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AUTONET TV

Archive for December 2019

Beware of Cheap Tires in Louisville

Posted December 29, 2019 7:44 AM

Do you like to shop for shoes in Louisville?
When buying a running shoe, is quality important?
Does durability matter as long as the shoes look fabulous?
Would you rather have one pair of long lasting shoes or two pairs of lower quality shoes at the same price?

Is the warranty important when buying tires?

Louisville drivers should also think about the safety aspect of tires. The tires do a lot of work – they carry the weight of the vehicle and you and your passengers. You want to be sure they hold the road and provide good traction on KY freeways and surface streets. If you carry heavy loads or tow a trailer on KY highways, the tires need a high load rating.

Ask your friendly and knowledgeable Louisville tire professional at American Brake Centers Inc.. I think it's important that Louisville residents understand the effect of price on a tire's quality, performance and durability. When I was a kid, my dad would say, “Pay twice as much and buy half as many.”

The same principle applies to tires. The major tire brands that you're familiar with in Louisville are known as Tier 1 tires. These tires are high quality and well-engineered. Comparable vehicle Tier 1 tires are usually priced similarly.

Stepping down, you come to private label tires. Some large KY tire store chains carry tires with their own brand. It's important to know that most private label tires are built by the same Tier 1 companies that you are familiar with – so you are pretty safe in choosing them. To be sure, you can ask your American Brake Centers Inc. tire professional which manufacturer makes their private brand.

The lowest priced tires on the market in Louisville are Tier 3 tires which are usually imported from China or South America. Since you get what you pay for, you can't expect a Tier 3 tire to deliver the same performance and durability as the others.


What's the difference in the tires with high mileage warranties? It's the rubber compounds and the amount of tread material. As you might expect, you'll pay more for the longer-lasting tire.

Your tires are the only parts of your vehicle that touch the road. You're only as safe as your tires are well built. Buy value – not price.

Give us a call.

American Brake Centers Inc.
3435 Bashford Ave Ct.
Louisville, KY 40218
502-459-0355
http://www.americanbrakecenters.biz

 



Custom Wheels and Tires for Your Louisville Ride

Posted December 22, 2019 12:15 PM


 

It seems like everywhere you go in the Louisville area you see custom wheels. Big trucks, little cars, mini-vans - it doesn't matter - are expressing themselves with custom wheels. Some KY auto owners want smaller tires and wheels - some want larger - and some want them enormous. So where do you start if you want new wheels? At American Brake Centers Inc., we suggest you start with your budget. We know, that sounds so practical. But if the look you're after goes beyond just new tires and wheels and enters into the world of suspension modifications, you need to be prepared for the additional cost.

Let's start with something easy - you want to give your ride a unique look and the stock wheel size is just right for you. One of the concerns you will have is that the new wheels have the same offset as your vehicle factory wheels.

Your tire and wheel professional at American Brake Centers Inc. in Louisville can help you find the right size wheel or install adapters to make your new wheels fit. All you have to do is pick from the hundreds of styles available.

So, what about Louisville drivers who want to upsize? Well, if you want bigger wheels, but you want to keep the same overall tire diameter, that's pretty easy for the team at American Brake Centers Inc.. The same offset concerns apply. You need to know that the tires will likely be a little bit wider than the originals and you don't want them to rub when you make sharp turns. Your tire professional at American Brake Centers Inc. in Louisville will help you avoid this.

Heading the other direction, some vehicle owners in the Louisville area like to run smaller than standard wheels and lower the suspension. All of the same fitment issues still apply as well as calibration issues. Don't think that vehicle suspension modifications are a bad thing. Many systems actually improve ride, function and performance over the stock set-up.

Regardless of your budget, you want your vehicle to continue to do all the things you need it to do. Some of those show cars and trucks you see on TV and Louisville showrooms  look good but have been modified in ways that may not suit your needs. For example, if you put large rims on your SUV with low profile tires, you may be in for busted rims if you go off-roading a lot around the Louisville area. There just isn't enough sidewall to absorb the impact of thumping over rocks.

Some stuff the largest tires and wheels possible in their vehicles but have to severely restrict suspension travel so that the tires aren't rubbing all day. That can lead to a very harsh ride around KY. Again, talk with your American Brake Centers Inc. wheel professional about all of these things: how you drive in Louisville, what look you are going for, your budget and what compromises you are willing to make.

At the end of the day, you're going to be rollin' out of American Brake Centers Inc. with one sweet ride.

American Brake Centers Inc.
3435 Bashford Ave Ct.
Louisville, KY 40218
502-459-0355
http://www.americanbrakecenters.biz



Saving Lives in Louisville with Tire Pressure

Posted December 15, 2019 9:27 AM



All new passenger vehicles on our Louisville, KY, roads now have tire pressure monitoring systems – TPMS for short. They are designed to alert you if your tires are underinflated. Since they are fairly new, a lot of people have questions about them.

First off, the most important thing is that you still need to check your tire pressure every week – or at least every time you gas up. The TPMS system alert comes in when your tire is 20 percent below the factory recommendation. So if the recommended pressure is 34 pounds per square inch, the TPMS warning won't come on until the pressure is at 28 pounds. That's significantly underinflated, enough to raise safety concerns.

