Q: With more cars having the start/stop option what is the best use of it? Does it make sense to use in rush hour traffic?
—T.S., Chicago
A: Absolutely! The more time you spend idling at red lights or traffic jams, the more gas you save when the engine shuts down. If you have not yet driven a car with this option, you must try it. It is hard to tell that it is happening.
Q: With the quality of drivers out there, does it matter where to put the tires? It just seems like you are going to understeer into the Armco or oversteer into the Armco. I feel safer on the corners at one of our SCCA racing events. Can’t we just get a law passed to shoot texters instead?
—L.H., Maple Park, Ill.
A: We always feel safer on the track, too. Everyone is going in the same direction and most of the drivers have, at least, some skill. But sometimes even they get in over their heads and drive into the crash barriers. (Armco is a brand name often used generically similar Kleenex.) If you start a petition to eliminate texters, we will sign it.
Q: The explanation (of replacing rear tires first) doesn’t stand to reason in vehicles with stability control, which is to say all cars built in the last five years and many cars before that. In FWD cars, the fronts do most of the work, including 100 percent of the steering, 70 percent of the braking, 100 percent of the propulsion. Oversteer is mitigated on cars with stability control through yaw sensors and the individual application of brakes by the computer.
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—C.T., Chicago
A: Since the 2012 model year, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards have required electronic stability control systems on passenger vehicles, trucks and buses with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or less. Yet, with the average age of cars on the road approaching 12 years, that leaves a lot without this safety system. Until someone is ready to buy up those vehicles (remember the resounding lack of success of Cash for Clunkers?), there are plenty of people who still drive older cars and need appropriate advice.
Q: I know that you, and other writers, have covered in depth the subject of whether to put a new pair of tires on the front or rear of your car, but one thing has always bothered me. What happens when it’s time to rotate your tires, especially with a front-wheel-drive car?
The fronts wear faster. After a tire rotation, you’ve got the situation that you were trying to avoid in the beginning — having the tire pair with less tread at the rear of the car. Now what?
—M.O., Aurora, Ill.
A: You have just made a good argument for routine tire rotations and for buying four new tires. With regular rotation, all four tires will be due at the same time. We are now growing tired of this topic. We shall retire it for a while.
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