There are many factors that can affect how often tires need to be changed. Read on to learn how to know when to change your tires.

How Often Should I Inspect My Tires?

Tires should be inspected at least monthly. It’s also just common sense to check them before a long trip. Otherwise, you should check each tire after driving on damaged roads, hitting potholes, or after driving anywhere with road hazards such as nails.

How to Check Tire Treads

Firstly, you should check the pressure. Always check tire pressure cold because the outside temperature and the temperature inside your tire will affect your air pressure reading.

Next up, check the tread wear. You can use a tread depth gauge, or a penny. Stick the penny in the lowest areas of tread head first. If the treads still touch Lincoln’s head, the treads are good.

How Often Should I Change My Tires?

Obviously you should change your tires if you have a leak or low treads, but there are other things to watch out for too. Damaged areas, a damaged valve cap, or uneven tread wear could require a change of tire.

Age is another factor. Most auto manufacturers recommend new tires every 5 years, and most tire makers suggest every 10 years. The sun’s UV rays and hot weather can degrade your tires over time, even if the treads still look good.

When it comes time to repair your vehicle, always check our Norcross used auto parts catalog first. Our auto part prices will save you money, and our Mobile VIP Club makes locating hard to find car parts easier!

Winter in Georgia certainly isn’t boring! With temperatures fluctuating from hot to cold this month, you may have noticed your tire pressure light going on.

The Science of Temperature and Air Pressure

Have you ever wondered why air pressure changes with the weather (or even while driving your car)? There is a direct relationship between temperature and air pressure. Hot temperatures cause gases to expand. This is why summer weather (or simply driving your car) can cause your tires to over inflate. Likewise, cold temperatures cause gasses to constrict. Again, this is why cold weather cause tires to (temporarily) deflate.

How Often Should I Check Tire Air Pressure?

First of all, you should always check tire pressure “cold” (i.e. when your car has been resting for a bit). Checking it while hot can cause an improper reading and can result in too low of tire pressure. Under normal circumstances, tire air pressure should be checked monthly. If you strike a curb, run over something sharp, or if there’s a cold snap, you should consider checking it more often.

Keeping your tires inflated properly will help them last longer, but when it’s time to replace your tires, U-Wrench-It has you covered! Visit us online or in-person to find affordable replacement parts for your car. You can browse our prices and parts catalog online or contact us at (770) 448-6485 for more info about available parts. And don’t forget to sign up for our Mobile VIP Club for all the latest updates on used auto parts in Norcross!

It is Valentine’s Day this month, and love in the air! So let’s take a look at the classic cars we love to love. And in keeping with the DIY spirit, we’ll be focusing on classic muscle cars that are easy to restore:

• 1965-70 Ford Mustang – Of course we had to include the Mustang! This is the car that kicked off the ponycar segment in the 1960. Over 2.5 million Mustangs were sold, so there are a fair amount of surviving cars and repair parts for those looking to restore one. There are also a lot of print and online how to guides, so the Mustang makes for a good first restoration for those looking to get started.
• 1967-’69 Chevrolet Camaro – If you’re not a Ford fan, then this is probably your classic iconic car of choice. This is another one with a lot of cars out there, so it’s generally pretty easy to find auto replacement parts to restore a Camaro.
• 1964-’70 Pontiac GTO – This was the muscle car of choice in the 1960s for good reason. The replacement parts aren’t quite as easy to find as those for a Mustang or Camaro, but a restored GTO is well worth the extra effort to locate parts.

No matter the car you’re repairing, make U Wrench It your first stop for used auto parts. Check out our prices and contact us at (770) 448-6485 for part availability. And make sure to sign up for our Mobile VIP Club to receive text notices and special promotions!

Regular maintenance is crucial to keeping your ride running smoothly, and doing it yourself is a great way to save money! Just like the human body needs water and nutrients to run smoothly, your vehicle needs to have its fluids topped off occasionally. Read on to learn which automotive fluids need to be replaced as part of your vehicle maintenance routine.

• Oil – Oil lubricates the engine and absorbs heat. Make sure to change it every 3,000 miles or 6 months, whichever comes first.
• Radiator Fluid – Radiator fluid prevents engines from overheating. Make sure to change it every 30,000 miles or 5 years.
• Transmission Fluid – If you’re experiencing trouble shifting gears, erratic shifting, or transmission surges, check the transmission fluid. It should be change every 30,000 to 60,000 miles.
• Power Steering Fluid – Is there whining or squealing when you turn the wheel? Then you might need to top off your power steering fluid. A drop in this fluid could also mean you have a leak in the power steering rack. Check it every couple years.
• Brake Fluid – Pressurized brake fluid helps your brakes work – if it’s low or has turned a dark color, then your brake fluid needs to be changed.
• Air Conditioner Coolant (also known as Refrigerant or Freon) – If you’ve ever survived a Georgia summer, you know this one is no joke! Keep it cool in your car by checking this fluid level twice a year – once before it heats up for summer, and once before the temperatures drop.
• Wiper Fluid – How often you need to check this depends on how much driving you do and how dirty your vehicle gets, but a good rule of thumb is to check it at every service interval (usually every 6 months or 3,000 miles).

At U-Wrench-It, we’re happy to help thrifty DIY-ers find the right used auto parts for any project! Shop for car parts online, view our price list, or visit us during our regular business hours for in-person service.

Everyone knows that recycling is important, but we bet you didn’t know these interesting car recycling facts:

1. Automotive recycling is huge! Vehicles are recycled more than any other product worldwide. In fact, roughly 25 million tons of recyclable materials are reclaimed from cars and trucks every year. In the U.S., the majority of every car (about 80% by weight) ends up being recycled.
2. Automotive recycling keeps harmful materials out of the environment. Reclaimed oil from old vehicles saves roughly 85 million barrels of oil every year. In fact, the amount of harmful fluids annually recovered from vehicles equals about 8 Exxon Valdez disasters. On the topic of harmful materials, about 99% of car batteries are recyclable.
3. New cars are about a quarter old car. New cars on the market today are composed of roughly 25% of materials recycled from old junkers. 14 million tons of steel is recycled yearly from used cars. This is enough steel to make 13 million new vehicles!

Of course, recycling is only one of the three “R”s! Reducing and reusing are both just as important as recycling, and a wonderful way to reuse is to sell your junk vehicle or get replacement auto parts from U-Wrench-It. We have amazing deals on used auto parts that will save you money while helping the environment.

Contact us today at (770) 448-6485 for more info about our auto parts inventory or give us a call at (404) 805-0900 to learn more about getting rid of your junk car in Atlanta.