The worst is tire failure. A severely underinflated tire can overheat and fail. Also, handling degrades to the point that you may not be able to steer out of trouble. Also underinflated tires wear out faster and they waste fuel. So it's costly to not stay on top of proper inflation.

What's the practical value of the TPMS system? Well, it's twofold. First, it can alert you when your tire is losing pressure due to a puncture or a bent rim. That's an important warning that you might not have gotten until next time you gassed up.

The second is that we all occasionally forget to check our tire pressure. So it's a fail-safe system to let you know there's a problem brewing.

Other things can cause your TPMS system to go off. The system also monitors itself. The sensors that are mounted in the wheels have little batteries that send a signal to the monitor. The batteries go dead over time and the TPMS system will let you know. And the sensors could break. Also road salt from our KY roads can ruin them.

There's also a hassle factor that your Louisville, KY, tire center has to contend with. For example, when you have your tires rotated in Louisville, the TPMS system has to be re-calibrated so that it knows which tire is on which corner of the car. Same is true for when you have new tires or winter tires installed. Flat repairs, as well.

That takes extra time. And it requires the right equipment and training. Special – and expensive – tire change machines need to be used with some sensors. It's all complicated by the fact that there are a number of different TPMS systems in use so the tire professionals at American Brake Centers Inc. need equipment and training for each kind. Tire centers have had to raise the price of some of these basic services to offset their increased costs.

Also if you add custom wheels on your vehicle, you need to put in new TPMS sensors if your originals won't work on the new rims. If you don't your TPMS light will be on constantly and you won't have the benefit of the warning system.

All in all, the mandated TPMS systems will save lives, so they're worth the added hassle and expense.

American Brake Centers Inc.
3435 Bashford Ave Ct.
Louisville, KY 40218
502-459-0355
http://www.americanbrakecenters.biz



Maintenance for High Mileage Vehicles in Louisville, KY

Posted December 8, 2019 12:29 PM



The median age for cars in the Louisville, KY area was over nine years. And two-thirds had over 75,000 miles. At American Brake Centers Inc. we hear reports that those numbers continue to rise.

If you have a high-mileage vehicle in the Louisville area, bring it into American Brake Centers Inc. for high-mileage maintenance.
3435 Bashford Ave Ct.
Louisville, KY 40218
502-459-0355

Many people in KY are keeping their vehicles longer. The economy has influenced that, but the fact that modern vehicles are more durable and reliable means that owning a high mileage vehicle doesn't have to be a painful experience.

Local car owners in Louisville with over 100,000 miles on their vehicles often ask which service intervals they should follow. Let's start with the special needs of the older vehicle...

The reality is that time and mileage will take its toll. The engine and transmission will have more sludge. The fuel, steering and brake systems will have gum and varnish built up. There'll be more dirt and contaminants in the fuel tank. Corrosion and deposits in the cooling system. And seals and gaskets will start to dry out.

All of this, plus normal wear and tear, means that the engine might not be as strong as new, so it just has to work harder to get the job done.

So we need to compensate. Consider high-mileage formulations for oil changes, transmission service, etc. These special formulations contain additives that condition the seals and gaskets to prevent leaks. They also have more detergents to clean sludge and other deposits. They cost a bit more, but they're worth it.

In general, if an auto service was recommended every 15,000 miles when the car was new, you should continue to get the service done every 15,000 miles.

Talk with your Louisville service advisor at American Brake Centers Inc. about the condition of your engine. See if he thinks you should adjust your auto service intervals for oil changes or other auto maintenance to account for the older engine working harder.

Expect the oil filter to get dirty faster. Same goes for the fuel filter. And some leaks are to be expected so you need to keep a closer eye on fluid levels.

If anything, following recommended service intervals for your vehicle is more important in a higher mileage vehicle. Skipping oil changes or other services can lead to problems much more quickly than with a newer vehicle.

So, have your Louisville auto service advisor at American Brake Centers Inc. help you with an assessment of your older car or truck. If you haven't gotten around to a fuel system cleaning, or replacing power steering or brake fluid, a differential service or transmission service – it's time to start taking care of those things. It'll help keep you on the road for many more happy miles.

American Brake Centers Inc.
3435 Bashford Ave Ct.
Louisville, KY 40218
502-459-0355
http://www.americanbrakecenters.biz



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What Our Customers Are Saying

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This place is wonderful! I called them for help to check my brakes that had just been changed but still weren't working correctly and they were nice enough to squeeze me in right at opening when they had a full day scheduled and only took about 30 mins to get my issue fixed and had me on my way. I can't thank them enough for what they did! If I ever need anything else done, I'm glad I know a place I can trust. Thank you guys!

, 03/20/2024

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These guys were able to find my super hard to acquire rear caliper for my Passat. And able to get me in and out in a timely manner.

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Personable, explains what is going on and thorough.

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Amazing customer service. Went here on a whim because it was close to my work. Everybody I interacted with was super friendly and made everything very easy.

, 12/13/2023

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Very satisfied, did major work on my truck in one day at reasonable price, definitely recommend.

, 12/09/2023

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