What rims can I use

ANSWER : A road force balancer is meant to check tires for pull in one direction or another and balance a tire up to about 60 mph. Some tire balancers will check tires for higher speeds. You may have an imbalance that most machines cannot measure if it comes in after 65 mph. You can see if there is a shop near you that can do high speed balancing? You may have a front axle that is causing the vibration also. I suggest installing the original rims and tires on the front only to see if problem is still there and if so have the front axles checked for damage and replaced if any damage or looseness is noted.

ANSWER : Hi there. It sounds like you have a very serious issue here. If the wheels are the wrong size and they have been tightened onto the caliper and will not come off then you will be very limited at to how they can be removed. Most of the time this will take a lot of work to pry them off with a large pry bar. In some rare cases the caliper will either need to be cut or the wheel will need to be heated to remove this, but this can be dangerous. Either way the wheels or the calipers will be damaged and will need to be replaced unfortunately.

ANSWER : The minimum recommended rim width for 33 x 12.5R16 is 8 inches. The rim diameter, of course, must be 16 inches. In terms of width, you can use rims that measure in the range of 8 to 9.5 inches with 9 inches being typical. Offset is set by the OEM manufacturer of the vehicle and is designed in based on suspension design, clearances and so forth. If you specify the year, make and model of the vehicle, we will be glad to look up the offset for your application. Offsets are also generally published in vehicle tire catalogs on the Internet and so will be searchable there, too, by year, make and model.

ANSWER : Hi there – the answer is "possibly". There are 4 technical questions which must be affirmatively answered first to go forward with this swap. First – do the wheels you acquired have the same bolt pattern as your stock wheels (i.e. same # of bolts, and same bolt hole circle diameter – 100mm, 5" or whatever)? Second – do the newly acquired 16" wheels fit over your brake calipers and discs with at least 1/4" clearance everywhere? Most likely they do, but some cars have very large diameter discs these days, which require large diameter wheels. Third – do the new wheels (with a representative tire size you intend to use) bolt squarely to the hubs without rubbing against any suspension bits (i.e. strut tower, tie rod end, sway bar links, etc.)? Fourth – do the new wheels have the same size (or larger) center hole, which matches the diameter of the hub, so that the wheel center carries the load of the vehicle, and not the wheel lugs? If the wheel hole is larger than the hub, you can likely purchase concentric rings which fit between the hub and wheel, centers the wheel, and enables direct weight load transfer to the wheel. If all of these questions have the correct answer, YES, you can safely use your newly acquired wheels, even though they are 1" smaller in diameter. Happy motoring!

ANSWER : Hello, thank you for writing in. If the new battery has also failed to hold a charge, the alternator is likely not working correctly. You can test the alternator at home with a voltmeter, or you can remove it and have it tested at most automotive parts stores. It will need to be replaced if it has failed. You will also want to make sure all of the electrical connections are clean, dry, and tight. For more help testing or replacing the alternator, contact our service department to schedule an appointment.

ANSWER : E-15 is shorthand for gasoline blended with 15% Ethanol which is a fairly corrosive material which can cause damage to rubber parts and other critical parts over time. Ethanol also attracts and bonds with water from the air, and that water can separate out inside the tank due to phase separation. If your vehicle sits for long periods between use, the moisture settles to the bottom of the tank and can potentially clog in-tank pumps and filters. Damage is also possible in fuel lines, injectors, seals, gaskets, and valve seats as well as carburetors on older engines.

The main issue with respect to E-15 in many cases is whether or not the car will be covered under warranty from damage caused by using this product. GM and Ford have certified their own cars starting with 2012 (GM) and 2013 (Ford) to be compatible with E-15 and so some of the newer cars may not have any trouble with this.

I would not recommend using this fuel on longer drives where the chances of burning through an entire tank relatively quickly are greater. This may lessen the chance of excess E-15 fuel sitting in the bottom of your tank for longer periods of time where it may be prone to causing damage as outlined above.

If you run into any issues, feel free to contact YourMechanic, as one of our mobile technicians can come to your home or office to service your vehicle.

ANSWER : The lug nut bolt pattern on your vehicle is 4 x 114.3. In practical terms, that means that an imaginary circle drawn through the four "bolt holes" will have a diameter of 114.3 millimeters. Of course, a bolt pattern designated "4 x 100" (100 millimeter diameter) will not work on your car because none of the bolt holes will line up.

Please note that certain wheels, even with the "same" bolt hole pattern as your original wheels, will not work properly or safely on your car due to differences in another critical wheel dimension, which is offset. Your OEM factory wheels have high positive offset and ideally any substitute wheel you are thinking of should have the identical amount of offset.

There are quite a few (dimensional) variables to consider when replacing wheels. Consequently, it is optimal to replace the wheels on your car with exact factory duplicates to avoid problems with handling and steering, interference (and consequent damage to the wheel wells) and premature wear-out of your car’s suspension. YourMechanic can help you with wise wheel and tire wheel selection, installation, and regular maintenance such as a tire rotation which is really critical because regular rotation, every 6,000 miles, will greatly extend the service life of your tires.

ANSWER : The driver information center (DIC) provides you with a lot of different information. At any moment, you can choose which information you would like the DIC to provide. To choose the Fuel Used setting, press the Menu button on the turn signal lever until the DIC displays Trip/Fuel Information. Then, use the arrows on the turn signal lever to scroll through the options until you reach Fuel Used. The Fuel Used setting will tell you how much fuel your vehicle has used since the last reset.