I S S U E 1 O C T O B E R 2 0 0 6

Confessions of a failed driver

MANoeuvres the girly wayad

I Love My Car - beloved Sooty

PLUS Cut Out and Keeps

Cut out and keep sectionsPurchase our special offer binder and keepall your Girl Torque guides with you whenyou’re out on the open road. This month wefocus on your tyres

Pump it upTechnical Torque

Let’s TorqueReaders’ letters

MANoeuvresImpress anyone with a bit of extra know howon the road

Barbie solves your problems FAST!

Sensible shoes heelies and flatties

for pressing the pedal

Confessions of a failed driver. Every

month we take a look at the motoringsuccess and the not-so’s of ladiesthroughout the country

Car Torque Car of the month this month is the CitreonC3. Made for us ladies, it has many good bitsand comes in some nice colours too

Special OfferPurchase our stylish binder to store all youressential GirlTorque guides

I Love My CarMonthly love interest of ladies who pampertheir pet motor

to the first edition ofGirlTorque,the monthly magazine forladies only designed to give all ofyou budding Kwikfitters a hand’s-onapproach to maintaining your car.And that’s not all! We give you tipson making informed decisions whenyou want to buy a car, other ladydrivers’ experiences, what you mightlike to wear when on the open roadand our cut-out and keep sectionsshow you not only how to maintainyour car, but also how to maintainyour independence! There’s a specialoffer binder to keep your cut-outand keeps in, so get ordering thencut it out and keep it in your car!There is also a nostalgic section -‘I Love my Car’ which shows thatyou’re not the only one who nameshim ‘Sooty’ and keeps him pamperedlike he was your beloved pet. Enjoythe experience, ladies!

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We should all know how to

find the bit that allows us

to put air in the tyre (the

little sticky out bit on the wheel)

but how do we know what

pressure to use? In your care

manual (what’s that?) it will tell

you that the front and back tyres

need different pressures.This

pressure is called ‘pounds per

square inch’ or ‘psi’ or is

sometimes referred to as a ‘bar’.

Some carsalso have this

information on the inside edges of

the door frame. If you’ve never

tried to pump up your tyres

before, bite the bullet and have a

go. It’s not that bad!

In the diagram opposite,

the tyre pressures are displayed for

both a three and five seater car. The diagram

with three stick people in it shows that the tyre

pressure for the front wheels should be 33 psi

and the back wheels should be 29 psi. If you

look at your pump, you will see the psi running

around the inner circle of the gauge, All you

have to do is make the needle go to 33 when

pumping up the front tyres and 29 when

pumping up the back ones. You must wait until

the tyres are ‘cold’ before measuring their

pressure. ‘Cold’ means that you must leave

them for at least three hours after you have

driven before you can even think about finding

out the true tyre pressure. Sounds a bit scary,

but once you try it out, you’ll soon discover that

there is nothing to worry about. Turn the page

and look at the other steps and you’ll soon be

pumping with confidence!

Remove the cap

(the sticky out bit) from the tyre

by unscrewing it. This bit it vitally

important - DON’T LOSE THE

CAP! What’s the point in

impressing yourself by pumping

up your own tyres if you can’t

seal in all the good work? KEEP

IT IN A SAFE PLACE!

Okay, now the

fun really begins! Put the end of

the pump onto open bit of the

tyre where you took the cap

from and lock into place. It’s not

a dirty job, so you won’t have to

wear protective gloves (unless

you want to).

Pump those

tyres! Using your foot,

put pressure onto the foot

pump. Keep your eye on the

gauge and don’t get carried

away. When you’ve reached the

psi you need, rememberwhere

you put the screw cap, remove

the pump and screw the cap

back on. You’ve done it, and not

a man in sight!

Your tyres should be periodically inspected

for wear, cracking, bulging or objects caught

in the tread (a bit like inspecting ourselves!).

