Sparks Auto Repair

Monthly Archives: January 2011

To 4 wheel drive or to not 4 wheel drive

Now that most of us have had a chance to drive in the snow this winter, a concern has come to my attention. We have had a few customers that needed to bring their vehicles to RPM Automotive due to improper use of 4 Wheel Drive. I must caution all drivers of 4WD or AWD vehicles, it is NEVER recommended to use 4LOW for town or freeway driving. 4LOW is only intended for extreme off road use. Using 4LOW in town or freeway driving can cause serious damage to your vehicle. On a similar note, at Scotty’s Transmission we have found AWD or 4WD vehicles with mismatched tires. On these vehicles it is critical that all 4 tires are the same circumference. Even though the tire size on the tires may match, there could be a small difference in circumference from one manufacturer to another. Also, should you have a blowout on one tire and replace it with a new one, there will be a difference between the worn tires and the new tire. Anytime an AWD or 4WD is operated with different size tires there i ... read more