You may have noticed over the past few years that high-performance tires are becoming lower in profile and softer in compound, yet providing higher mileage longevity. Good tires are also expensive, so it makes sense to protect your investment.

Parking a car in one place for several months does not do any favors to a high performance tire. Depending on temperature, pressure, rubber compound, and time, a mounted tire will eventually "flat-spot" on the portion of the tire which rests on the floor. Flat-spotting is either temporary, in which case the tire will round out with driving, or permanent, which will effectively ruin an otherwise good tire.

Project 164 has been off the road for some extended intervals over the past two years, and on one of those occasions (about 3 months) I found a dead battery (more on that later), and flat-spotted tires. It was very obvious to feel and hear the flat-spots once the car was at highway speed "thump, thump, thump, thump" Fortunately, after some spirited driving, the tires rounded out and were not permanently damaged, but I wanted a solution to prevent this from happening again.

Sooner or later all batteries die. If you drive your Alfa only occasionally, sooner is much more likely than later, especially if it is a later model car with constant (albeit small) constant power draw. Fortunately, I've got two solutions for you here.

Recently, former Chrysler & Ford executive, Bob Lutz (known in the industry as a real "car guy"), was named as the new CEO of battery manufacturer Exide Corporation (www.exideworld.com). One of his first projects was bringing the new Orbital Select battery to market. This premium battery has a "six-pack" like design, with six tightly rolled cylindrical cells isolated in a completely sealed case using a paste-like electrolyte. It's about as high-tech as you can get in the relatively slow to evolve car battery industry.

But what's the point? The technological advances made with this battery provide several advantages, especially well-suited for the car that may sit unused for several months. This battery has a much longer initial shelf and usage life, there is no concern with battery acid leakage, the amperage output is much greater (700 Cold cranking amps) than the typical battery, and it can sit for several months without a re-charge. It is also note-worthy in that it is the first battery to have two sets of upper terminals, and one set of side terminals, so one size fits most any application.

Since I've only had the battery installed for less than six months, I'd be hard pressed to tell you about the longevity claims. To some extent, we'll have to take that claim on faith at this early stage. I can tell you the install was fairly easy, power delivery has been uneventful, and the vent tube is no longer needed, due to the sealed design.

If you haven't already killed your battery (or don't feel like spending $130 for the Orbital Select), a battery charger/maintainer is a great way to keep from replacing batteries on a regular basis. Here too, is an area where we've seen some recent technological advances. So called "trickle chargers" have been around for years and have likely killed more batteries than they've saved. The challenge lies in being able to maintain the correct battery voltage, rather than supplying a constant voltage above 13.8 volts, which is the "gassing point" if left charging continuously.

While your car is off the road for the winter, you'll need to have at least a little project to keep from becoming a complete couch potato. It's probably a good bet you picked up some paint chips over the course of the year, and maybe you even went so far as to get some touch-up paint, knowing that rust could quickly set in if the chip was down to bare metal. I suspect we've all done this, and either the touch-up paint went un-used in the glove-box, or we applied the paint to the paint chip "craters" and were left very unhappy with the series of unsightly blobs now covering the hood. Sound familiar?