Quick Lane – Car Care: Tire Maintenance

 

When it comes to tires, a little bit of time spent on maintenance can save you a lot of time spent in repair shops or hospitals. 

 

Taking Time for Tire Maintenance

 

As life goes by, drivers are often so busy they forget to do the little things, like looking at their tires for damage. It is easy to think, “What’s the big deal, they worked fine yesterday, they’ll work fine today!” Yet something so quick and easy to do can save you a lot of cash or avoid a crash down the line. Save yourself from danger, save your car from damage and save your wallet from drainage. Here’s Quick Lane at Flagship Ford’s quick tips on how to handle proper tire maintenance. 

 

Why and When to Check Your Tires 

 

While tire maintenance certainly isn’t glamorous, it is a very important part of protecting yourself and your vehicle on the road of life. Your vehicle’s wheels are the one part that touches the road and as a result they face the most wear and tear. Worn-out tires can have a major impact on handling, performance, braking and comfort. Worst of all, a tire that has taken a beating can blow out while you are driving, all too often resulting in crashes and collisions. Keeping an eye on the condition of your tires is a simple, easy way to make sure you’re safe taking that next drive. 

At the very least, we recommend a self-inspection of your tires once a month. During colder periods, especially if there is snow, you should check them out more often. Taking long trips or regularly running into potholes and other obstructions can put increased wear on your tires, so you should check your tires more often as well. Taking a moment to look at air pressure, tread depth, balance and alignment every few weeks could save your life. 

 

Getting Gas? Take a Look

 

One of the easiest ways to make a habit of checking your tires is to do so every time you fill up on gas or get a car wash. Since you’ll already be around your vehicle with free time to kill, why not do something productive? Take a minute or two to walk around and look out for tears, uneven wear, bulges and cracks. Catching these early can make for an easier, cheaper repair or replacement. Also keep an eye out for foreign objects such as nails or rocks that may have punctured the tire. Removing these while stationary, or fixing them at a nearby shop, could prevent a life-threatening blowout down the road.

 

Check Tire Pressure Often

 

It may not seem like a big deal, but tire pressure is one of the most important aspects of tire maintenance. 

Under-inflated tires can drain your fuel tank more quickly, as they need more energy to get rolling due to increased road resistance. Deflated tires also wear out quicker, making replacement a more common occurrence. 

Inflating the tire too much can be dangerous as well, as they provide less grip on the road and can lead to losing control. 

A properly inflated tire provides optimum control and the Department of Energy estimates as much as a 3.3 percent improvement in fuel efficiency. 

 

Don’t Overload Your Tires

 

With the summer here, taking trips in your truck or SUV is commonplace. Towing a ton of toys is a great use for your SUV, but make sure you don’t try to tackle too much at once. Double-check the limits of your tires before you load up your truck. Overloading your tires can cause them to build up extra heat, which can cause increased wear and tear and dangerous blowouts. Don’t risk the integrity of your tires or your life to save a trip. 

 

Resecure with Regular Rotations

 

Changing which wheel your tires are on regularly is a great way to prevent uneven wear. Different wheels will encounter different conditions; give your tires a break by swapping them to another spot so potential problem areas get a rest. This is one of the simplest yet most effective ways to make your tires last longer. 

We recommend a full tire rotation every 5,000 miles for best results. Our staff is more than happy to help you with this, so feel free to stop by any time, no appointment necessary. While a rotation can be done on your own, it isn’t the easiest task. Our trained team will keep an eye out for other issues such as suspension misalignment that you might miss trying to do it yourself. 

Don’t Sleep on Seeking Repairs

 

This may seem like a no-brainer, but far too many drivers take chances on obviously-damaged tires, all too often leading to unnecessary injuries and deaths. Don’t make a bet on your life or loved ones. Saving a little cash in the short-term isn’t nearly as valuable as saving a life. 

Likewise, don’t try and drive on a spare tire indefinitely. Some vehicles have full-size spare tires available, and while those will do well in the short term, full replacement is still necessary. The spare tire will have significantly less wear and tear on it than the other three, which can lead to handling issues and even loss of control. 

Think of it like a pair of shoes: if one of your shoes brakes, you’re fine walking around in a mismatched pair for a day, but you wouldn’t walk around with different shoes for weeks or months. Treat your tires like you would your own feet, and make sure they always have a matching set of “shoes.”

This is even more important if you vehicle is only equipped with space-saving small tires, such as the so-called “donut” tire. These little tires are in no way meant for long-term usage. They can struggle to maintain integrity and control as they are smaller and thinner than normal tires. You will wear out these smaller tires much more quickly than normal and they are very vulnerable to hazardous road conditions. We recommend using such spare tires for no more than 70 miles of travel at speeds no higher than 50 MPH. We can only recommend using them to get you from the scene of your accident to the nearest tire shop, such as our own here at Fast Lane. 

 

Did you notice some damage on your tires? Are you not sure if they are safe? Come have them checked out or replaced today at Fast Lane at Flagship Ford! 

 

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