Coolest thing you'll see today, thermal camera monitoring of F1 racecars front tires

Thanks to Dan (DTM racing http://dtmracing.us/ )

"Shop around" so said the Capt and Tenille, and they were right... tire comparison 2013, this time Tire Depot on Adams Ave beats all the rest

With a classic Coke bottle vending machine and a 60's juke box in the customer service area, you gotta love a place like this. They even have a koi pond!

The tires on the Veloster were good for 40 thousand miles, now they're near bald

215/45r17 Nexen Cp671came from Hyundai on it, and stangely, can still be bought from places but not at the Hyundai dealership

So, the prices and tires from the places in order of  best price to worst, with out the door prices, and extras that impressed me

Tire Depot http://www.tiredepotinc.com/  and I doubt any company can beat the reviews on Yelp http://www.yelp.com/biz/tire-depot-san-diego-2

376 out the door

SD tire and wheel
430 out the door

Kearny Mesa Hyundai
same brand etc, but part number CP672
520 out the door

Discount Tire
normally my go to for buying but the prices were way too high this time
440 plus extra costs for install and road hazard which is something I value from them, but can't afford this time. 610 out the door with the road hazard

Evans Tire
420 out the door with some nonsense about buy 2 get 2 free

EXP Tires
buy 4 Cooper tires, and get 4 MLB tickets to the Padres
I don't need to waste that much time talking to people at a ball game. They bore me as I wait for the next ball to be thrown and only to see a strike. Yippee. Hooray. 15 bucks a beer.
550 for Cooper Zeon RS3a

Walmart
Very cool, the nice guy behind the counter insisted on looking at the tire and verifying he would be getting the right tire for me. Wow. I am impressed with that from the place I expected to be the worst
575 Eagle Authority tires

Costco
They impressed me by looking up the car to see what it should get. Yes, they were the only ones!
They only had Bridgestone Euopa. Fine tire, but 300 more than Tire Depot. 65k mileage warranty
671 out the door

Good stuff found on Go Away Garage

spare spark plugs mounted next to the gauge and clock... and in inclinometer... very cool

and this is one BIG fire engine!

All from http://goawaygarage.blogspot.com/

Imagine having a grand opening for your tire store and Goodyear arranging for the land speed record holding car to be there!

coolest thing I've ever heard Goodyear doing

Found on  http://carrosantigos.wordpress.com 

Now not even a shadow of it's former reputation and business size, JC Penny once catered to muscle cars

image from http://megadeluxe.com

In spring of 2012, they were busted overinflating prices just to have a sales price http://business.time.com/2013/05/02/jc-penney-reintroduces-fake-prices-and-lots-of-coupons-too-of-course/

Winter tires... work better at cold temps below 45 degrees F than summer tires due tot he rubber staying pliable

they also have tread designs that are better at tracking through snow and slush, but its the supple rubber that doesn't get rigid like the summer tires rubber compound when cold

Michelin (very expensive) claims (!) 25% better traction than their competitions tires for winter tires

have an older vehicle that doesn't have the computer telling you the tire pressures, and want to know fast and easy if the tires are still correctly aired up?

TPMS sensors are pricey. A couple hundred each last time I saw one sold. And without a cars computer to interact with the sensor, the next best thing are these! Cool idea!

Found at SEMA. Best place to look though new gizmos, gadgets, and products fro vehicles

The Mickey Thompson tire booth had a big variety to display, and Kenny Youngblood doing art too!

 You get to choose which car you like from the above, and Kenny colors it up the way you prefer, and then adds your name to it. A donation is a nice thing though... just saying. Artists starve for their art too often

the Bead Bazooka, a new way to get that damn tire to pop onto the rim. Yup, I've had some that weren't co-operative

good use of old tires, cut them up and use them to hold your pens!

clever use of your company waste by-products as SEMA schwag

beverage coasters made of recycled tires. That is brilliant

the Myers Tire Supply tabletop display at SEMA 2012

Toyo Tires vs the Mayans

Advertising in a military magazine, during WW2

imagine tires being so expensive you have to payment plan them.

the Johnson Brothers "Quick Charge" Henry J, powered by a 426 Max Wedge

 I think these are the first set of real Blue Streaks I've come across

what a differenace a restoration makes on auction results

a 1939 Futurliner just sold at the Worldwide Auctioneers in Auburn Indiana
$247,500. The Jan 2012 issue of Automobile magazine says that a west coast dealer is now asking $400,000 for this bus.
New tires, and the rest needs resotration. The tires alone cost about $15,000.

Today, nine of the original 12 Futurliner vehicles have been located, with two of the nine already beyond repair, serving only as “parts” vehicles. One inventive collector converted one Futurliner into a motorhome. Another, used by a bus company in Massachusetts, now does duty as a display vehicle for the bus company. Once decommissioned by GM, still another found its way into the hands of the Oral Roberts’ crusades in the 1960s, dubbed the Cathedral Cruiser. Still others are in various states of restoration.
These incredible vehicles are 33 feet long with a 248-inch wheelbase, eight feet wide and stand nearly 12 feet tall. One of its most unusual features of a GM Futurliner truck is its dual (side-by-side) front wheels steered of course by a hydraulic power steering. Now restored Futurliner trucks have the ability to be shod correctly in stunning, period-correct real wide whitewall tires thanks to famed collector Mr. Ron Pratte and the folks at Coker Tire.
http://blog.cokertire.com/general-post/gm-futurliner-restoration-ron-pratte/

in 2006 at Barrett Jackson one that was restored sold for $4,320,000

Art Deco Firestone outlet in Ventura Ca, why doesn't anyone make buildings look this cool anymore?

A good review of tire company promotions and what to avoid

from http://www.tirevan.com/ which is looking to win you over win less expensive tires, serviced at you home or work, because a mobile tire installation doesn't have to pay rent on a brick store http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2011/05/tirevan-sell-mount-and-balance-set-of.html if you live near the Washington DC or Philiadelphia metro areas

interesting tire displays and tire aftermarket stuff at SEMA this year

 Interested people will have no problems learning the size of this tire... just read the tread

 these probably qualify as large rubber bands damn it. a 25 series tire on a 26 inch rim? That is ridiculous

 these don't look too big until you look a the guys in the background for reference... these are monster truck size tires