Flat Tired

The humidity is incredible.

One of those days where breathing should be optional.

It does not compare in the slightest to the heat wave which is consuming the rest of the planet. It is simply uncomfortable for those of us who struggle to breathe naturally. Do we not also have a right to complain about something? There is little else to remark upon in this part of the country, so long as we avoid politics, crime, disease, and the number of times I bumped my head against the ceiling in the garage while trying to get things cleaned up in the loft.

It had been my goal to spend some time outside today, digging the trench for the first phase of the terrace garden project.

It had also been my goal to obtain a few additional decking boards so that the steps could be replaced; the original ones are so far past their expiration date that they should be melting into the ground by now. But that didn't happen today.

What did happen was that the front two tires on the Toyota Rav4 were replaced. Such adventures I face! But it is all due to my own negligence. And lack of observational skills. We've had the silly car (SUV) for several years now and it never occurred to me to take note of the fact that the tires were not standard all-weather, but rather snow tires. Even though I've pulled the tires off several times in order to replace the brake pads and rotors.

How could I be so blind??

You might be asking yourself, what's the big deal? So what if they are snow tires? Why even bother replacing four perfectly good tires after all this time, just because they are specially-built for driving in snow?

Hm.

Two things: wear and mileage. Snow tires are softer and so they wear out faster on dry roads. And, being softer, they provide more friction between the car and the road, which means that they reduce the overall mileage of the car.

Currently, the Rav gets around 22-24 mpg on long-distance drives (Texas to Seattle, for example). Theoretically, it should be getting around 28 on the highway.

On our long-distance trip last summer, we pushed the car to around 250 miles per tank; theoretically, we should've been able to go well over 300 miles.

There is one other consideration, which comes to mind with regard to the impetus for this entire boondoggle.

We originally had to replace one of the tires because it went flat when it encountered a not-really-sharp piece of metal downtown. And not just any piece of metal: a flat piece of metal over an inch long which managed to drive itself almost completely through the tread of the tire. Had that piece of metal been encountered by an all-weather tire of similar wear, it would've been laughed out of the room. Handily ignored. Rejected.

But the softness of the tire allowed this vagrant piece of metal to push itself right through like a hot knife through butter.

I'd like to avoid this in the future. Especially if we happen to be driving at highway speeds. Luckily for us, the flat didn't present itself until after we had arrived safely home.

But it could've been much worse.