This time we’ve got a little potluck from the garage.  We’ve got a couple of new products and a tip.  To begin with, this is recycled motor oil from Safety Kleen.  Now before you say “I wouldn’t use recycled oil,” remember one thing: this is completely safe.  You see, your owner’s manual is going to tell you that you have to use an oil that meets API service standards. Guess what? This meets the API service standards and has passed their test. It’s also energy-conserving. So, you get a good oil, and you help protect the planet.  A pretty good deal, I think.

All right, now, the next thing that we have is high-performance tires.  Now, high-performance tires, especially Z-rated tires, have always been a problem because for the most part they couldn’t be rotated because they’re directional. They always have to turn in the same direction.  Well, that meant that they got really noisy very early in their life, and a lot of people had to throw them away long before they should.  Well, this particular set is from Continental, but there are others going to be on the market, these are asymmetrical from side to side, but they are not directional.  Now, what that means for you is that this tire can go on the other side of the car and that one can come over here, and you change the direction of Rotation. That evens out the wear, and it keeps them quiet for a longer period of time.  Pretty clever, and I think it’s what we’re going to see a lot more of as time goes on. 

Now, our tip: everything about the way a car performs has to with managing airflow.  With a typical setup there is a mass airflow sensor, the tube that goes between the mass airflow sensor and the throttle body.  Well, as air comes into the engine, it’s measured by the mass airflow sensor and that tells the computer how much fuel to deliver.  Well you may have a situation where you have a car that under certain conditions just really acts stupid.  It may misfire, may backfire, may do all kinds of goofy things, yet when it goes into the repair shop and it’s sitting there and idling, no problem.  Well, don’t overlook this tube between the mass airflow sensor and the throttle body because frequently they will have cracks, like this one does, and those cracks.  When the engine moves in a certain direction, the crack opens up—you have unmetered air, and the engine runs ridiculously.  So, always check these tubes when you have a mysterious performance problem.



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