North Kansas City Auto Repair

It seems like everywhere you go in the Kansas City area you see custom wheels. Big trucks, little cars, mini-vans – it doesn’t matter, motorists are expressing themselves with custom wheels. Some Missouri motorists want smaller tires and wheels – some want larger – and some want them enormous. So where do you start if you want new wheels? At Northtown Auto Clinic, we suggest you start with your budget. We know, that sounds so practical. But if the look you’re after goes beyond just new tires and wheels and enters into the world of suspension modifications, you need to be prepared for the additional cost. Let’s start with something easy – you want to give your ride a unique look and the stock wheel size is just right for you. One of the concerns you will have is that the new wheels have the same offset as your SUV factory wheels. First, what is offset? The wheel bolts onto the hub on the SUV’s axle. The distan ... read more

Hello North Kansas City drivers, let’s talk about batteries. Car batteries are just like any rechargeable battery. They will eventually wear out and die. If you are shopping for a new battery in North Kansas City, here’s some auto advice to help you. There are two measurements to consider when purchasing a new battery: cold cranking amps and reserve capacity. The power required to start a cold engine is measured in cold cranking amps. The number you need is determined by what kind of vehicle you drive and where you live. In general, higher-cylinder engines require more cold cranking amps than lower-cylinder engines. In other words, an eight-cylinder engine needs more cold cranking amps than a six-cylinder one. Also, diesel engines require more cold cranking amps than gasoline engines. The Kansas City weather also determines the number of cold cranking amps yo ... read more

Welcome to the Northtown Auto Clinic automotive blog. Today, let’s talk about the effect of tire tread depth on braking. When talking about stopping power, most North Kansas City and Parkville drivers tend to focus on our brakes. But our tires are where the rubber meets the road. So having good brakes isn’t enough. Safe Parkville drivers need to have tires with enough traction to translate braking power into stopping power. Let’s focus on stopping in wet Parkville conditions. In order for a tire to have good contact with the road, it has to move the water out of the way. If it can’t move the water, the tire will actually ride on top of a thin film of water. That’s called hydroplaning. If it’s really bad, Parkville car owners can actually spin out of control – endangering themselves and the other drivers around them. At best, you won’t stop as fast ... read more

Every SUV on Missouri expressways has a differential, and it is critical to the proper operation of the vehicle, but most North Kansas City motorists don’t have a clue what it is. The differential compensates for differing wheel speeds. For example, when you turn, the inside tire on the turn travels a much shorter distance than the outside wheel. So the inside wheel of the SUV must move at a slower speed than the outside wheel. Without a differential, the wheels would hop and scrape while turning. Have you ever seen the large bugle-shaped object in the middle of the rear axle of a truck? That’s the differential. In a rear-wheel drive vehicle, the differential is located on the back axle. Four-wheel drive vehicles and SUV’s have differentials on both the front and the rear axle. You might expect that the differential is located on the front axle of a front-wheel drive vehicle. You’d be right. But the diffe ... read more