. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.