My new Mazda6 is a dirt magnet. The dark grey paint is always dusty. As soon as it is driven after a wash, dust appears all over it. The dealer suggested it be detailed and a hand-rubbed clear coat applied. This service costs $550. Is this a good idea? – Rose
Firstly, that "hand-rubbed clear coat" is a crock, a rip-off, nothing more than a coat of wax, something you can do yourself in an hour with a $25 container of wax. The problem, I suspect, is two-fold. First, your pride in your new car and desire to keep it looking its best is admirable but perhaps making you a little too aware of dust or anything on that shiny new paint.
Second, and equally likely, is that you either live near a source of that dust or are going through a particularly dry spell in your area. If there is a dirt road, gravel pit or some sort of commercial operation nearby that is the source of the dust, there is likely little you can do. I have had no personal experience with them, but have seen small rubber strips attached to the underside of a vehicle touching the ground.
The purported result is to ground the vehicle, eliminating electrostatic charges, which may be contributing to your problem. Rubber does not conduct electricity, but there is a small metal strip buried within these devices which serves that purpose.
A coat of quality wax would certainly create a slippery surface, making it more difficult for that dust to hang around, and it would also make that dark grey paint look even deeper.
Tire pressure
My GMC Sierra HD pickup rides terribly – the rear end bounces all over the place on rough surfaces. I think the problem is too much tire pressure. The label on the door post calls for 50 psi in front and 80 psi for the rears. I lowered the rear tire pressure to the same as the front – 50 psi, and it rides much better. But the tire pressure warning light in the dash stays on all the time. How can I turn it off? – Warren
You can't. For a good reason – it is unsafe to run pressure that low with those tires on that vehicle. You don't say whether you bought the vehicle new or used. In either case, you purchased a truck designed for what it says – heavy duty use.
The suspension, tires and many other things were specifically engineered for that purpose – towing or carrying heavy loads. Because of this, the ride will indeed be rough when unladen. Reducing the pressure for a better ride will compromise the tire's ability to operate as designed. The tread will not properly contact the road surface and the sidewall will be compromised in the turns.
This means a serious reduction in traction and vastly increased wear. But the biggest concern would be heat build up, which is the greatest single cause of tire failure. With pressures running that far off design specs, there will be a great deal of movement within the tire, between the carcass and tread.
Those whopping great chunks of tire you see scattered on the road are normally the result of one of the tires on a big rig losing pressure, becoming overheated and then blowing. They have at least 17 more tires to carry the load – you would have only one left back there.
Put the tires back to their proper pressure.
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