You have a lot of important things riding on the tires of your vehicle. That’s why you always want to make sure you’re taking proper care of them. By following these important care tips, you can rest assured that your tires are ready for every trip you have planned.
Changes in air temperature can affect the pressure in your tires. For every 10 degrees of exterior temperature increase or decrease, your tires will gain or lose one or two pounds of pressure. Not only do under- or overinflated tires perform poorly, but they can also weaken to the point of exploding. To make sure your tires always have the right pressure, use a tire gauge to manually check them at least once a month.
Every few weeks, take a little time to visually inspect your tires. Even though it seems simple, knowing how your tires should look and understanding common tread wear patterns is an important part of tire maintenance. In addition to looking for any cracks in the rubber, you should also look at the tread. Tread wear in the center is an indication of overinflated tires, and tread wear on the outer edges of the tires typically indicates that they’re under-inflated.
Proper wheel alignment is necessary for good handling. You can accidentally throw your tires out of alignment by hitting a pothole, running over a curb, or unexpectedly striking something in the road. Improper alignment can make it harder to steer your vehicle, cause uneven wear on the tires, put excessive stress on the suspension, and cause your vehicle to consume more fuel. This is why you should have your vehicle’s alignment checked once a year. If your vehicle feels like it’s pulling to one side or you have a shaky steering wheel, have your alignment checked right away.
Since the front of your vehicle weighs more than the back, your tires will always wear unevenly. When you have your tires rotated, you change the position of each tire on the vehicle to help them wear more evenly. Not only does this maximize your tire’s tread life, but it also maintains uniform tread depth to help with traction and handling. You should have your tires rotated every 5,000 to 7,500 miles or as recommended by your manufacturer.
Your spare tire is often out of sight, which makes it easy to forget. However, you don’t want to find yourself stranded on the side of the road with a flat tire and a spare that you can’t drive on. When you’re checking the tire pressure and doing the visual inspection of your four main tires, make sure you don’t forget to pull your spare out of the trunk and do the same for it.
The last thing you want to experience is tire trouble with your vehicle. By following these important tire care tips, you can make sure they’re ready to roll for miles to come. Give Priority Toyota Hampton a visit and we’d be more than happy to put your mind at ease.