Always get the tyre replaced if you notice any

of these things occurring, because accidents

WILL happen if you don’t.

NEVER use a tyre that is over six years old,

whether it has been used or not, as

tyres degrade with age as well as

use.

You can go into a garage and have your tyres

checked at any time if you suspect they’re not

in tip top condition. You can also have the

balance checked so that the tyres will wear

evenly.

Checking the amount of tread left on a tyre is

very important. There are different ways of

doing this, depending on the make of the tyre.

Tyres are your only contact with the road and

affect the steering, braking and acceleration

of your wheels. If you look after them they will

work more reliably and last longer. If you

don’t look after them, they could be very

expensive to replace and could even cost you

your life.

In the UK, the minimum depth you should

have on your tyre tread is 1.6mm. This

measure applies to the centre three quarters

of the tyre around its breadth and also

around the outer circumference of the tyre.

Most car tyres have tread wear indicators.

They comprise at least six small ‘ribs’ across

the bottom of the main tread grooves and

when the tread surface becomes level with

these ribs the tyre is at the legal limit and

must be replaced.

You can buy tyre tread gauges, which are

very cheap, only a few pounds, and give an

acceptable indicator of how far you are off

the legal limit.

Did you know that you can be fined up to

£2,500 if you are driving a car with a worn

tyre? Furthermore, each worn tyre is

considered a separate offence. And, you can

also receive a 3 penalty points on your

licence?

So girlies, invest in a tyre tread gauge, check

those tyres regularly and don’t EVER get

caught out with a bald patch!

Another general rule, without being too

techie, is don’t mix tyre tread patterns -

that’s all you need to know!

RED TREAD - the centre three-quarters ofyour tyres should have at least 1.6mm tread

I have recently passed my

test and love the freedom

of driving myself around,

except I am frightened of

turning right. I end up

driving until I find a

roundabout then go back

the way I’ve just come to

reach my destination.

Please help me, I’m

desperate!

Barbie says: “Oh, I know

how you must be feeling.

I had the same problem when

I first passed my test! It

must be a girl thing. I would

advise you to book a few more

lessons and ask them to be

tailored specifically towards curing this

problem. You’ll be brimming with confidence

in no time. Good luck and happy motoring!”

My husband is a back seat driver!He’s got a bit of a temper on himand when we go out, he likes tohave a drink, so I end up drivinghome. That’s when the problemsstart. How can I tell him to shutup and let me get on with thedriving without causing a row?

Barbie says: “You’ll have to

handle this one carefully. First

of all, compromise on who drives

home and don’t let him have his

own way all the time. Secondly,

make it perfectly clear that when

you drive, it’s YOU who is in the

driver’s seat, NOT HIM, and if he

starts to criticise, he’ll be

WALKING HOME! Hopefully, this will

take the wind out of his sails -

husband training is a bit like

dog training - once they know

that you won’t stand for any of

their nonsense, they’re like

faithful little puppies!”

My boyfriend says heloves me but he’sjealous of the teddybear I have on mydashboard. He saysthat I love Bertiemore than him! It’sdriving a wedgebetween us because Iwon’t get rid ofBertie. How can I makemy boyfriend see whata fool he’s being?

Barbie says: “Goodgrief! Ditch theboyfriend. You mustsee that yourboyfriend’s immaturityand possessive natureare unhealthyobsessions. I thinkthat, unless hechanges drastically(and quickly), you’rebetter off withouthim. It’s not fair tomake people choosebetween materialobjects and humanrelationships. Don’tpander to his whims -let Bertie stay firmlyon the dashboard andthrow your boyfriendoverboard!”

Danger Ahead!Danger Ahead!Dead End boyfriend

NO

RIG

HT

TURN

PAGE 16 ISSUE 1

solves your problems ....FAST I SSUE 1 PAGE 17

Stay stylish even when you’re behind

the wheel. This month

we look at ‘heelies’ for

all you brave hearts and ‘flatties’

for the not-so-confident driver.

