Technological Advances in Transmissions, Looks What’s Coming…

If you’ve been paying attention, you’ve noticed that vehicle engines are getting more and more powerful in Lawrenceville and neighboring  towns . At the same time, they are getting better and better fuel economy. I’ve gotta tell ‘ya, most of that’s because of technological advances in transmissions. To get a better understanding of why that is, let’s talk bicycles.

You’ve probably seen plenty of cyclists on Lawrenceville roads. Perhaps you ride yourself. Then you know that a cyclist’s cadence is the number of times per minute he or she pedals. The ideal pedal speed is the zone where they can most efficiently generate power over a sustained period of time. The experienced GA cyclist uses her gears to keep her pedal speed in the ideal zone whether she’s climbing a hill, cruising on a flat stretch or killing a downhill.

Think of it this way: if you have a 1-speed bike, you really have to pump hard to get up to speed. Your top speed is limited by how fast as you can pedal. And if you’re climbing a steep GA hill – forget about it.

Now let’s add a couple of gears: one lower and another one higher. With the lower first gear, you can get up to your ideal pedal speed more quickly. When you shift to second, your pedal speed drops below ideal for a while as you work to get back to peak efficiency. Same thing happens when you shift to third, but now you can go much faster than you could with a 1-speed bike using the same effort. Add more gears and you can see that it’s much easier to maintain ideal pedal speed. The result, quicker starts, better hill climbing, higher top speed and, most of all, a lot less fatigue for the Lawrenceville rider.

Like a cyclist on a bike, every vehicle engine has an ideal engine speed called its power band. When an engine is running in that zone, it can make power very efficiently. It’s the vehicle transmission’s job to keep the engine in the power band over a wide range of operating conditions. Today 5 or 6 speed automatic transmissions are pretty much the minimum, and 7 and 8 speeds are fairly common in Lawrenceville.

Obviously these sophisticated transmissions are very expensive. In fact, next to your vehicle engine, your transmission is the most expensive component in your vehicle, so it pays to take good care of it. Your manufacturer has a recommended service interval for changing your old, contaminated transmission fluid. Servicing your transmission on schedule at Global Auto Solutions keeps it operating at its best and can prevent costly damage. Ask your friendly and knowledgeable Global Auto Solutions advisor if it’s time for transmission service. Come see why smart Lawrenceville drivers trust their transmissions to Global Auto Solutions.

Visit AUTOBLOG for the latest article regarding transmissions : “…Lexus  gearing up with 10-speed transmissions”

Give us a call.

Global Auto Solutions
2710 Lawrenceville Highway
Lawrenceville, GA 30044
770.931.0222

Be Aware of Odometer Rollback

Is Your Odometer Telling the Truth?

 

Well, back in 1986, Congress passed the Truth-in-Mileage Act to protect GA consumers against mileage fraud. It says a GA seller must certify the mileage reported is the actual mileage.

There may be numerous reasons,If it isn’t, the seller must say why; for example, maybe the odometer is past its mechanical limits. Some older odometers only go to 99,999 and then start over at 0. Or, the odometer has been tampered with, broken or replaced.

To have your odometer checked in Lawrenceville, GA, stop by Global Auto Solutions:

Global Auto Solutions
2710 Lawrenceville Highway
Lawrenceville, GA 30044

If the seller tells you the mileage isn’t accurate, there’s not much chance of putting a good number to it. And there’s the unscrupulous seller who claims the reading is true, but it isn’t. What can  vehicle owners do?

You can go to www.CarFax.com, where, for a small fee, they’ll give you a comprehensive vehicle history search on your vehicle, showing local Lawrenceville, GA, ownership history, accident reports, total-loss events, manufacturer buybacks, Lemon reports and warranty status.

Odometer Rollback Fraud

Rolling back an odometer is not just wrong, it is fraud. Furthermore, most states have their own consumer protection laws that give car buyers even greater protection.

Some consumers are under the misconception that odometer fraud disappeared when yesterday’s mechanical odometers were replaced with today’s digital odometers. After all, how do you tamper with your car’s computer?

You might be surprised to learn that the process is fairly easy, especially for anyone with access to certain online tools.

What can it cost you as a buyer?

There are the financial damages incurred by the unsuspecting buyers. All things being equal, a higher mileage vehicle typically commands a lower price on the used market, and once the true odometer reading becomes known your car’s value is reduced. How much is your car worth? You can find out by using CARFAX Value.

You would be surprised to know that there is a significant difference on how an adjustment of a few thousand miles will affect the value to a car. For the most part, odometer rollback fraud incidents involve tens of thousands of miles. A vehicle that is  7  or 8 years old may have 20,000 miles more than it actualy reads.

There are other repercussions when discovering a rolled-back odometer. If you are financing your vehicle, you will have to inform  the finance company and that can lead to an increase in your interest rate. You’re likely to have your  insurance premium go up. Insurance policies are based on a number of factors, including a vehicle’s body style, make, model, model year, condition and mileage.

A  worst-case scenario, your insurance might be canceled.

You can face bigger issues down the road expecting to do  maintenance items you might have thought were months or years away, but now require immediate attention. Specifically, if you compare the actual odometer reading with the maintenance schedule in the owner’s manual, you may discover that something like the shocks or struts are due for a replacement.

If so, proceed with caution. Or, negotiate a lower price. Or just walk away. There’s always another vehicle.

To learn more watch the  Rollback Odometer video

What You Need to Know About Tire Rotations…

Why does tire rotation and wheel balancing matter? As a driver, you want to make your family’s vehicles and your own vehicle’s tires last longer with regular tire rotation and wheel balancing.

 

Let’s start with tire rotation. In normal driving around Lawrenceville, GA, your front tires wear more on the shoulders because they handle much of the cornering forces in turns. Front-wheel drive vehicles have even more force on the front tires.

At Global Auto Solutions in Lawrenceville, we rotate the tires so that all of the tires do some duty on the front end as well as getting a little break on the back end. That way, all four tires wear more evenly over their life and last longer for Lawrenceville car owners.

For most vehicles in Lawrenceville, GA, tires are rotated front to back. Some recommend a cross rotational pattern as seen to the diagram to the right, that includes the spare tire, and some high-performance vehicles have different size tires on the front and rear and may even have uni-directional tires which means that they can only be on the left or the right side of the vehicle. Our friendly, knowledgeable and professional staff at Global Auto Solutions can help you sort that out and will perform the right tire rotation for your vehicle.

Your car manufacturer will have a recommendation for how often you should rotate your tires.

What is wheel balancing? Ever notice your wheel wobbling? That’s when there are heavy spots on the tire.

Balancing adds weights to the wheel to balance it out. Now, we are talking about very small weight differences. Variations in the tire and wheel manufacture can cause a slight imbalance. The valve stem, and now the tire pressure monitoring sensors in the tire, also play into the equation.

Even small differences can cause annoying vibrations at speed for Lawrenceville drivers: the wheel is essentially bouncing a bit as it goes down the road. For example, at Lawrenceville speeds, an out of balance wheel can be slamming into the road 14 times a second. That’s annoying and can cause tires to wear out more quickly for Lawrenceville drivers.

If a front wheel’s out of balance you’ll feel the vibration through the steering wheel. When it’s a rear tire, you’ll feel the vibration through your seat. If you’re getting bad vibes from your vehicle, bring it in to Global Auto Solutions in Lawrenceville to see if it’s a balance issue or something else. Lawrenceville drivers should balance the wheels whenever they get a new tire or remount a tire like when it’s been removed for a flat repair.

Global Auto Solutions.2710 Lawrenceville Highway. Lawrenceville, GA 30044. 770.931.0222