Ok, so thanks to driver100 remembering exactly where Richard lives in NC, I was able to dig up a phone number. I called and left a message for him. Knowing Richard, that was most definitely him on the answering machine (voice mail). I'll post more the instant I hear back from him. As many of you recall, he's got a lot on his plate between his teaching job, the antiquing, vacations, He has some farm land in Alabama I believe. So let's hope for the best.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
Oldfarmer, check this out. You want rust free southern vehicles, this guy has them all. Cars, trucks, vintage, you name it. He just happens to have a lot on ebay right now. His pics are great and cars are as clean as they get. I've been to his showroom. All I can say is WOW. Go to "see other items" to see all of them. There's even a 340 Dart Swinger in there (if you swing that way).
You want rust free southern vehicles, this guy has them all.
Mako, that dealer sounds really good. It sounds like he has what it takes to make a good used car business, he is passionate about his business, he takes pride in what he does, he seems to have honesty and integrity from what I can see. He even mentions that his wife helps him run his ethical little business.
But, I thought it would be interesting to double check;
JT 10 months ago DO NOT buy a car from Today's Auto!!!! Lee Smith is a liar and a thief. He will not respond to any sort of communication since I paid for the car. The car is not even close to how he described it, it has rust in it, does not have features he ...More DW 3 months ago I encourage anyone that is even thinking about doing business with Lee Smith and his company to read the complaints on file with the Better Business Bureau of Virginia.
06/03/2013 Made a deal with Todays Auto, *** *** ***** ***** on a vehicle listed on Ebay. They took my credit card info for 500.00 deposit and was told the paper work would be emailed. *** told me the vehicle would be taken off Ebay. The vehicle was never taken off Ebay and paper work never came. My phone calls and subsequent emails were totally ignored. *** ***** did however charge my card for the 500.00 and I had to report this to my credit card company and had to have my credit card account closed and have another card sent to me. Money and the most profit at any cost is all they care about. He ended up selling the vehicle for only 350.00 more dollars than our original deal. Stay away from Todays Auto they are not honest and have no ethics in business dealings
Find a better dealer for our good friend oldfarmer.
Very good research there Mr Driver. I met the guy and liked his vehicles, but never bought anything as he seemed a little overpriced although he did have some sharp oldies.
I find it frustrating here to try to find a specific vehicle on ebay because North Carolina uses ebay all the time, but I find them to be a bunch of hard negotiating shysters.
Looking up F-150 Platinums from here using distance on ebay I get lots from NC and none from VA. (I'm 30 miles from NC)
OK everybody, so the phone number I had for our dear friend Richard is the correct one. I left him a message yesterday and he called me back this afternoon and left a message on my voice mail. First and foremost he is healthy, alive, and well. He thanked me for reaching out to him.
As we suspected, he has been extremely busy with his job and also helping out his niece and nephew. His niece and nephew moved to Dubai and were not able to take their children with them right away. So being Richard, he and his wife took them in for the summer.
Between those 2 things, he's had to cut out his internet time, including email and edmunds. He did say he hopes to be back here when time permits. He sends his regards to all of us!
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
Between those 2 things, he's had to cut out his internet time,
NYC, you did a great job of tracking down our good friend Richard. I was hoping that was the problem, sometimes life gets full and it is hard to keep up with our virtual friends. I am sure he would be here if he could be.
About Monroe, I saw him over there on Mechanics site, it is a lot more technical than sales frontlines, which he seemed to be enjoying. Maybe he'll pop in one day.
well, next week I am going to S. Carolina for a few days, and will only be about 2 hours away. I could stop in and check on him, if y'all want to collect enough money form my ER bill after the wife and daughter beat up on me for going 2 hours the opposite direction to do it!
How hot is the air in a conventional tire? Yesterday, I was adjusting my tire pressure and I couldn't believe how hot the air was, considering I had only driven about 3 miles on the tires and the outside temperature was only 80 degrees. Prior to the short drive the car was garaged where the indoor temperature was around 55 degrees. No wonder my TPMS readings were all over the place. Perhaps temperatures this hot is responsible for the faulty TPMS tire pressure readings.
