{"id":436,"date":"2021-09-08T09:00:07","date_gmt":"2021-09-08T09:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mechanicnet.tv\/blog\/?p=436"},"modified":"2021-11-22T16:53:11","modified_gmt":"2021-11-22T16:53:11","slug":"8-tire-tips-to-keep-you-road-ready","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mechanicnet.tv\/blog\/?p=436","title":{"rendered":"8 Tire Tips to Keep You Road Ready"},"content":{"rendered":"

An often-overlooked part of car maintenance, the tires, like the rest of a vehicle, need appropriate care to be safe, last longer, and perform as expected. Being in direct contact with the road, tires contribute to many aspects of vehicle performance and safety, such as vehicle handling, fuel efficiency, braking, and overall control of the vehicle. Fortunately, good tire maintenance is simple and effective, and with our tire maintenance tips you\u2019ll be road-ready in no time.<\/p>\n

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  1. Get Tires Rotated<\/strong> \u2013 To ensure tires wear at approximately the same speed, it is important to get your tires rotated according to the schedule in your owner\u2019s manual. This is typically every 5,000 \u2013 7,000 miles (8,046 \u2013 11,265 km.) During a tire rotation your tire professional should inspect your tires\u2019 condition for any issues and inform you of any necessary corrections.<\/li>\n
  2. Check Air Pressure <\/strong>\u2013 Once monthly and before any long trips, you should check each of your tire\u2019s air pressure using an accurate tire pressure gauge. You can find your vehicle\u2019s recommended inflation in the owner\u2019s manual or on an information sticker on the driver\u2019s side door jamb, or for older cars in the glove box or gas tank cover. Tire pressure recommendations are provided for a vehicle with ambient or \u201ccold\u201d tires, so it\u2019s important to check the air pressure before the vehicle has been driven, or else the tire pressure could be inaccurate. If the tire pressure is too low or high, add or release air as needed.<\/li>\n
  3. Check Tread Depth <\/strong>\u2013 In order to grip the road safely your tires need tread. Look at your tires to see if there are any obvious signs of tread issues, such as tread wear, raised portions (bulging) of the tread or sidewall, under or over inflation, cracking, or tire balding. If no visible issues are present, you can check depth using the \u201cquarter test.\u201d Start by taking a quarter and placing it upside down into your tire\u2019s tread groove (area with the lowest tread.) Take measurements across the tire\u2019s tread on the outer edge, center, and inside edge. If you can see above the top of Washington\u2019s head, you have less than 4\/32\u201d of tread and you should start looking for new tires. If you don\u2019t have a quarter, you can also substitute a penny for this test, the only difference being that if you can see above the top of Lincoln\u2019s head on the penny your tire has less than 2\/32\u201d of tread (below the legal minimum) and you definitely need a new tire.<\/li>\n
  4. Balance Your Wheels<\/strong> \u2013 Approximately every 15,000 miles (24,140 km.) you should have a trained technician balance your wheels. This adjusts any weight imbalances and can help your ride feel smoother and reduce unnecessary wear and tear on your tires, struts, and shocks.<\/li>\n
  5. Get Aligned <\/strong>\u2013 Once a year or every 12,000 \u2013 15,000 miles (19,312 \u2013 24,140 km.) it is important to get your tire alignment checked by a professional. This adjusts a vehicle\u2019s suspension and steering systems and can affect tire wear, fuel economy, and vehicle handling and safety. If you feel your car pulling or drifting left or right when driving straight, your steering wheel vibrates or is off-centered, or you notice uneven tire wear during your regular inspections, these could be signs you need to get an alignment, so take your vehicle to a professional shop to get checked.<\/li>\n
  6. Drive Safely <\/strong>\u2013 Avoiding tire damage can sometimes be as simple as just driving carefully. When on the road try to avoid hitting sharp objects and debris, potholes, or curbs. Hitting these objects can not only damage your tires but throw your car out of alignment or damage other parts of your vehicle, so use caution!<\/li>\n
  7. Be Aware of the Spare <\/strong>\u2013 No matter how hard you try to avoid it, sometimes tire damage just happens. When it does, it is important to have a spare with you so you don\u2019t get stranded with a flat. Once monthly, just as often as you check your regular tires, you should check your spare for proper tire pressure, visible issues, damage, or age-related deterioration. If any issues are present you should get your spare replaced or repaired ASAP so you have it in case of emergency.<\/li>\n
  8. Repair or Replace (As Needed)<\/strong> \u2013 Proper tire inspections and maintenance done regularly and before long trips can help prevent tire damage, but it\u2019s not always avoidable. If you do damage your tires, make sure to take them to a professional and have them repaired or replaced as needed. This will save you problems down the road and keep you from having to travel on your spare for longer than necessary.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    With these tire-tips you should have smooth sailing on the road ahead. But of course, if you suspect any vehicle issues or have questions, make sure to go to a professional automotive shop for assistance. Safe travels!<\/p>\n

    \"Tire<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    An often-overlooked part of car maintenance, the tires, like the rest of a vehicle, need appropriate care to be safe, last longer, and perform as expected. Being in direct contact with the road, tires contribute to many aspects of vehicle performance and safety, such as vehicle handling, fuel efficiency, braking, and overall control of the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[101,81,57,88,51,45,49,48,69,50,98,79,96,104,95,102,100,99,97,94,103],"class_list":["post-436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-air-pressure","tag-auto","tag-auto-repair","tag-auto-shop","tag-auto-shops","tag-automotive","tag-cloud-crm","tag-crm","tag-epicor","tag-mechanicnet","tag-road-ready","tag-road-trip","tag-safety","tag-spare-tire","tag-tire-maintenance","tag-tire-maintenance-tips","tag-tire-pressure","tag-tire-rotation","tag-tire-safety","tag-tires","tag-wheel-alignment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mechanicnet.tv\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mechanicnet.tv\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mechanicnet.tv\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mechanicnet.tv\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mechanicnet.tv\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=436"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mechanicnet.tv\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":438,"href":"https:\/\/mechanicnet.tv\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436\/revisions\/438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mechanicnet.tv\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mechanicnet.tv\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mechanicnet.tv\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}