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Toyo Tire Reviews

You will never know how good or how bad a set of car tires perform on your vehicle until you put them on and drive for a few hundred miles. However, you can always read these Toyo tire reviews if you are interested in trying Toyo Tire for your car. These reviews are written by motorist who have been using Toyo Tire for years. You can compare the ratings with other popular tire brands such as Bridgestone, Goodyear, Michelin, Continental, Pirelli, Sumitomo, Yokohama, Hankook, Cooper, Kumho, Maxxis, Nokian or others.

The History of Toyo Tire

Toyo Tire & Rubber Company, Ltd is headquartered in Osaka, Japan. The company was started in 1945 and then expanded to the United States as Toyo Tire Corporation in 1966. Toyo Tire Company now has offices and manufacturing plants in Japan, United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Russia, China, Malaysia, Australia as well as countries in the central south America.

With more than 70 years in making tires and automotive parts, Toyo Tires can be seen on different types of vehicles such as passenger cars, pickup trucks, SUVs, crossover, racing cars, luxury cars and even Formula Drift cars. According to Amazon customer reviews, many Toyo Tires have been rated 5 stars.

Passenger and Performance Car Toyo Tire Reviews

For passenger and performance cars, Toyo Tire families offers Extensa, Versado, Proxes, Celsius and Observe. Extensa and Versado are made for normal sedan and performance cars while Proxes are mostly made for high performance passenger cars, trucks, or racing cars such as the Audi R8, Nissan GTR, Ferrari 458 Italia and others. Among these tires, Toyo Tires Extensa A/S, Toyo Tires Extensa HP, Toyo Tires Versado Noir, Toyo Tires Observe GSI-5, Toyo Tires Proxes 4 Plus and Toyo Tires Versado Eco tires often receive high ratings from consumers.

Toyo Tires Extensa A/S

Some of the tires carry a 65,000 miles warranty on T rated sizes such as the Toyo Tires Extensa A/S. For those who prefer all-season luxury touring tire with quiet yet fuel efficient ride, you can go for the Toyo Tires Versado Noir. Consumers gave good ratings to the Versado Noir for its treadlife, winter traction, dry handling, as well as fuel efficiency. Try the Toyo Tires Proxes 4 Plus if you are looking for ultra high performance all-weather tire. Motorists gave a very high rating for the Proxes 4 Plus thanks to its exceptional dry and wet grip and quiet ride. Toyo Tires also backs the Proxes 4 Plus with a limited 50,000 miles warranty on V and W rated tires.

Light Trucks and SUV Toyo Tire Reviews

For light trucks and SUV, Toyo Tires offers Toyo Open Country, Proxes, and Versado models. Open Country models are the most popular because light trucks and SUV owners love their performance so much. Take the Toyo Tires Open Country A/T II as an example. Consumers love its tread, big shoulder appearance, and its tenacious grip offroad. On the other hand, it also comes with a 65,000 mile limited warranty on P Metric sizes, and a 50,000 mil warranty on LT sizes. Other than that, Toyo Tires Open Country H/T, and Toyo Tires Open Country M/T, Toyo Tires Proxes STII, and Toyo Tires Versado CUV are a few models that received high ratings from consumers.

Toyo Tires Open Country A/T II

According to all Toyo tire reviews online, motorist prefer to use Toyo tires because they are affordable and good in terms of performance. If you would like to know how long lasting Toyo tire is, check out this article “Drive to Thailand”. The motorist put on a set of Toyo NanoEnergy3 195/55 R15 and drive a few thousand miles just to test the tires.

September 2, 2015
Alfa Romeo Giulia

The Alfa Romeo Giulia is a sports saloon car built by Alfa Romeo, the renowned Italian car brand. The production of the Giulia 1300 is in between 1962 and 1978. As the car weights only approximately 1,000 kg (2,205 lbs), Alfa Romeo became one of the first few car makers that place a powerful engine in a light-weight car.