For me, this was a little unsettling because I never thought the temperature in a tire could get that hot. So this leads to my next question at what temperature would a tire explode or fail? I've heard that nitrogen filled tires run cooler, and perhaps the reason it is used in airplane tires, but how cooler is a nitrogen tire?
If the outdoor temperature was only 80 degrees, and the tire air was so hot, I wonder what's it like for those drivers who live in Vegas, Phoenix or Miami? Yikes!
Yeah, the emoticons and HTLM format shortcuts are back. Thanks Kirstie.
nyc....thanks so much for reaching out to Richard for us. Also glad to hear he's busy and well.
It's really nice for all of you to be concerned with some of the posters here. That's a first...at least seeing an internet site, and a particular thread, where the posters truly do care about one another.
Just one small bright spot in a mostly cynical medium.
I haven't been posting much either as I am now in a different office/division of our company and have been really busy adjusting to it all. At least I'm home every night now and not away 4 nights a week.
Just spent the morning cramming for my Fantasy Football draft, any of you into that stuff? I've been away for a few years but just like in the Godfather..... "Just when I thought I was out.... they pull me back in"
When I start up my car in the mornings here in Florida with 80 degree temperatures, my TPMS shows 34 lbs. front and 36 lbs. rear, which is about what is recommended for cold inflation, give or take a pound or two. All my tires are nitro-filled as well. As soon as I get on the Turnpike and have driven 65 mph for about 5 minutes, the TPMS shows 38 lbs. front and 40 lbs. rear, and remember, that is with nitro-filled tires.
You have to remember that the air at the surface of the earth has about 70% nitrogen, 20% oxygen, 5% hydrogen and 5% miscellaneous gases. Nitro-fill, if done correctly (deflate the tires, inflate with nitrogen, deflate again, re-inflate with nitrogen and then once more), you end up with about 90% nitrogen in the tires - not a whole lot of difference from regular air-filled tires. I just have mine nitro-filled because it comes in that way from the port and the dealer uses nothing but nitro-fill for all air-pressure adjustments for all their cars. I would not pay for nitro-fill, but since there is not charge at the dealership, I use nitro-fill.
As for the heat - treat has a lot to do with heat build-up in a tire as does the ambient temperatures of the air and the road surface. The less constricted the tread, the cooler the tires run - the more constricted the tread (closer nit grooves, etc.) the hotter they run.
When we get our first blast of cold air down here in December/January, I do not find it uncommon to see 26 lbs. of pressure in the tires in the morning, if not less, because cold air contracts (hot air expands obviously). So I find myself running up to the dealership and having to add 10 lbs. of inflation pressure when the cooler temperatures arrive.
As for explosions, etc., the tire manufacturer states that for the heaviest load, front pressures should be 38 lbs. and rears 40 lbs. Then, you add 4 lbs. for hot inflation. So it is possible for my tires to get to 42 lbs. rear and 39 lbs. front at times. The only thing I notice with those pressures is a stiffer ride. I take more car when driving over RR tracks and try to avoid pot holes and other road hazards because with higher pressures in tires, then are much stiffer, and a good road rut or pot hole could easily "break" an alloy wheel. I've seen it happen many times.
IMHO, nitro-fill does one good thing - it reduces the amount of oxygen in the tires and thus the tires tend to lose less tire pressure over time. Also, they tend to have less problems with oxidation, for obvious reasons.
But I would imagine you would have to get upwards of 50 lbs. of pressure in a tire before you would have to start worrying about a tire "popping" of it's rim.
Many years ago my wife got a ding in her car. We called a guy who comes to your house, takes out the ding, with suction I believe. He also retouched a bit on the back bumper. I have to say, he didn't do a great job, it was better, but still noticeable.
So some guys are getting rid of some junk from a cottage which we bought (long story) and are going to fix up and resell one day. They tried to load something in the 535 and they put a dent in the rear quarter panel. I didn't charge the guys because they worked hard, were reasonable, and they were just trying to do me a favor.
