All Lined Up: Wheel Alignment Service at All Things Automotive & Diesel Service
Posted December 11, 2012 12:00 PM
When all of your vehicle's wheels are lined up exactly with each other, your wheels are in alignment. Hitting a road hazard or even just the normal bumps and bounces of everyday driving in Idaho Falls can cause your vehicle's wheels to be out of alignment.
Driving for an extended time around Idaho Falls when your wheels are out of alignment results in uneven tire wear. This is dangerous … and expensive. Worst case scenario, you have a blowout on a crowded ID highway. It can also cause premature wear to your suspension system, which can be really expensive to repair. At the very least, you may have to replace your tires years too early.
The ideal alignment for your vehicle was designed by its engineers. Alignment service at All Things Automotive & Diesel Service starts with an inspection of the steering and suspension – to see if anything's bent or broken. Then your friendly and knowledgeable All Things Automotive & Diesel Service technician will look at tire condition.
From there, the vehicle is put on an alignment rack and an initial alignment reading is taken. The wheels are then aligned to vehicle’s specifications.
Your vehicle owner's manual probably has a recommendation for how often your alignment should be checked – usually every couple of years. If you suspect an alignment problem, get it checked at All Things Automotive & Diesel Service before you suffer expensive tire or suspension damage.
All Things Automotive & Diesel Service
1997 Walton Ave #C
Idaho Falls, ID 83401
208-523-3903
Battery Replacement at All Things Automotive & Diesel Service in Idaho Falls
Posted December 5, 2012 12:00 PM
Hello, welcome to All Things Automotive & Diesel Service. Today's focus is batteries. It seems like everything in Idaho Falls runs on batteries. Of course, the batteries we're most concerned with here at All Things Automotive & Diesel Service are those in our customer's vehicles. Just like the batteries in our smoke detectors or TV remote, they wear out and need to be replaced . This can be thought of as the power output used to start a cold vehicle engine. The number of cold cranking amps you need depends on your vehicle and where you live in ID, specifically how cold it is. (Many Idaho Falls drivers have first-hand experience trying to start their car on a cold winter morning.) The two factors are that the colder your vehicle's engine is, the more power it takes to turn the engine over to get it started. It has all that cold, sluggish oil to contend with.
The other factor is that the chemical reaction in the battery that creates electrical energy is less efficient when the temperature dips. Let's say it's 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees C) in Idaho Falls. At that temperature, 100% of the battery's power is available. At freezing, only 65% of battery power is available, but it requires 155% as much power to start the engine as it did at 80 degrees F (27 degrees C).
As you can see, the colder it gets, more power is needed, but the available power drops.
So if you live where it's cold in ID, you need a battery with more cold cranking amps than you do where it's moderate or hot. The battery that originally came with your vehicle was based on averages. At All Things Automotive & Diesel Service, we like to remind Idaho Falls drivers that they should always get at least as many cold cranking amps as their vehicle manufacturer recommends but may want to upgrade if they live where it gets real cold.
All Things Automotive & Diesel Service
1997 Walton Ave #C
Idaho Falls, ID 83401
208-523-3903