Tire Maintenance: A Guide

According to the Rubber Manufacturers Association, it only takes five minutes every month to ensure that your tires are in good shape. It's also a good idea to check your tires before every long trip. A few minutes can impact your safety and peace of mind.

Four main characteristics affect tire health. Here are some recommendations for checking these features, along with some troubleshooting and maintenance tips.

Always Under Pressure

Keeping the air pressure within the recommended range is hugely important for tires. An under-inflated tire can cause irregular wear, increased gas mileage, and a loss of control when steering.

Need to know the proper PSI for your tires? Look in your owner's manual, the car door, the glove compartment, or the inside of the gas cap cover. The recommended tire pressure should be mentioned somewhere on or in your car.

When you check your tires, make sure they are cool. Tires heat up very quickly, even when the car is driven a short distance, and this can cause a false reading of higher tire pressure. If you have to drive more than a mile to reach an air pump, make sure to take your tire pressure before you start out. Once you've arrived at the pump, take another reading and adjust the amount of inflation accordingly.

Remember that when you are checking tire pressure, always check the spare as well. You never know when you'll need it.

Getting Aligned

Alignment is another important facet of tire maintenance. Without proper alignment, tires develop uneven wear patterns. Misalignment can also affect steering, causing the car to pull to one side or the other.

How does a car get out of alignment? Actually, it can happen very easily. The simple act of hitting a pothole or traveling over a stretch of bad road can cause your suspension to go out of alignment.

Also, if a car has four-wheel drive or independent suspension on all four wheels, each wheel should be checked for its individual alignment.

The tricky thing is that it's hard for most folks to determine if a wheel's alignment is off. For that reason, it's essential to have a tire professional at Mavis Tires and Brakes check the alignment every six months if there seems to be a problem.

While the alignment is getting its semi-annual check, be sure to get your tires balanced, as well. Like a misaligned wheel, an unbalanced tire can cause uneven wear.

Rotation Rules

Tires begin to wear irregularly for several reasons. Each tire supports a different portion of the car's weight, so switching the position of each tire on the car will keep them wearing evenly.

Why is that important? In addition to making your travels safer, a tire that wears evenly on its contact surface will last much longer than one that doesn't. Rotation extends the life of your tire, which means you save money—and that is always a good thing!

Please note that if your car tires require different pressures on the front and rear tires, you'll need to readjust the tire pressures immediately after rotation.

How Much Tread Is Enough?

The basic rule for replacing tires because of worn tread is to replace the tire when there is only 2/32nds of an inch of tread left. Are you not sure how to accurately check such a small measurement?

A standard of checking tread still works as well today as it did 50 years ago—the Lincoln penny test.

Place a penny—with the top of Lincoln's head pointing down—into a tire groove. If some of his head is blocked by the tire, the tread is still good. However, if the top of Lincoln's head is showing, it's time to replace the tire.

Another good indicator is the wear bars. Every tire has wear bars, which are difficult to spot until the tread is significantly worn. Take a close look at your tire between the treads. If you can see a bar, the tire should be replaced.

Additionally, it's a good idea to periodically thoroughly inspect a tire's surface. Look for signs of uneven wear, flat spots in the tread, or objects embedded in the treads.

Tire safety depends on several factors, but maintaining a consistent and thorough maintenance regimen is one key to getting the most value from your tires and the safest ride. Mavis Tires and Brakes offers drivers the tire expertise that can help them drive with confidence. Schedule an appointment with your local Mavis today.