So I take it to a good body shop and they give me an estimate for $180. When I brought the car in the next day at 8 a.m. I said I really need the car by 11 a.m. They said that wouldn't be a problem, they will call the dent guy who will be there soon, just to confirm 11 would work. The dent guy said no problem. So, I leave and get into my wife's car and a Dent Dr car comes roaring in, my guess is to do the work.
I know the work is done well and that probably makes it worthwhile doing it through a good shop. But, what would I have paid if I called the Dent Dr myself....$75?
They said because of where it was they would drill a whole through the rear door well, and push it out and it would be 90% to 95% fine. If I wanted it to be 100% they would fill with lead and paint the whole rear qtr panel all the way up to the roof, and that would cost $850.
I doubt if there would be any difference. Hate to know what bmw would charge!
Not much if any. Air at sea level is 78 % nitrogen to begin with. The concept of using enriched nitrogen in automobile tires is akin to global warming fears trying to scare people about something to make money. Friends bought a Koupe from Kia and the dealer charge 90$ for air. Brand new off the boat.
LOL Nitrogen enriched air is used in and may have benefits for long term use in truck tires where the carcass is retreaded several times over its life. But nothing in auto tires in my opinion.
Search on websites for nitrogen and dealers and you'll find lots of companies selling stores enrichment machines (which may not provide as much enrichment as claimed) and telling the stores how much money they can make "selling" air. Equivalent to getting peole to buy bottled water, which now is more acidic than tap water and damages the teeth surfaces, according to our dentist.
As for the temperature fluctuations, the pressure increases about 1 pound for each 10 Deg. Fahrenheit increase in the (average) air in the tire. Hot brake rotors may help heat up the rim portion to heat the air more. The good thing is that as the temp increases, the pressure increases. That leads to less flexing of the sidewall and nominally of the tread squirming on the contact patch. So that lessens the further increase due to higher speeds or higher loads.
Just keep checking the pressure when it's at the nominal ambient temperature for your climate for that season.
FWIW: I did notice that the low profile (60) tires on my Cobalt seem to increase really fast compared to what I think my other cars with higher profile tires have. I also noticed that the increase wasn't as great when I put on the new Michelin tires. The originals were Hankook tires. I theorize that the sidewall and tread type can affect the temperature increase when rolling, causing greater or lesser increase in the air temperature inside.
"They said because of where it was they would drill a whole through the rear door well, and push it out and it would be 90% to 95% fine. If I wanted it to be 100% they would fill with lead and paint the whole rear qtr panel all the way up to the roof, and that would cost $850."
driver--
Ouch! $850. I guess because that is true body work. I think you'll probably be happy with the dentless repair. About 5 1/2 years ago I had around $2500 worth of hail damage. The repair person did a fine job. The plastic rear fairing had a bad enough dent that it had to be replaced. Interestingly the two rubber rain gutters were not fixed so there are two tiny pings still evident on one of the rubber trim pieces. That is the only way I can tell that there was damage. I suppose a super discriminating evaluator might be able to detect other evidence.
I too am thankful NYC found Richard. Contributors do come and go (I put myself in that category). I know that the return of the academic calendar year really curtails my output and often my ability to follow threads. Regulars like jmonroe, snakeweasel and Richard are missed. I remember another regular poster from way back who had a name like "ilikepotiac". He forgot to put the "n" in "Pontiac". Maybe he disappeared around the same time as the nameplate. I also remember a couple of trolls. This forum hasn't seen any (that I have read) of their ilk in at least a couple of years. Must be greener pastures elsewhere.
When a friend backed into the Mazdaspeed I had two PDR shops look at it. One shop said it would need to drill a hole in the door jamb and that they could get @80% of it out. The other shop(which I ended up using)) didn't need to drill a hole and the damage is virtually unnoticeable. 16 or 17 years ago I got a door ding on the ti; the PDR shop fixed the ding fine- but screwed up a part of the interior door panel when they removed it- something I didn't find until a couple of years later when I had the panel off to check a speaker. Cheap and easy to fix, but still- GRRR...
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
Thanks Mike and imidazol97 for your input. Motivated by your responses I did a perfunctory Google search that seems to suggest a tire will fail when the internal temperature reaches 400 - 500 degrees Fahrenheit.
