Hanover Park Auto Repair

Welcome to the Kamphaus AutoCare and Emission automotive blog. Today, let’s talk about the effect of tire tread depth on braking. When talking about stopping power, most Hanover Park and Bartlett motorists tend to focus on our brakes. But our tires are where the rubber meets the road. So having good brakes isn’t enough. Safe Bartlett drivers need to have tires with enough traction to translate braking power into stopping power. Let’s focus on stopping in wet Bartlett 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. If it’s really bad, Bartlett car owners can actually spin out of control - endangering themselves and the other drivers around them. At best, you won’t stop as fast. So how does a tire move water ... read more

Hanover Park auto owners know that under-inflated tires wear out more quickly. Under-inflation is also a major cause of tire failure for IL auto owners. More flats, blow outs, skids and longer stopping distances are all results of under-inflated tires. It's hard for many Hanover Park motorists to tell when a radial tire is under-inflated. If your automobile manufacturer recommends 35 pounds of pressure, your tire is considered significantly under-inflated at 26 pounds. The tire may not look low until it gets below 20 pounds. Uncle Sam to the rescue! A recent federal law required vehicle manufacturers to include a Tire Pressure Monitoring System - or TPMS system - in all vehicles. The system is a dashboard mounted warning light that goes off if one or more of the tires falls 25 % below the automobile manufacturer's pressure recommendations. The law covers all passenger cars, SUVs, mini vans and pick ... read more

With the recent focus in Bartlett on improving fuel efficiency, we've been told how important it is to maintain our tire pressure. Hanover Park auto owners know that tires wear out, but we want to make them last as long as possible because they're not cheap to replace. In addition to saving gas, properly inflated tires last longer. Under-inflated tires will wear out more quickly. Some Bartlett auto owners wonder if they should add a few extra pounds of pressure when they fill up their tires. Bad idea. In fact, there are very good reasons not to over-inflate your tires. For one, the middle of the tread will wear unevenly because the full tread is not contacting the road properly. That also adversely affects your handling. Stop by Kamphaus AutoCare and Emission to see about tire maintenance for your Hanover Park, IL vehicle. Kamphaus AutoCare and Emission1005 Irving Park RdHanover Park, IL 60133 Every vehicle in the Bartlett area ... read more

Most Elk Grove Village auto owners know that tires wear out and that the wear has to do with tread depth. Most of us have heard that “bald” tires are dangerous, but most of us picture a tire with no tread at all when we think of a bald tire. And when we take our vehicles in for preventive maintenance, the technician tells us they're need to be replaced long before all the tread is worn off. Just how much tire tread wear is too much? And how can you tell? Tires are costly and their condition is important to the safe handling of a vehicle, so it's essential for Elk Grove Village car owners to know the answers to these questions. First of all, it's critical to understand that there may be a legal limit to tread wear. If your tires are worn past this limit, you have to replace them to be in compliance with IL auto safety laws. That's why measuring your tread wear is part of a vehicle safety inspection. In some jurisdictions, tread must be at least 1.6 millimeters ... read more

There are so many tire choices in the Hanover Park, Addison, and Bartlett area, selecting the right one can be a bit overwhelming for Elk Grove Village car owners. And even though it's kind of fun to have new tires on your pickup, they're a significant investment for most Elk Grove Village folks so you want do it right. Tip: talk with your understanding Kamphaus AutoCare and Emission tire professional. He'll help you sort through the choices. Here are some of the essential issues you'll talk about: One is size – you know, all those numbers on the side of the tire. The right size is important. All new vehicles are required to have stability control which, along with other important safety systems, is calibrated to work with specific tire sizes. Your Hanover Park tire professional can help stay within vehicle manufacturers' specifications or program a different tire size into your pickup's computer. And you'll want to discuss how a ... read more

Tires do a lot of essential work for Hanover Park car owners. They transfer engine power and braking forces to the road; they handle steering control; and they cushion all those bumps and jolts while driving around Hanover Park. They also support the entire weight of the vehicle, including you and your passengers. With such critical work to do, you want your tires to do their job well. And since replacing tires is fairly costly, you want them to last as long as possible. There are three keys to long, even tire wear for Hanover Park drivers: The front tires on a car take the brunt of the steering forces. As they push through turns, the shoulders of the front tires wear down more quickly than the rear tires. Rotating front and rear tires allows them to all wear at about the same rate. That's especially true of front wheel drive vehicles whose front tires steer, and put the power to the road. SUVs and pick-ups, especially four wheel drives, also te ... read more

Under-inflated tires waste gas for lots of folks in the Palatine area. Think how hard it is to walk in sand – you just have to work harder because of the resistance. When your tires don't have enough air in them, their rolling resistance is dramatically increased and it simply takes more gas to get from Hanover Park to Palatine. Always check your tire pressure when you gas up at one of our local Palatine service stations. If they're low – even just a little bit – bring them up to proper pressure. There's a sticker on the inside of your driver's door that gives the manufacturer's recommended tire pressure. And don't rely on your tire pressure monitoring system to alert you to when you need more air. The TPMS system is set to warn you when pressure drops twenty percent below recommendations. That's severely under inflated and you needed more air a long time ago. And if you have a slow leak – get it fixed right away at ... read more

If you're interested in customizing the wheels and tires on your pickup, there are a few things you should know first. Most importantly, the wheels you buy need to fit your vehicle. Not all wheels are created equal. Too many Hanover Park motorists have bought a set of wheels that caught their eye, then, after going to the work of mounting them, have found that the wheels don't fit right and the tires rub against the pickup when they turn or go over a bump. To ensure a proper fit, you can consult with your Kamphaus AutoCare and Emission tire professional. He/she can also help you find tires that are suited to your driving habits as well as your pickup. You may find their auto advice invaluable, and you'll probably be happier with your new wheels once you purchase them. But if you just have to have that set of wheels, and you're willing to pay for them, you can modify your vehicle to fit the wh ... read more

A lot of us Hanover Park auto owners like our vehicles to reflect our personalities. We're picky about color and body style. We'll customize anything from floor mats to window tints to license plates. One popular way for IL car owners to customize a vehicle is to get new wheels. Wheels come in thousands of designs. Custom wheels can add personality, style or sass to a vehicle. Many of these customizations involve getting a bigger wheel. Fifteen or sixteen-inch wheels used to be the factory standard, But today, because a lot of Hanover Park motorists like the look of larger wheels, many vehicles are available with seventeen or eighteen-inch wheels. Optional wheel packages of twenty inches or more are also available in Hanover Park. If you want to upsize the wheels on your current vehicle, however, you should know it's not a do-it-yourself project. There are vital factors involved in ensuring your wheel change doesn't jeopardize the safety of your vehicle. First of ... read more

Every Hanover Park vehicle owner has to purchase tires at some time or another, so it's a good idea to understand what the choices are. The best seasonal performance is achieved by purchasing tires to match the season you are driving in. Summer tires are designed for hot temperatures. The tread is engineered for good traction on dry or rainy IL roads. But the rubber compound in summer tires gets stiff when temperatures drop below 45°F, and snow and mud can pack into the tread, reducing the traction of the tire. Winter tires are designed for good traction on snowy surfaces. The tread actually throws snow off of the tire as the wheel turns. The rubber compound in a winter tire is soft so that it will remain flexible at Elk Grove Village temperatures below 45°F. At higher temperatures, however, the softer rubber wears down rapidly. All-season tires sacrifice some of the extreme performance of summer or winter tires, but they maintain adequate traction in either type of ... read more