Hello everyone! As January approaches, I wanted to issue a reminder that if you have a blue inspection sticker on your  vehicle it will no longer be the correct color for the coming year. The month of expiration is printed on the sticker as well. The attached example is overdue by 2 months as it is dated October. Please keep in mind that a blue inspection sticker will stick out to a police officer in comparison to the gray stickers that were issued in 2025. 

New york state inspection requirements involve inspecting the brake system, parking brake, tires, steering, suspension, front end chassis/frame, lighting, glass, window tint, wipers, horn, seat belts and fuel leaks. It also involves emission testing that is simply no check engine light on, no current codes and emission monitors complete. Each vehicle is plugged into a DMV inspection computer to verify that the emissions are good at the time of inspection. 

If you have questions about NYS requirements, then please call and ask. I would be happy to go over the pass / fail requirements so you can understand them. 

We do inspections based upon appointment. Please call us to set up an appointment. 

Happy Holidays everyone! I am writing his educational post on a question I am answering many times a day. So, I am hoping when you google, ask bixby or your favorite AI assistant this answer will come up. I have been asked many times lately, "What is the difference between all season radial tires and all weather tires?" 

To begin to answer this question, we need to establish a couple key distinctions between all season and all weather. All season tires do not meet federal requirements to be a "snow tire". All-Weather Tires do meet federal qualifications to be snow tires. Seasons in the lower 50 states and out west do not have the same winter driving conditions that we have in the northeast and mid west. Winter in Florida does not mean that there will be snow and the same weather. The term "all season" can apply to almost any tire that has the bare minimum requirements. To meet federal requirements to be a "snow tire", a tire is actually matched up against a designated snow tire and it must outperform against that tire. The tread compound is also different as well as the tread design. Snow tires are a softer compound for better traction and have block style tread patterns, where as all season tend to be a harder compound for longevity and more tight tread patterns with curvaceous siping that helps with water disbursement and quiet ride. All weather tires are a hybrid of snow tires and all season radial tires. They have a compound that is between a harder all season and softer snow tires. Their tread patterns tend to be a bit more blocky; however, they are still quieter than a snow tire and will last longer.

Ultimately when choosing which tires to purchase if you live in the northeast USA, all weather is the most desired if you plan on not changing out to a designated snow tire. This gives peace of mind in knowing that you have a tire that can handle snowy driving conditions. A full designated snow tire will always perform best on snow and ice; however, you will want to switch them for an all season/summer tire as snow tires will wear down faster in the summer time due to the heat and softer compound. 

If you have questions about tires, then please give us a call. We are always happy to help and educate so you can make the best decision for yourself.

- Clint




tags: #educational #allweathertires #allseasontires #allweather #education #falken #goodyear #michelin #nokian #snowtires #autoexpert #automotiveexpert #tireexpert #tirereplacement #tirerepair

We deal with a large variety of automotive issues at the shop. Some issues such as tire patches are simple and daily occurrences. Sometimes we take on classic cars that need regular repair and overhaul. Sometimes we take on "headaches" that other shops just could not figure out. This is a story about one of those times. 

We recently had in a 10 year old Chevrolet Colorado, 4 cylinder and four-wheel drive. It had been throwing lean condition codes, this means that the engine was getting too much unregulated air into the engine. As a result, the engine computer was forcing the injectors to stay open longer causing gas milage to plummet. Upon looking under the hood, it appeared to have had the "throw a part at it and see if fixes it kind of look". After looking at the scan data, the computer indeed displayed to us it was lean, the mass air flow sensor was reading lower than expected. This is likely due to a component failing causing air not seen by the mass air flow sensor to enter the engine. The air/fuel sensor (oxygen sensor) sees the excess after combustion and then the computer adds more fuel to the engine until it sees a proper mixture at the oxygen sensor in the exhaust. 

So how do we find air entering the engine? We check obvious components such as intake tubes and hoses for cracks and holes. If nothing is obvious, then it is best to hook up a smoke machine and fill the intake with smoke. Smoke machines are primarily used for fuel and evaporative emission leaks; however, they can be used for situations such as these. Expert technicians know that tools can always be used for more than 1 situation. The smoke machine showed us the leak. Within minutes, the air intake resonator box was smoking out of the seam.  The resonator box appeared in physical good health; however, it clearly was not. 

Unfortunately, the air resonator box was not available anymore as GM had discontinued it and it is not a commonly sold part by a junkyard. Our only choice of repair was to physically seal the box with adhesive and a plastic weld compound. After resealing the box, engine fuel trims came back to normal. The check engine light issue was resolved. The truck could then pass inspection and gas mileage was restored to normal.