The Automotive Thread

I'm having an absolute motherfucker of a time trying to find winter tires for my 2008 Jeep Compass, and I was wondering if anybody here could possibly lend a hand (I'm not very knowledgeable about this kind of stuff at all).

Basically, I've gone to about 10 tire shops/dealerships and they all look at me like I'm a homeless vagrant when I tell them the tire size. The size is 215/55 R18, which I guess is whacky diameter/wheel wall size or something. Anyway, none of the places had tires in stock, but they ranged wildly in price and what they told me about possibly getting other sizes of tires/rims (ie could get 16" instead with a higher profile tire).

I'm currently living in Kingston, Ontario, but I commute twice a week to Ottawa. I'm only going to be living here until April when my MA program wraps up, so I'm a little hesitant to drop a ton of cash for something I'll only really need for a few months. On the other hand though, my girlfriend often drives the Jeep and I would prefer that she doesn't slide off of the road and die horribly.

Anyway, any help would be much appreciated! Thanks!

 

Check Tirerack first, then find out who sells those tires in your area. You can also order them from Tirerack, but I don't know how they handle shipping to Canada. The Bridgestone Blizzak is the only dedicated ice & snow tire they carry in that size. A good all-season tire might be okay too. Aftermarket tires are almost universally better at everything than the OEM tires. Check the customer reviews for each tire to see which ones are best for snow.

 

You might want to look into getting a set of steelie rims in a 17" diameter (or 16) with winter tires since it'll likely cost you about the same amount. I'm not a fan of pulling tires on & off a set of rims as it decreases the life of the tire AND you'll be more likely to just say "fuck it" and keep driving on your winter tires well past winter.

I think the Compass shares the same bolt pattern with other Chrysler cars so you could also get a set of cheap Stratus or Sebring etc wheels and put the snows on that rim.

 

Guy is right, the Compass uses the 5x4-1/2, which is used on the cherokee's/wranglers/liberty/wagoneer/comanche. Only problem you might run into is the center hole size. For the cars, Stealth, Stratus 01/02+, Intrepids, 300M, Concorde, and Sebring Coupes.


That is the problem with dodge's, they throw big rims on there vehicles to say "look at me i have 18in rims", and they dont really care that the tires size is odd.

 

This is awesome in every way. It's sickening how fast this car is.

 

Hi all.

So work requirements mean I havent been able to take my truck in to get looked at for the past couple of weeks, but:

I have a 2001 Ford Ranger.

When I start it up, the engine is very shaky for about 30 seconds, max 45, and then smooths out like a kitten. It seems to happen most often when cold.

The check engine light isn't on or anything. It almost seems like a plug isn't firing. Is this a likely diagnosis?

 

There's a good chance that I could be doing up to Milwaukee in about 2 weeks for a few months. I'm currently running Continental Extreme contact DWS on my car. Does anyone else have any experience with these tires in the snow? And any general advice for driving/living in the area?

I'm not a snow virgin by any means, I lived in Missouri for 6 years, but I'm sure that the winters there and and WI are different animals. Any advice is appreciated.

 

Spark plugs usually work or dont work. Because you said it mostly happens when it is cold, and it only happens for a short period of time when you start the car, i would have to go with some sort of emmision side either a sensor(coolant temp, Oxygen) or IAC(idle air control valve), or MAF(mass air flow) or maybe EGR sensor/valve.

 

With Fords I always go with the IAC first.

 

Let me start off with saying that I have a 2000 Ford Mustang, 3.8L V6. All of a sudden a couple of days ago I noticed that even though the temperature has been approximately averaging witches tit, my temperature gauge keeps heading well towards the red and my heat doesn't work, it just blows out cold air. I've already checked the radiator fluid level and everything looks good on that end. However, given how cold it has been lately, I'm wondering if there's a possibility of there being a blockage in one of the lines.

A buddy of mine said he had a similar situation a couple of years ago that ended up turning out to be a cracked head. Obviously I'm hoping for better news than that. So, any suggestions, things to try or look for?

Thanks for any ideas.

 

You're not driving it if it's overheating are you? I'm reading your post as the car is overheating when you say the gauge is well towards the red. If the gauge is fluctuating a lot it can be a couple different things. Water pump going bad, stuck thermostat, a coolant leak somewhere. In some systems it doesn't take much coolant loss for it to be noticeable. All of those will also cause a heater to blow cold air. If you have a cracked head you would probably see white smoke from your exhaust, check your oil to see that is isn't a milky color. It could be a plugged heater core or maybe just air in the system, is your floor wet on the passenger side? After the car is warmed up, grab both heater hoses[they will be going into the firewall on the passenger side], they should both be hot. With some more info this can be narrowed down farther.

 

I replaced the MAF sensor in my 2001 Mazda (same thing as a Ranger with different badges) for the same reason. It fixed the problem.

 

If you do what Nettdata says, don't get to close to the radiator with the pressure washer. You do not want to bend the fins down on the radiator.

 

What she said. I've had this problem on two different cars and it turned out the thermostat was bad. It only cost about $20 (in 1993 dollars, please adjust for inflation), and you may be able to handle it yourself.

 

I can't say for certain on the V6's but on the V8's (both SOHC and DOHC) you have to add water in a certain way or you get an air pocket. Usually noted by the fact it blowing cold air (the heater core is the highest spot). Go to svtperformance.com and search "burping" There are dozens of threads showing the proper way to add coolant to the system. Do NOT add it via the radiator cap inlet, there is a crossover pipe with a plug where you add the water.

If it continues, you probably have either a blown head gasket or cracked/warped head. I had the same problem with my '03 Cobra and it ended up being a blown head gasket. And don't drive it when its hot or you can warp the heads and have a $6000 bill like I did (thank God for warranty)

 

Anyone here with diesels running Amsoil?

Getting ready to have the first oil change done on the Ford and I'm considering running Amsoil. Thoughts, opinions, etc.

Thanks.

 

Oil is oil as long as you buy a name brand. And synthetic oil is synthetic oil again if you buy a name brand. I personally sell Chevron and Mobil 1 Synthetic. As long as you do regular oil changes and use name brand it really doesn't matter. Regular vs. Synthetic, there are lots of opinions on that. Mine is ...if you are doing lots and lots of heavy hauling i might lean towards synthetic(it will disapate the heat better), other that just regular is fine. Now on Amsoil, like i said oil is oil, if it is around the same price why not, but if it is much more expensive i really don't see the point. I knew a guy in town that had a 5.0L mustang that dragged raced it on the track that would run 15w40 throu it because it was what was at the shop he worked at, and he had no problems with the engine.