San Diego Auto Repair

Looking at getting some new tires? The choices at tire stores can be a little overwhelming. Suppose you have an SUV and are trying to decide between all season tires or some that are also rated for off-highway. Do you get off the payment on the outskirts of more than most? If so, some additional off-road traction would be nice. Maybe the real reason for wanting those off-highway tires is that they look cool. Well there's nothing wrong with that. If you make sure that you've got your functional needs covered with your selection, then you can have some fun with where you go from there. Let's suppose you zip around in a sporty car. You may like to run a high-performance summer tire when the weather's good. When CA weather turns cold, you can put on high-performance winter tires. For the kind of driving you like to do, you want full-on performance tires. All-season tires are naturally a compromise that works well for most drivers, but since you have a choice, go for dedica ... read more

Halloween is right around the corner in San Diego and we have a week full of fun activities the whole family can enjoy together. From haunted ship tours to creepy, crawly critters, we promise this October is going to be boo-tiful! If you haven’t taken a tour of the Star of India before, October is the perfect time to check it out! The Haunted Tales of the Ship promises fun for the entire family! Bring the kiddos dressed in costume to enjoy a lantern-led tour around the ship. You will hear spooky legends from the ship’s past where many real-life encounters with ghosts have taken place. Tours are approximately 45-60 minutes long and take place between 6 -10pm on October 21, 22, 28 & 29. Treats will also be provided to all who are brave enough ... read more

For those of you in San Diego CA who pay attention to these things, you may have been hearing about the new direct injection engines and want to learn more about them. Some deliver the power of a V8 with the economy of a V6. For example, in one family of engines the conventional V6 makes about 250 horsepower. The direct injection version of the same engine makes over 300 horsepower and gets essentially the same gas mileage. The turbocharged version makes over 350 horsepower. So what are the differences from a conventional engine? The core difference is in the fuel injection system. The system most vehicles use now is called a port injection system. The fuel injector squirts fuel into a port just outside the cylinder where it's then drawn into the engine with the air. With a direct injection system, the injector squirts the fuel directly into the cylinder. The gain in power and economy come because fuel injected directly into the cylinder during the co ... read more

There are many reasons not to text while driving, but the most important of these is your safety. Some studies show that texting while driving causes more accidents than talking on the phone or even drunk driving! Thankfully, there are several new mobile phone laws across the country that prohibit texting while driving, making the road a safer place. This fun little ditty from the ZoomSafer team features a truck driver who knows that to safely travel across the country, he must resist the temptation to text while driving. The illustrations and sing-a-long are pretty hilarious, but don't forget the important message behind the video: Stay alive, don't text and drive

Convoy Auto Repair, in partnership with the San Diego NAPA Business Development Group (BDG) and Homefront San Diego, worked together to donate a refurbished Ford Explorer to a military family in need last week. Homefront San Diego is made up entirely of volunteers, and offers assistance in emergency situations for military families who may need a little help in meeting thier needs. One of the biggest challenges military families face is unexpected expenses from vehicle breakdowns. “Roughly 42.4% of all of our expenditures are used to repair unexpected auto breakdowns,” said Mary Ann Tanner, a volunteer for Homefront. “Having local auto repair shops on our side to get costly repairs taken care of will make a huge impact on our families.” Other contributors to this donation were NAPA Auto Parts, and Carrera Auto ... read more

Something you're going to be hearing a lot about around San Diego, CA is diesel engines. We're not talking about semi-trucks and buses - We're talking about diesel engine cars, pick-ups and SUVs. Most people in San Diego, CA are surprised to learn that around half the cars on the road in Europe have diesel engines. Nearly all import auto manufacturers offer a range of diesel engines abroad - even the ultra-luxury brands like Mercedes and BMW. For the most part, these diesel engines haven't been available in San Diego, CA. But that's about to change. In the past, North American diesel fuel has had a much higher sulfur content than European fuel. Recent environmental laws have required changes in diesel formulation and emissions standards here in San Diego, CA so we are now ready to start seeing more diesel options offered over the next few years. Why are so many interested in diesel engines? Well first off, diesel fuel is more energy dense. There's more ... read more

Embed this Infographic on Your Blog:Car Repair Costs Across the USA Infographic created by Convoy Auto Repair

October is one of the most beautiful months in San Diego because it cools off just enough to let us stop sweating from the summer heat, but not so much that we're freezing. October also brings a month full of fun activities to be enjoyed by the whole family. Ocean Beach Oktoberfest is expanding to a two-day celebration this year, Friday, October 7th and Saturday the 8th. The festival will now feature entertainment both inside the beer garden and outside on the grassy area in front of the beach. On Friday, the Charger girls will be hanging out starting at 4:30 and from 4-7pm, you can enjoy the Beer Garden Band Slam and Happy Hour with six cover and tribute bands competing for the cash prize of $4,000. Other fun activities will include the sausage toss, the stein holding and bratwurst eating contest, and the fun run. The entire month of October has been deemed ... read more

So you love our job, and your family life is great: You have achieved balance. But can you the same for your wheels? You can tell if your tires are out of balance by vibrations at higher speeds. If one of the front tires is out, you feel the vibration in the steering wheel. If it's a back tire, you'll feel the vibration in your seat. Tires and wheels are pretty heavy. When a tire is mounted on a wheel, it is usually not perfectly balanced. So the tire technician will spin the tire on a machine to determine where it's too heavy. He will then place weights on the wheels in strategic locations to balance it out. When a tire is out of balance, it actually bounces down the road instead of rolling smoothly. Since the average size tire rotates at about 850 revolutions per minute at 60 MPH, it is actually slamming into the pavement 14 times a second. That's where you get your vibration. Most pe ... read more

If you've walked through the automotive fluids of an auto parts store, you'll know how overwhelming the sheer number of products available can be. How do you know what's right for your vehicle? As you know, these fluids all serve a function in making your car run as you drive around the area. Your vehicle manufacturer has specified a particular type of fluid for every system from the motor, to the cooling system, brake fluid and so on. When you realize that not every variation is applicable to your vehicle, the task becomes more manageable. First let's talk about why there are so many varieties. Starting with motor oil, we see that manufacturers match the properties of a particular weight or type of oil with the design needs of the engine. For example, engines with sophisticated valve trains often require a thinner weight of oil. Some vehicles come from the factory filled with synthetic oil and the recommendation to use it for life. The safe bet is to ... read more