One entry noted, in connection with towing a trailer, the tires typically run between 130 and 135 F and the hubs are about 125 F. Not sure what is normal for a sedan though.
In another entry they state that the Ohio truck driver handbook addresses [the heat problem]. Here's what it has to say about inspecting tires prior to and during a road trip when the heat is high. Check the tire mounting and air pressure. Inspect the tires every two hours or every 100 miles when driving in very hot weather. Air pressure increases with temperature. "Do not let air out or the pressure will be too low when the tires cool off. If a tire is too hot to touch, remain stopped until the tire cools off. Otherwise, the tire may blow out or catch fire."http://www.moderntiredealer.com/blog/b-o-b/story/2012/07/hot-hot-hot.aspx?presti- - tial=1#ixzz2cuXaDnDn
In yet another entry, it states, "Most TPMS measure your tires when they become significantly underinflated, and not overinflated.... Most tires can handle higher pressures resulting from driving and in hot weather, provided they were set at the "correct" pressure when cold." http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/you-can-blame-the-weather-on-t/41518
$75 per panel for dent repair is pretty common. So is drilling a hole in areas difficult to access or lacking holes from the factory. The tech literally pushes out the dent from the inside using thin gauge tools, starting on the outer circumference and working towards the center. The most important step in the repair process is insuring the affected area is treated to prevent rust. I've had the procedure done a number of times and results have always been dependent on the depth of the dent, proximity of a sharp angle line to the dent, and skill of the tech. One of my vehicles struggled with rust ever after since the tech didn't treat the area they inserted tools through.
$75 per panel for dent repair is pretty common. So is drilling a hole in areas difficult to access or lacking holes from the factory.
When I was on the car business, we used a guy who owned a "Dent-Master" franchise. Often, we would get a car in from the port with a minor ping dent in a door or in a fender. He would come in to our service department where we assigned him a stall with a lift. We only used him for minor dents where there was no paint damage.
He would drill a hole in the door panel and use a variety of tools to plump out the ding or small dent. He would then plug the hole with a piece of rubber or plastic. Sometimes he was not able to push out the dent due to its proximity to a body fold or crease. He usually charged us $75.00 for a pong dent and $100-$150 for a fender dent which usually required some finishing.
Many of the dealerships used him. When he was finished repairing the dent or imperfection, we rarely could identify where the original damage was. Definitely better than sending the car to the body shop.
On older cars that wouldn't have worked. The sheet metal was way too thick.
When I was in the tool business I was in a Mercedes store and a customer brought his new Mercedes in because the driver's door was a bit misaligned.
The tech asked the Service Advisor..." Is the customer gone...is he watching?"
When he was assured the customer was not watching, this 250 pound tech grabbed the door top and bottom and wrenched it into position. It took him a couple of tries but he got it right!
Many, many years ago my college freshman chemistry professor decided to talk about tire pressure. Never understood why, this had little to do with chemistry. He talked about people thinking high pressure is what caused a tire to blow out. He threw up some equation, something like a 'universal gas equation' that related temperature and pressure, with a constant for air. He said pressure does not blow out tires, high temps blows out tires. He then threw a few numbers thru the equation showing that increasing temps a lot does not increase pressure significantly. He said getting temps up high is what causes a tire to fail, not the associated pressure, which would still be relatively low.
It's my understanding sidewall flex, and a tire with low pressure has much more flex, is what causes significant increase in temperatures. Low tire pressure causes sidewall flex which causes temp increase with probably cause a tires construction to fail, causing a blowout.
Thanks tyguy, Mike and isell...that was interesting getting some background on dents, and the gusy who fix them.
I guess it isn't worthwhile having a fulltime dent expert on staff, so they farm that work out. I have to say, I doubt if anyone can see where the dent was. I think they offer the full $850 job figuring that if somebody is obsessive compulsive about their car they will want it to be perfect again and they will pay for that.
For some reason I think the car drives a lot better since it was fixed.
