Tire Maintenance Essentials - What You Can Do to Save Money and Stay Safe
In conversations with people about car maintenance it always surprises me how some of the most basic, easy to do maintenance tasks so easily scare people off.
Tire maintenance really should not be one of these tasks.
Proper maintenance is a simple matter of regularly checking t pressure, watching tire wear, and regular rotation.
Checking tire pressure is very simple.
Go to your favorite auto parts store and buy a good quality pressure gauge.
Keep it in your glove box.
The primary cause of tire damage is improper inflation.
Your tires lose pressure over time, which causes unnecessary stress, early and irregular tread wear and poor gas mileage.
Tires will not perform at their best without the right air pressure.
You can either read the sidewalls for recommended pressure, or call your dealer for the correct pressure.
Properly inflated tires will give you a more comfortable ride, and will ensure optimal gas mileage.
Tire rotation is simply the act of moving the tires on the front of the vehicle to the back, and moving the back tires to the front (crossing and combination patterns vary).
Tire rotation, when done at the recommended times, will preserve handling and traction and will even out tire wear.
Many tire mileage warranties require tire rotation to keep the warranty valid.
Tire rotation is something that requires multiple tires to be off the vehicle at the same time, so unless you have access to a car lift, you will want your mechanic to handle this task for your.
I would recommend that you have your tires rotated every 3000, miles even if they don't show signs of wear.
It might make sense to time rotation with oil changes.
Your final duty is to periodically check tread wear.
It is critical that your tires have enough tread to provide traction in a variety of conditions.
A visual inspection of uneven wear is your first step.
Then do a tread depth check...
the basic test for tread wear is to take a penny with Lincoln's head pointing down and hold the penny in one of the grooves where the tread wear seems lowest.
If any part of the head is covered, you are in good shape.
If you can see any space above the head then you better go shopping for new tires.
Tire maintenance really should not be one of these tasks.
Proper maintenance is a simple matter of regularly checking t pressure, watching tire wear, and regular rotation.
Checking tire pressure is very simple.
Go to your favorite auto parts store and buy a good quality pressure gauge.
Keep it in your glove box.
The primary cause of tire damage is improper inflation.
Your tires lose pressure over time, which causes unnecessary stress, early and irregular tread wear and poor gas mileage.
Tires will not perform at their best without the right air pressure.
You can either read the sidewalls for recommended pressure, or call your dealer for the correct pressure.
Properly inflated tires will give you a more comfortable ride, and will ensure optimal gas mileage.
Tire rotation is simply the act of moving the tires on the front of the vehicle to the back, and moving the back tires to the front (crossing and combination patterns vary).
Tire rotation, when done at the recommended times, will preserve handling and traction and will even out tire wear.
Many tire mileage warranties require tire rotation to keep the warranty valid.
Tire rotation is something that requires multiple tires to be off the vehicle at the same time, so unless you have access to a car lift, you will want your mechanic to handle this task for your.
I would recommend that you have your tires rotated every 3000, miles even if they don't show signs of wear.
It might make sense to time rotation with oil changes.
Your final duty is to periodically check tread wear.
It is critical that your tires have enough tread to provide traction in a variety of conditions.
A visual inspection of uneven wear is your first step.
Then do a tread depth check...
the basic test for tread wear is to take a penny with Lincoln's head pointing down and hold the penny in one of the grooves where the tread wear seems lowest.
If any part of the head is covered, you are in good shape.
If you can see any space above the head then you better go shopping for new tires.