winter tires – Cranky Driver

SAULT STE MARIE, MI — Bertha Benz, the wife of Karl Benz, was the first person to take a road trip. Without telling her husband (or the authorities), she took a Patent Motorwagen and drove with her children Eugen and Richard (fifteen and thirteen years old respectively) 66 miles, from Mannheim to Pforzheim. She left at dawn on August 5, 1888 and arrived at her mother’s home at dusk. They returned the next day.

Wheel on the Subaru Goes Round and Round

By EMan

On January 10, 2014

In Random

So there I was, just a mile from my house when I felt the vibrations. After a few seconds, I decided to pull over and see if I had a flat tire. I went around the car, but all four tires seemed normal. As a precaution, I walked around again and checked the lug nuts by hand. As far as I could tell, those were okay, too.

Snowpocalygeddon

By EMan

On January 5, 2014

In Random

[updated April 15, 2014]

After shoveling snow all day, I don’t want to hear about all the snow in the 1970s and 1980s in Michigan. I came back to Michigan at the end of 2004, and after various snow-pocaly-geddons, four of the winters since then are in the top ten for snowiest winters in Detroit.

Italian Rubber

By EMan

On December 30, 2013

In Reviews

[see update below]

I’m an idiot. I think I’ve done a good job proving this in the past, but I seem to like driving the point home. My most recent proof was particularly annoying. I damaged my car’s fender and a wheel. Once I remove all of the stupid and embarrassment off my face, I’ll probably write about it. My mistake cost me a significant amount of money, but luckily no one was hurt.

Where the Rubber Meets the Road Salt

By EMan

On December 4, 2011

In Rules of the Road

I’ve already mentioned how much I like rubber. This tire fetish of mine is seasonal—I get afflicted whenever I switch the tires on my cars. This November was no different. Over the Thanksgiving break, I changed the tires in two of my cars, switching to winter tires in preparation for that dreaded white stuff, snow.