I am surprised at how many people tell me their stories about getting a new car and having a dent put in it very soon afterwords usually by a shopping cart.
"Just spent the morning cramming for my Fantasy Football draft, any of you into that stuff?"
My draft is this afternoon.. The key is to get your first 8 rounds in, before you get too drunk to concentrate..
Also... I used to take all the print-outs, notes, etc.. with me... This year, I bought an app for my tablet, which is going to simplify a lot... (Draft Punk.. pro version is $1.99 - looks to be well worth it)
Oh, I can watch a football game and enjoy it but I'm just not "into it" as most fans are.
I don't give a rip who the draft choices are or who ran the most yardage during the 1989 Super Bowl. I just have no interest in the stats or football history.
But, if you challenge me to name the artist of an oldie, I'm your man!
I'm just joking. I had a co-worker who used to rip on others in the company that were into role playing, cosplay, et al until one of them hit him with that line as he was working on his fantasy teams. He also hit him with "at least I don't live in my mother's basement and call into sports radio everyday..."
Comments
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Someone email me and let me know what' up. I consider him a friend.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
Way to go NYC...you da man!
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1999-CHEVROLET-1500-LS-4X4-Z71-34K-MILES-BEST-99-- YOU-EVER-FIND-/231036058602?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item35cad27bea
2013 Mustang GT, 2001 GMC Yukon Denali
Mako, that dealer sounds really good. It sounds like he has what it takes to make a good used car business, he is passionate about his business, he takes pride in what he does, he seems to have honesty and integrity from what I can see. He even mentions that his wife helps him run his ethical little business.
But, I thought it would be interesting to double check;
JT
10 months ago
DO NOT buy a car from Today's Auto!!!! Lee Smith is a liar and a thief. He will not respond to any sort of communication since I paid for the car. The car is not even close to how he described it, it has rust in it, does not have features he ...More
DW
3 months ago
I encourage anyone that is even thinking about doing business with Lee Smith and his company to read the complaints on file with the Better Business Bureau of Virginia.
I guess you never know.......................
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
06/03/2013 Made a deal with Todays Auto, *** *** ***** ***** on a vehicle listed on Ebay. They took my credit card info for 500.00 deposit and was told the paper work would be emailed. *** told me the vehicle would be taken off Ebay. The vehicle was never taken off Ebay and paper work never came. My phone calls and subsequent emails were totally ignored. *** ***** did however charge my card for the 500.00 and I had to report this to my credit card company and had to have my credit card account closed and have another card sent to me. Money and the most profit at any cost is all they care about. He ended up selling the vehicle for only 350.00 more dollars than our original deal. Stay away from Todays Auto they are not honest and have no ethics in business dealings
Find a better dealer for our good friend oldfarmer.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Ditto here.
After we resolve the mystery of where Richard is, we should find out where our buttons and emoticons went.
I find it frustrating here to try to find a specific vehicle on ebay because North Carolina uses ebay all the time, but I find them to be a bunch of hard negotiating shysters.
Looking up F-150 Platinums from here using distance on ebay I get lots from NC and none from VA. (I'm 30 miles from NC)
2013 Mustang GT, 2001 GMC Yukon Denali
As we suspected, he has been extremely busy with his job and also helping out his niece and nephew. His niece and nephew moved to Dubai and were not able to take their children with them right away. So being Richard, he and his wife took them in for the summer.
Between those 2 things, he's had to cut out his internet time, including email and edmunds. He did say he hopes to be back here when time permits. He sends his regards to all of us!
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
lcs (Larry, Charlie, Sarah) 1347
gmail
Thanks
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
That's good to know and we respect Richard's decision to stay off the board, at least for while anyway.
Glad to hear that Richard is doing well, and I certainly hope that he rejoins us here at Edmunds when his schedule permits.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
Great job, NYC. Very relieved to know he is OK.
I wonder what happened to jmonroe. Haven't heard from him almost as long as Richard.
2024 Genesis G90 Super-Charger
How about jmonroe? He hasn't been around in a while either.
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
Thanks.
You would THINK that as busy as he is he could have at least maybe checked in once or twice....guess not!
