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Taking care of your tires does not require a lot of effort on your part, yet it is something that most drivers fail to do. Get in the habit of inspecting your tires on a regular basis. Not only will it help in making your tires last longer, it most certainly may save your life. On this page are a few tips to get you started. Air Pressure One of the most common tire problems is under-inflation. Low air pressure causes tires to experience irregular treadwear as well as poor vehicle handling and traction. Under inflated tires can build up excessive heat and blow out without warning. Let's start our tire maintenance by going out and buying a decent tire pressure gauge. Don't be cheap here, there's a lot riding on your tires. While keychain gauges or cool digital gadgets may appeal to you, visit a reputable auto part store and spend a little money. DO NOT RELY ON A GAUGE ATTACHED TO A PRESSURE HOSE! NEVER exceed the maximum pressure branded on the tire’s sidewall, and NEVER set pressures lower than recommended in the vehicle’s owners manual. Also, if you have altered your tire size from those that came with your vehicle, then the minimum pressure may need to be adjusted. Consult us for correct pressures. Keeping your tires set at the manufacturer's recommended pressure is one of the easiest ways of saving gasoline, increasing tire treadlife, and ensuring safety. Always check your air pressure and make adjustments when the tires are cold (tires have not been driven for 2 hours). Air pressure should be checked bi-weekly at the very least. If you are unsure how to use an air pressure gauge and hose, we'd be happy to show you the correct procedure. Tread Wear Indicator As your tires wear down, their ability to grip the road decreases. Each tire has what are known as wear bars. These appear at various points around the tire as bars running through the tread design from one side of the tire to the other. When your tires are legally worn out (2/32") the tread will be at the same level as the tread wear indicators and they will be easily visible. Usually before the tire gets to this point, they will begin to feel unsafe. If that is the case, do not wait for them to get to the wear bars. Just because the tread depth is not as low as the tread wear bar, does not mean it is safe. Tire Wear Whiel you're checking tread wear, check also if the tire seems to be wearing more on one side than the other. This could indicate improper alignment of your wheels and the results can be devastating. Vehicle alignment is one of the most important factors in not only vehicle care, but tire care. Improper alignment on either the front or rear wheels can result in unusual tread wear, damage to your suspension, and unusual handling for the car. For maintenance purposes, alignment should be checked every 30,000 km (about 18,700 miles). There are several alignment types, including both two and four wheel alignment. Four wheel alignment is always recommended, but some vehicles are not able to have the rear alignment adjusted. Consult with an alignment specialist you trust to find out what's best for your car. Warning signs that you might need an alignment are your car pulling to one side or another, and irregular tire wear. Mixing Tires Generally tires should not be mixed on any vehicle. To receive maximum safety and performance it is preferable to keep every tire on a vehicle identical in size, brand, model, rating etc. One of the only exceptions is if the front and rear wheels are different like on Porsche's and some high performance vehicles. When do you need to Replace Tires? Tires are typically replaced when their natural lifespan has come to an end. There are however any number of factors that can affect this including storage, temperature, surfaces they are driven on, how aggressive of a driver you are, punctures, etc. The usual recommendation for replacing tires is when they no longer feel safe to the driver. You can see when they are legally worn out using the tread wear indicator. A typical set of tires under normal driving conditions will last approximately 40 000 miles or 64 000 km. Some tires of-course are designed for much longer, even up to 80 000 miles or 128 000 kilometers. All-Season or Summer and Winter Tires? Like insurance, you only use it when something happens. Many of our customers never realized the difference until they started putting winter tires on their vehicle. When Canadian roads get covered with snow, winter tires really do their job. Some people have a hard time justifying the cost of putting winter tires on, but look at it this way. Not only does it provide a safer ride, but while one set of tires is being used, the other set is not getting any wear. It's like getting twice the mileage. Don't be fooled by the name All-Season Tires. There are compromises. Come talk to us and get straight answers. There's more... While we've presented a few tips to help you maintain your tires for safety and longer life, there are a lot of other factors to be considered and those are just too technical or expansive for this page. At any time, stop in to either of our locations and have one of our experts take a look at your tires. Quality, Service and Satisfaction! |
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