PAGE 18 ISSUE 1

TED BAKER Flat Loafers £79.00. Leatheruppers. Beautifully comfortable for drivingin. Quick slip-ons and so stylish! How canyou go wrong with these. They come in twocolours - black and cream. Treat yourselfto these little darlings and your feet willbe happy ever after!

LACOSTE LOOP Trainers £99.00. Notthe cheapest trainers you’ll find,but you can wear them out and aboutwith smart or casual wear. Thevelcro fastening allows fast andeasy getting on and off, so if youwant to change into something moregirly, it couldn’t be simpler. Theycome in two colours - black andwinter white. Recommended!

SASHA Cut out detail shoes £49.00.How could you refuse thesebeauties? Comfy and stylish with an8.5cm heel. Not too high to drivein for most of us and its worth itto look this good.

I SSUE 1 PAGE 19

FAITH Cowboy Boots£89.00. Never miss achance to buy agood pair of cowboyboots. These areeasy to drive inand look great witha skirt or jeans. Abargain. They are abeautiful dark brownwith leather uppersand leather soles.Quality assured, asusual, from Faith.Go gettem girls!

SASHA Cut out detail shoes £49.00.How could you refuse thesebeauties? Comfy and stylish with an8.5cm heel. Not too high to drivein for most of us and its worth itto look this good.

PAGE 22 ISSUE 1

ow very

humiliatin

g it is

to fail

your drivi

ng test

SO MANYTIMES

! It’s n

ot

as if it

’s anythi

ng major,

well not

the last

time

anyway. B

ut how i

nconvenien

t it is

too. Luggi

ng loads

of shoppi

ng from

Tesco’s o

nto the

bus, then

everyone

moaning t

hat you’v

e got to

o many

bags. Wel

l, I’m s

orry, but

I can

only go o

nce a we

ek becaus

e I have

to work

full time

to pay m

y

mortgage

(and my e

ver-increa

sing

driving l

essons).

The day

I decided t

o start

taking dr

iving les

sons felt

like a

very liber

ating exp

erience.

I

thought I

’d be le

aving beh

ind

queuing a

t the bu

s stop o

r waiting

endless m

inutes fo

r a train

only to

find that

I couldn’

t get on

it

because i

t was to

o packed.

How

wrong I prove

d myself

to be. I

’ve

just booke

d my ele

venth tes

t and

I’m hopin

g against

all odd

s that

I’ll pass

this time

around. I

deserve i

t - I’ve

been takin

g

lessons f

or three

years!

You’d thi

nk they’d

take ne

rves

into consi

deration,

wouldn’t

you? I

mean, I d

idn’t int

entionally

go up

the curb

when rever

sing aroun

d a

corner an

d crush

that littl

e boy’s

bike. I w

as just

a bit fl

ustered a

t

taking my

tenth t

est and

anxious t

o

pass that

my nerves

made me

a bit

sweaty an

d I steam

ed up th

e

windows,

so it wa

s difficu

lt to se

e

properly.

And the

time befor

e, when

I

went throu

gh a red

light -

well,

they are

a bit co

nfusing o

n those

turn right

only ju

nctions.

I

thought t

he green

one meant

that I

could go.

They sh

ould make

it

clearer w

ho has p

riority.

And those

mini round

abouts -

they’re a

nightmare.

Everyone

stops o

r

everyone

goes. Wel

l I just

go

whatever.

Someone h

as to be

a bit

pro-active

, don’t

they, oth

erwise

we’d never

get any

where. As

for

that writt

en test,

well if y

ou ask

me, life’

s too sh

ort for

written

tests. Ju

st give

me my li

cence

and let

me enjoy

myself. I

n fact,

I might pri

nt out a

green ‘

P’

and stick

it on m

y car an

yway.

Everyone

will steer

clear

and I wo

n’t have

a problem

.

of a failed driver

I SSUE 1 PAGE 23