I'll try contacting you. Otherwise it's my first initial, my full last name
"at" yahoo.
NYC, you did a great job of tracking down our good friend Richard. I was hoping that was the problem, sometimes life gets full and it is hard to keep up with our virtual friends. I am sure he would be here if he could be.
About Monroe, I saw him over there on Mechanics site, it is a lot more technical than sales frontlines, which he seemed to be enjoying. Maybe he'll pop in one day.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
For me, this was a little unsettling because I never thought the temperature in a tire could get that hot. So this leads to my next question at what temperature would a tire explode or fail? I've heard that nitrogen filled tires run cooler, and perhaps the reason it is used in airplane tires, but how cooler is a nitrogen tire?
If the outdoor temperature was only 80 degrees, and the tire air was so hot, I wonder what's it like for those drivers who live in Vegas, Phoenix or Miami? Yikes!
Yeah, the emoticons and HTLM format shortcuts are back. Thanks Kirstie.
Of course, that's the technical explanation..... lol
I doubt that would affect your TPMS, though... maybe, you've got a bad sensor?
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It's really nice for all of you to be concerned with some of the posters here. That's a first...at least seeing an internet site, and a particular thread, where the posters truly do care about one another.
Just one small bright spot in a mostly cynical medium.
GG is right this is a close group.
I haven't been posting much either as I am now in a different office/division of our company and have been really busy adjusting to it all. At least I'm home every night now and not away 4 nights a week.
Just spent the morning cramming for my Fantasy Football draft, any of you into that stuff? I've been away for a few years but just like in the Godfather..... "Just when I thought I was out.... they pull me back in"
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
When I start up my car in the mornings here in Florida with 80 degree temperatures, my TPMS shows 34 lbs. front and 36 lbs. rear, which is about what is recommended for cold inflation, give or take a pound or two. All my tires are nitro-filled as well. As soon as I get on the Turnpike and have driven 65 mph for about 5 minutes, the TPMS shows 38 lbs. front and 40 lbs. rear, and remember, that is with nitro-filled tires.
You have to remember that the air at the surface of the earth has about 70% nitrogen, 20% oxygen, 5% hydrogen and 5% miscellaneous gases. Nitro-fill, if done correctly (deflate the tires, inflate with nitrogen, deflate again, re-inflate with nitrogen and then once more), you end up with about 90% nitrogen in the tires - not a whole lot of difference from regular air-filled tires. I just have mine nitro-filled because it comes in that way from the port and the dealer uses nothing but nitro-fill for all air-pressure adjustments for all their cars. I would not pay for nitro-fill, but since there is not charge at the dealership, I use nitro-fill.
As for the heat - treat has a lot to do with heat build-up in a tire as does the ambient temperatures of the air and the road surface. The less constricted the tread, the cooler the tires run - the more constricted the tread (closer nit grooves, etc.) the hotter they run.
When we get our first blast of cold air down here in December/January, I do not find it uncommon to see 26 lbs. of pressure in the tires in the morning, if not less, because cold air contracts (hot air expands obviously). So I find myself running up to the dealership and having to add 10 lbs. of inflation pressure when the cooler temperatures arrive.
As for explosions, etc., the tire manufacturer states that for the heaviest load, front pressures should be 38 lbs. and rears 40 lbs. Then, you add 4 lbs. for hot inflation. So it is possible for my tires to get to 42 lbs. rear and 39 lbs. front at times. The only thing I notice with those pressures is a stiffer ride. I take more car when driving over RR tracks and try to avoid pot holes and other road hazards because with higher pressures in tires, then are much stiffer, and a good road rut or pot hole could easily "break" an alloy wheel. I've seen it happen many times.
IMHO, nitro-fill does one good thing - it reduces the amount of oxygen in the tires and thus the tires tend to lose less tire pressure over time. Also, they tend to have less problems with oxidation, for obvious reasons.
But I would imagine you would have to get upwards of 50 lbs. of pressure in a tire before you would have to start worrying about a tire "popping" of it's rim.
