Taking care of your tires and wheels is as important as taking care of the rest of your SUV, car, or truck. The tires must remain in excellent condition to ensure they always grip the road, no matter the road conditions. When you purchase a set of tires, you get a guaranteed mileage estimate. This estimate is how long the tires should last. If you fail to take care of the tires and wheels, you will not get the mileage that is guaranteed out of the tires. Let’s talk more about this below.
Air Pressure Check
Take the time to check the air pressure in each tire every two weeks. If the pressure is too low in any of the tires, add air to that/those tire(s). Do not add too much to the tire(s); you should only add enough air so that the tire(s) is/are inflated to the recommended PSI. Overinflating the tires will wear down the center treads prematurely and reduce the lifespan of the tires.
Tire Inspection
Also, take time once a month to inspect your tires for unusual problems. Using a flashlight, illuminate all parts of the sidewalls to make sure you don’t see any cracks or bubbling. Also, take a look at the tread on each tire. You want to make sure that you do not see any signs of uneven wear. The tread should not have circles, feathers, or scallops of wear. The tread should be even.
Tire Rotation
If the tread is wearing down unevenly, your tires may be overdue for a rotation. Rotating the tires means removing them and putting them on different wheels. The tires deal with specific pressure points from the wheels and brakes. When you move them to different wheels, they receive different pressure points. This keeps the tread wearing down evenly.
Wheel Alignment
It’s also important to have the wheels aligned if you knock them out of alignment. You can knock them out of alignment by hitting a road hazard, such as a bump or pothole, while driving too fast. If your vehicle refuses to go straight by itself, the wheels are misaligned.
Wheel Balance
Finally, the wheels must be balanced in order to distribute their weight properly across the axles. As such, it’s an excellent idea to have the wheels balanced after the tires are rotated. This ensures you are not stressing out one portion of an axle with too much weight.
We are tire and wheel experts, so give us a call today to schedule a service visit if you need your tires rotated or your wheels aligned or balanced.