Under the hood, the Giulia is given a light alloy twin overhead camshaft four-cylinder engine. Engine capacities options were 1.3-litre (1,290 cc) or 1.6-litre (1,570 cc). The white color Alfa Romeo Giulia in the photos here is the Giulia 1300 Ti. It features a 1.3-litre engine which produces 81 hp at 6000 rpm and 104 Nm of torque. A 4-speed manual transmission and a twin carburetor fuel system are standard for the car.

As you can see from the photos, the Alfa Romeo Giulia 1300 Ti features a three-spoke Bakelite steering wheel with plastic horn push covering the centre and spokes. In the front of the steering wheel, there are two large gauges which are speedo and tacho. In between them, there is a small fuel gauge. The dashboard is made of solid wood. This is definitely a nice classic car.

Almost 90% of the car is in its original condition include the alloy wheels, wheel caps, bumpers, seat belts, decals, dashboard, both front and back seats.

The top speed of the Alfa Romeo Giulia 1300 ti is rated at 160 km/h (99 mph). This is considered a very fast speed for a car that built in the 1960s. The Alfa Romeo Giulia Super, Giulia Super 1.6 and Giulia Nuova Super 1600 have a top speed of 175 km/h (109 mph). They are the most powerful Giulia ever built. The Super version is capable to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 12 seconds. How many cars on the road today have this capability?

Take a look at the grill, rooflines and some other details on the bonnet, you will notice that the car is very aerodynamic although it might look “square” to many people.

If you ever had a chance to own this beauty, please enjoy driving it as much as you can. If you meet one Giulia running on the road by chance, please request the owner to give you a free ride and try to feel the car. It has the smell which many modern cars don’t.

August 10, 2015
How to Winterize Your Car

While winter is around the corner, it is vital for everyone car owner to know how to winterize your car. Sometimes, it is tough to drive in winter time because of the road conditions, weather, and unexpected things that will happen during cold months. It is essential to know the basic things you need to check and prepare the best for your car before entering winter. Car parts such as tires, gasoline, brake pads, and all the fluid in your engine system play an important role during the winter. If you have no idea of what to do to your car for cold day, check out the 10 most vital things to do to winterize your car in a proper way.

10 Tips to Winterize Your Car Correctly

These are the 10 most important things you need to do in order to winterize your car correctly without spending extra money.

1. Engine coolant

It is necessary to have the right mixture of 60% coolant and 40% water in your radiator before the weather gets too cold especially if you live where temperatures get below freezing, for e.g., Alaska. The water in your radiator may turn into ice if the ratio is not right. 80% water and 20% coolant is definitely a bad idea. Your car engine will not function properly with ice in the radiator. Double check your owner’s manual or check with your mechanics for the perfect coolant mixture.

2. Engine oil for the winter

According to DMV, it is recommended to use thinner and less viscous engine oil during the winter. For example, if you use 10W-30 for your car in the summer, you can consider switching over to 5W-30 before entering cold months. It is highly recommended to refer to your car owner’s manual or seek for further advice from your mechanic. See also: Car engine won’t start.

3. Measure tire tread and consider snow tires

If your car tires are bald, replace a set of new one. To measure the tire tread, use a penny to go through the tire tread. It is time to replace a new one if you can see the Lincoln’s head. On the other hand, you can consider buying snow tires with studs if you live off the beaten path. Snow tires are built to deal with snow, ice and sleet. It can improve your car’s traction.

4. Run a serious checking on belts and hoses

Send your car to a trusted workshop and have your mechanic to check all the belts and hoses under your car’s hood. Replace those hoses if you see a crack on them or if you see any leaking. Hoses are cheap but if they break while you are driving, tow car will be the only way to get home.

5. Check your battery, terminals and cables

Weak battery is often the number one reason a car won’t start. The capacity of a battery is reduced by the cold weather. Run a complete checking on your battery, terminals, cables, fluid for any cracks and breaks. Test your car battery with a car battery tester. Replace a new car battery if it is not in healthy condition. See also: how to test a car battery.

6. Brake pads

It is cool to see a car accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in a few seconds but it is also important to be able to stop a car from 60 to 0 mph. Check your brake pads and see if they need to be replaced. See also: how long do brake pads last.