2024 Genesis G90 Super-Charger
Nah, my memory isn't that good. I wrote the town down just in case I was close enough I thought it would be fun to meet Richard in person one day.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
So some guys are getting rid of some junk from a cottage which we bought (long story) and are going to fix up and resell one day. They tried to load something in the 535 and they put a dent in the rear quarter panel. I didn't charge the guys because they worked hard, were reasonable, and they were just trying to do me a favor.
So I take it to a good body shop and they give me an estimate for $180. When I brought the car in the next day at 8 a.m. I said I really need the car by 11 a.m. They said that wouldn't be a problem, they will call the dent guy who will be there soon, just to confirm 11 would work. The dent guy said no problem. So, I leave and get into my wife's car and a Dent Dr car comes roaring in, my guess is to do the work.
I know the work is done well and that probably makes it worthwhile doing it through a good shop. But, what would I have paid if I called the Dent Dr myself....$75?
They said because of where it was they would drill a whole through the rear door well, and push it out and it would be 90% to 95% fine. If I wanted it to be 100% they would fill with lead and paint the whole rear qtr panel all the way up to the roof, and that would cost $850.
I doubt if there would be any difference. Hate to know what bmw would charge!
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Not much if any. Air at sea level is 78 % nitrogen to begin with. The concept of using enriched nitrogen in automobile tires is akin to global warming fears trying to scare people about something to make money. Friends bought a Koupe from Kia and the dealer charge 90$ for air. Brand new off the boat.
LOL Nitrogen enriched air is used in and may have benefits for long term use in truck tires where the carcass is retreaded several times over its life. But nothing in auto tires in my opinion.
Search on websites for nitrogen and dealers and you'll find lots of companies selling stores enrichment machines (which may not provide as much enrichment as claimed) and telling the stores how much money they can make "selling" air. Equivalent to getting peole to buy bottled water, which now is more acidic than tap water and damages the teeth surfaces, according to our dentist.
As for the temperature fluctuations, the pressure increases about 1 pound for each 10 Deg. Fahrenheit increase in the (average) air in the tire. Hot brake rotors may help heat up the rim portion to heat the air more. The good thing is that as the temp increases, the pressure increases. That leads to less flexing of the sidewall and nominally of the tread squirming on the contact patch. So that lessens the further increase due to higher speeds or higher loads.
Just keep checking the pressure when it's at the nominal ambient temperature for your climate for that season.
FWIW: I did notice that the low profile (60) tires on my Cobalt seem to increase really fast compared to what I think my other cars with higher profile tires have. I also noticed that the increase wasn't as great when I put on the new Michelin tires. The originals were Hankook tires. I theorize that the sidewall and tread type can affect the temperature increase when rolling, causing greater or lesser increase in the air temperature inside.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
driver--
Ouch! $850. I guess because that is true body work. I think you'll probably be happy with the dentless repair. About 5 1/2 years ago I had around $2500 worth of hail damage. The repair person did a fine job. The plastic rear fairing had a bad enough dent that it had to be replaced. Interestingly the two rubber rain gutters were not fixed so there are two tiny pings still evident on one of the rubber trim pieces. That is the only way I can tell that there was damage. I suppose a super discriminating evaluator might be able to detect other evidence.
I too am thankful NYC found Richard. Contributors do come and go (I put myself in that category). I know that the return of the academic calendar year really curtails my output and often my ability to follow threads. Regulars like jmonroe, snakeweasel and Richard are missed. I remember another regular poster from way back who had a name like "ilikepotiac". He forgot to put the "n" in "Pontiac". Maybe he disappeared around the same time as the nameplate. I also remember a couple of trolls. This forum hasn't seen any (that I have read) of their ilk in at least a couple of years. Must be greener pastures elsewhere.
Gogiboy
16 or 17 years ago I got a door ding on the ti; the PDR shop fixed the ding fine- but screwed up a part of the interior door panel when they removed it- something I didn't find until a couple of years later when I had the panel off to check a speaker. Cheap and easy to fix, but still- GRRR...
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
Thanks Mike and imidazol97 for your input. Motivated by your responses I did a perfunctory Google search that seems to suggest a tire will fail when the internal temperature reaches 400 - 500 degrees Fahrenheit.
