I found a great deal on Craig's List yesterday afternoon. I got 4 Goodyear Eagle tires with like 6000 miles on them on steel rims for $150 with Honda wheel covers. That's $37.50 a tire!

So I'll put my winter tires (Blizzaks) onto these steel wheels, put the Goodyears on my alloy rims, get them balanced and then I'll have a summer set and a winter set of tires. Nice! I can change them myself and I won't have to worry about some nicer wheels getting trashed in the winter. Both sets should last me like 5 years or more.

I was thinking about winter tires and it makes sense to get them. Say that you get 50,000 miles on a set of tires (sometimes you get more but with the way I drive, the 50,000 mile life is about average). So after 100,000 miles you've gone through 2 sets of tires, right? You could have done that on 2 sets of all-season tires or you could have done it on 1 set of winter tires and 1 set of summer tires. The winter tires will easily get you through the Wisconsin snow and ice and the summer tires are higher performance tires (or in my case, all-season - which is fine). So why not? Be safer. My folks did that this last winter, too, but they just have 1 set of wheels, so they just pay a few bucks to have the tires switched twice a year - that's cool, too.

It took me about a week of checking Craig's List a few times a day to score that deal but it was worth it. I'm glad I was patient and I'm glad the Big Guy was looking after me.

-T

Well, I'm set for winter now. The car has the best winter tires available... Bridgestone Blizzaks.

I went to Weber Tires in Sun Prairie (New Bristol). They normally don't carry that tire, but they gave me a comparable price and they don't charge for mounting, so it was a good deal. The amazing part to me was that I ordered them and just gave them my name, no deposit required. I got there and got in line by them putting my name on a list and they knew who I was. They put the right tires on. There was no computer system keeping track of it, just good old paper. They did a nice job.

There was a wait. I waited 2 hours. If you're going this time of year, be prepared to wait. I got in about 2:30 and was about last on the list since they close at 5. They started turning people away after I got on the list. I heard that on Saturdays, they open just after 7am and there's a line of 30 or more people waiting to get in and they stop taking people by 8am. It's first come, first serve so get there early.

Check out Weber Tires. They take Visa, Mastercard, local checks and also cash, which I happened to pay.

The new tires are mushier and give a little. They're not as great as the performance tires that I had on before, but that's snow tires. In the spring, I'll get new rims (nice!) and performance tires - which can just be for summer use, so I'll be looking forward to that!

-T

Well, I took my Acura RSX in to Octopus Car Wash to get cleaned. I decided to go there because I wanted the wheels cleaned and I tried getting that service over at Mermaid Car Wash and I just wasn't happy at all with how they came out. I remembered that Octopus did a much better job cleaning wheels. So I got the deluxe wash, left, stopped at Woodman's and then went home. The car looked good - or so I thought.

Later that night (a week ago Friday), I noticed that something looked different on my car. The trim on the driver's side of the windshield came off, exposing some clips. It must have come off at the car wash. Since they had already closed, I called the next morning. The manager said he'd take care of it.

I got in to Octopus Car Wash on Sunday after church and talked to an assistant manager there who had my trim but he said he'd only pay half. What? The sign there says that they're responsible. Well, ok.

To make a long story short, I got it fixed at the dealer and talked to the head manager again who did agree to pay for the entire cost ($190) and he gave me some coupons for some diamond car washes for my trouble. Awesome!

That is how you take care of your customers and I just wanted to give them a little plug here for taking care of me. I'll be a customer of theirs for a long time now and I would highly reccommend using Octopus Car Wash over Mermaid. Their service is better and the car just looks cleaner - plus they really take care of you!

-Tony

The 2001 Acura RSX (not a Type-S, unfortunately) gets 27 MPG in the city and 33 MPG highway (better than the Type-S, actually). The gas tank is 13.20 US gallons.

I have a K&N cold air intake on my RSX, which has increased the MPG to 30 city and 36 highway. Not too bad for a quick sports car with a little 4cyl and manual transmission. The K&N filter also gives a noticeable horsepower increase and a nice throaty sound in the engine since it's not a muffled. It probably lost a pound or two of weight, but that's minor.

Every year, I try to do one sort of upgrade to the car. I've tinted the window and added this filter so far. I'm not sure what to do this year. It may just be a good detailing, which it needs. It did get new paint last year because of the hail damage.

Some things are starting to wear on it, too, now that it's over 7 years old. The headlamp covers are foggy (I'll be working on that), there's a catalytic converter cover that's rattling a little and the dealer thinks it needs a new clutch mast cylinder but I don't think it needs it. So the upgrades this year might not be fun ones but instead maintenance type things and things to help it look good and run well into the future.

My dad asked me when I think I might get rid of it and I said never. I think I might hold onto this a long time if I can. It's a great car and could be a collector eventually since they're not made anymore.

-T