7. Replace your windshield wipers and washer fluid

It is tough to drive in the rain during winter time especially if you are on the road late at night. Visibility levels are definitely low and it is recommended to replace your wipers with silicon wipers if they are in bad conditions. Silicon wipers are stronger and they often last longer. Also, you are suggested to use washer fluid with an antifreeze solution.

8. Keep a set of emergency kit in your car

Anything can happen during winter because the weather is cold and the sky is always dark. The best way to combat with winter is to keep a set of emergency kit inside your car such as flashlights, hydraulic jack, wrench, spare tire, emergency warning triangle, extra bottles of engine oil, brake fluid, coolant, blankets, boots, bread or food as well as tools to change out a flat.

9. Always pump your fuel tank full

In our car maintenance guide, we often mentioned that low fuel level will lead to many problems. Fuel pump failure is just one to be mentioned. Cold weather can cause condensation to form on the walls of a near-empty gas tank, and soon water will drip down into the gas. As water is heavier than gasoline, it might travel into fuel lines and then all the way to your car engine. This will not burn the engine but it will burn your wallet.

10. Use antifreeze

Consider to put a right amount of antifreeze in your radiator. A 50:50 ratio is the ideal amount. Antifreeze can keep fluids from freezing at temperatures as low as -34 degrees Fahrenheit (-36.67 degrees Celsius). Pre-mixed Antifreeze is cheap and they are available almost everywhere including gas stations and some grocery stores.

That’s the top 10 things on how to winterize your car. Please leave a message with the comment features if you think something important is missed out.

August 9, 2015
Top 10 Best iPad Car Mount for iPad, iPad Air and iPad Mini

To be sure of buying an iPad car mount that is good enough to hold an iPad, iPad Air or iPad mini in your car while traveling, you need to read these reviews carefully. There are headrest iPad car mount, backseat iPad car mount, windscreen iPad car mount, dashboard iPad car mount and many other types of car mounts for iPad available in the market. The price is ranging from a low of $10 to a high of few hundred dollars. It is going to be funny if you buy an iPad headrest car mount but you actually want to mount your iPad on your dashboard. Let’s check out what are the best iPad car mount for your needs.

1. RAM Suction iPad Car Mount

RAM Suction iPad car mount comes with the simplest design. It takes you less than a minute to install it to any car. Even a 3-year-old kid knows how to use this car mount because all you need is to push the suction cup towards your windscreen and then adjust the rubber ball for best viewing angle.

2. Arkon TAB-RSHM Headrest iPad Car Mount

It costs only $24.95 to buy Arkon TAB-RSHM headrest iPad car mount from Arkon’s official website. It is cheap and it is reliable as it fits all types of tablets from 9” to 12” in screen size even with cases. Thus, you can use this car mount on your headrest to hold an iPad, iPad Air, iPad 4, 3, 2 or even the Samsung Galaxy Note without any problem. This holder features a 360-degree swivel and everyone at the back seat can view the iPad for sure.

3. SIIG Windshield iPad Car Mount CE-MT0DT12-S1

The SIIG windshield iPad car mount features a dual heavy-duty suction cups. It will hold your iPad firmly even you are driving a 4WD car in Jurassic World. It costs just $29.99 to turn your iPad into an in-car entertainment/navigation system.

4. Valet Headrest Mount

Valet headrest mount has the maximum flexibility for any iPad models include iPad, iPad Air and iPad mini. You can adjust the viewing angle regardless of where you are sitting in your car. What is really special about this particular product is the way it attaches to a single headrest post.

5. CoulVue iPad Car Holder

Among all tablet car mount available in the market, the CoulVue (pronounced Cool View) is one of the safest car holder ever. It has a flexible arm where you can adjust according to your viewing preference. CoulVue is widely available at Target, Amazon, Best Buy or Wallmart at very reasonable price.