One entry noted, in connection with towing a trailer, the tires typically run between 130 and 135 F and the hubs are about 125 F. Not sure what is normal for a sedan though.
In another entry they state that the Ohio truck driver handbook addresses [the heat problem]. Here's what it has to say about inspecting tires prior to and during a road trip when the heat is high.
Check the tire mounting and air pressure. Inspect the tires every two hours or every 100 miles when driving in very hot weather. Air pressure increases with temperature.
"Do not let air out or the pressure will be too low when the tires cool off. If a tire is too hot to touch, remain stopped until the tire cools off. Otherwise, the tire may blow out or catch fire." http://www.moderntiredealer.com/blog/b-o-b/story/2012/07/hot-hot-hot.aspx?presti- - tial=1#ixzz2cuXaDnDn
In yet another entry, it states, "Most TPMS measure your tires when they become significantly underinflated, and not overinflated.... Most tires can handle higher pressures resulting from driving and in hot weather, provided they were set at the "correct" pressure when cold." http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/you-can-blame-the-weather-on-t/41518
People get bored, find other interests and in the old days a lot of troublemakers got banned.
Surprised they didn't mess with me!
When I was on the car business, we used a guy who owned a "Dent-Master" franchise. Often, we would get a car in from the port with a minor ping dent in a door or in a fender. He would come in to our service department where we assigned him a stall with a lift. We only used him for minor dents where there was no paint damage.
He would drill a hole in the door panel and use a variety of tools to plump out the ding or small dent. He would then plug the hole with a piece of rubber or plastic. Sometimes he was not able to push out the dent due to its proximity to a body fold or crease. He usually charged us $75.00 for a pong dent and $100-$150 for a fender dent which usually required some finishing.
Many of the dealerships used him. When he was finished repairing the dent or imperfection, we rarely could identify where the original damage was. Definitely better than sending the car to the body shop.
2024 Genesis G90 Super-Charger
When I was in the tool business I was in a Mercedes store and a customer brought his new Mercedes in because the driver's door was a bit misaligned.
The tech asked the Service Advisor..." Is the customer gone...is he watching?"
When he was assured the customer was not watching, this 250 pound tech grabbed the door top and bottom and wrenched it into position. It took him a couple of tries but he got it right!
It's my understanding sidewall flex, and a tire with low pressure has much more flex, is what causes significant increase in temperatures. Low tire pressure causes sidewall flex which causes temp increase with probably cause a tires construction to fail, causing a blowout.
I guess it isn't worthwhile having a fulltime dent expert on staff, so they farm that work out. I have to say, I doubt if anyone can see where the dent was.
I think they offer the full $850 job figuring that if somebody is obsessive compulsive about their car they will want it to be perfect again and they will pay for that.
For some reason I think the car drives a lot better since it was fixed.
I am surprised at how many people tell me their stories about getting a new car and having a dent put in it very soon afterwords usually by a shopping cart.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
My draft is this afternoon.. The key is to get your first 8 rounds in, before you get too drunk to concentrate..
Also... I used to take all the print-outs, notes, etc.. with me... This year, I bought an app for my tablet, which is going to simplify a lot... (Draft Punk.. pro version is $1.99 - looks to be well worth it)
Good luck!
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2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
Oh...I know. I'm probably the only person here who doesn't give a ruby red rat's rear about football.
Never could get into the game....same with basketball.
...and people say that Dungeons and Dragons fans are nerds!!
I'm not 100% on this but I believe football is more popular in the eastern part of the country.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
I don't give a rip who the draft choices are or who ran the most yardage during the 1989 Super Bowl. I just have no interest in the stats or football history.
But, if you challenge me to name the artist of an oldie, I'm your man!
Rock Trivia!
I'm just joking. I had a co-worker who used to rip on others in the company that were into role playing, cosplay, et al until one of them hit him with that line as he was working on his fantasy teams. He also hit him with "at least I don't live in my mother's basement and call into sports radio everyday..."
What was the name of the label that helped James Brown become famous, and for bonus points, in what city was it located?
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