Car tire care is one of the most important aspects of maintaining your vehicle. With the proper care, a new set of car tires can last for an incredibly long time, helping keep you safe on the road by reducing your stopping distance and improving your vehicle’s traction.
It’s important to take care of your vehicle—and it’s especially important to take care of your tires. A simple investment in tire maintenance can yield some significant benefits—among them:
- If you take care of your tires, you won’t have to replace them as often, which can lead to some big cost savings over the life of your vehicle.
- Proper tire maintenance can also improve energy efficiency and fuel economy; this, too, can produce significant savings.
- Most importantly, taking care of your tires ensures the utmost handling and traction—meaning it can enhance the safety of you and your passengers.
The question is, what can the vehicle owner do to invest in tire maintenance? Most tire maintenance tips boil down to common sense and good habits. Consider some of the suggested tire maintenance steps we have listed below.
Rotate Your Tires Regularly
The tires on the front of your vehicle will typically wear out faster than the tires on the back due to the front tires turning when you go around turns. Therefore, it’s important to rotate your tires about every 6,000 miles to ensure that all four tires wear evenly and at the same rate.
Inspect your car tires regularly
Your tires may sustain damage or significant wear and tear without you even realizing it. Sometimes, a visible inspection is all it takes to identify that there is a problem. Get into the habit of inspecting your tires regularly, and also have them looked at by a professional at least once annually.
Check Your Tire Pressure
Every vehicle has unique specifications for how much air pressure should be in each tire based on the vehicle’s weight, suspension, steering design, and other factors. Look up the recommended tire pressure in your owner’s manual or on the yellow and white sticker on the driver’s door jamb. Then make sure to check the pressure in each tire using a gauge. If the pressure in one of your tires is either higher or lower than the recommended pressure by more than 5 PSI, it needs to be adjusted accordingly to improve your vehicle’s performance and prevent excessive wear.
Ensure proper tire pressure
It’s smart to check the air pressure every so often. Driving without the right pressure can impair the performance, especially in wet or icy weather. Note that cold weather is also what causes tire pressure to fluctuate more rapidly. Every month, check your tire pressure and put some more air in as needed.
Check Your Tires’ Treads
The treads on your tires are essential for helping you maintain traction on the road, especially during wet or slippery road conditions. Over time, though, the treads on tires will wear down, requiring the tire to be replaced. To check and see if the treads on your tires are worn down to the point that your tires need to be replaced, take a penny and place it inside the tire’s treads with Lincoln’s head facing down. If part of Lincoln’s head is covered by the tread then your tires are still fine. If, however, you can see the entirety of Lincoln’s head then your tire’s need to be replaced.
Be mindful of the load index
Your tires are only meant to withstand so much weight. You can refresh yourself on this by consulting with the owner’s manual or by calling your local auto mechanic. Overloading your tires can lead to overheating, and ultimately to the destruction of your tires.
Align Your Wheels Annual
Hitting bumps and potholes in the road can knock your wheels out of alignment. Even if you are driving only on smooth surfaces, though, your wheels can eventually shift out of alignment over time. When your wheels are out of alignment it can cause excessive wear on your tires, reducing their lifespan. To prevent this from happening, it’s recommended that you take your vehicle to a mechanic once a year to have your wheels aligned.
Don’t drive too fast! High velocities can do a number on your tires. Simply moderating your speed a bit can extend your tire’s lifespan considerably.
Have them rotated
To prevent uneven wear and tear on your tire tread, it’s smart to have them rotated once or twice a year. You might wish to do this when you take your vehicle in for other routine care services, such as an oil change.
Use your spare tire
Whatever you do, don’t drive on a tire that you know to be damaged. If you observe a problem with your tire, take it off and replace it with the spare until you can have it inspected by a professional.
At kicker Lewisville, we want your driving experience to be as safe and as enjoyable as possible, and proper car tire care is a big part of ensuring that you are safe on the road as well as ensuring that you get as much as possible out of the tires you invest in.