6. Otterbox Utility Car Mount

The Otterbox Utility car holder is definitely only one of its kind. This product has a utilitarian case that can attach to the headrest. The Otterbox case makes your iPad looks futuristic but it is lacking when it comes to the viewing angles. However, the case can protect your iPad from almost anything.

7. RAM Universal Locking Mount

The RAM Universal iPad car mount attaches close to the front passenger seat. That makes a driver able to access to anything they need with ease. The holder is made from marine grade aluminum together with a rubber ball socket system. The quality is guaranteed.

8. iOttie HLCRIO106 iPad car holder

The iOttie HLCRIO106 iPad car holder features a sticky gel pad to attach your iPad securely to the dashboard of your car. This type of car mount can be adjusted at any angle according to your viewing preference. One light press of the iPad into the mount and it will grip your iPad securely.

9. MRX 2 Car Air Vent iPad Mount

The MRX 2 is one of the few car mount that uses your car air vent as a base. With or without an iPad case, this car mount will hold your iPad strongly while giving you the best viewing adjustment.

10. Kropsson 850 Universal Car Mount Holder

This is a universal car mount where it holds not just iPad but other tablets tightly in your car. You can install it easily to the center of your dashboard or any places you prefer. It allows a 360-degree rotation and fits to iPad 1, iPad 2, iPad 3, iPad 4, iPad Air 1, iPad Air 2, iPad mini 1, iPad mini 2 and iPad mini 3.

Besides iPad car holder, iPad car charger and iPad car stereo or car audio are two other in-car accessories you can consider to buy for a better experience on iPad while traveling.

August 6, 2015
How to Pay Off Your Car Loan Faster

Have you ever wondered how to make your car payment go down or how to pay off your car loan faster? If you do, you should really check out how the smart people deal with their loans. According to a research, 70% of people sign up for car loans to buy their new cars. Often, these car loans take almost one-third of their monthly income and they last for at least 48 months up to 84 months. If you feel like you are paying a lot of interest for no reason and don’t want to suffer for 84 months, perhaps you should check out these proven methods to pay off your car loan faster.

Method 1: Pay Your Loan Bi-Weekly

Instead of making payment every month, you can make bi-weekly payments. This is one of the fastest ways to pay off your car loan early because less interest will be accumulated when payments are applied more often. There are 52 weeks in a year and you will make 26 (or 27) yearly payments using bi-weekly payment method. In fact, you can also shave off the payment for last few months.

Method 2: Make Extra Payment Whenever You Got Extra Cash

Pay more is often the best way to settle your car loan early. You can do this whenever you got extra cash and that could save you a lot of interest. For example, pay $500 instead of $428 every month. At the end of the year, you can see an extra $864 is paid to your car loan in your statement. In order to make extra payment, you need to find extra cash, thus, work harder.

Method 3: Make a Large Extra Payment

Regardless of when you do it, making a large extra payment can help you to pay off your car loan faster. If your car loan interest rate is 5%, making a $10,000 extra payment could save you $500 dollars in a year. Do no overlook $500 because there are many great cars under $500 dollars.

Method 4: Round Up the Monthly Payments

Round up is one of the best techniques to pay off your car loan faster. The monthly payment for a $22,000 car loan with 5% APR and 84 months term is $310.94. You can actually shave off at least 11 months if you round up the amount and pay $350 every month.

Method 5: Refinance Your Loan

We mentioned about refinancing your car loan in Chapter 4 of our Car Buying Guide, Car Leasing versus Car Buying. Refinancing is the easiest and simplest way to pay off your car loan faster. Do a little research and find out which local banks are offering super low interest rates on car loans. If you are able to refinance your car loan from 6% to 2.5%, that will be a big saving. Refinance is also an awesome way to make your monthly car payment go down too.

Method 6: Pay Online or Sign Up Auto Payments

Nowadays, a lot of things have gone online. Many banks started to offer additional discounts if you pay your monthly car payment online or sign up for auto payments. Pay online or sign up auto payments is a good practice although it doesn’t help you to save a lot of money compared to other methods above. However, it did bring you convenience as well as little discounts.

See also: Things to consider when choosing the right car

August 5, 2015