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Learning About Tires And Rims
5 Tire Tasks To Complete Before Going On A Summer Road Trip
Cindy Harvey
If you plan on taking a road trip this summer, you need to make sure that your tires are up for the job before you hit the road. Here are three ways that you can take care of your tires this summer before and during your road trip.
Check Your Tire's Tread Wear
The last thing you want to do is head off on a road trip with tire that are not up for the job. A couple of weeks before you plan on going on your road trip, inspect the tread on your tires.
Your tires should have tread wear indicator bars on them. These bars are generally found at the bottom of the individual grooves between the tread on your tire. When these little tread wear indicator bars are even or flush with the tread around them, that means that you only have a small fraction of the tread left on your tire and that your tires need to be replaced very soon.
Your tires' tread should be deep and should feel and looked like they have texture to them. When you look at your tires, they should not look smooth and flat. If any of your tires has more of a smooth and flat surface instead of a bumpy and textured one, that means that the tread on your tires is worn out.
The wear should be evenly spread across your tires; your tires should not be worn out in just one specific place. Tires that are not worn out evenly are signs of additional issues, such as over or under inflated tires, suspension issues or alignment issues.
Take your vehicle into your local tire store for an inspection; if they agree with your assessment that your tire's tread is worn out, you may want to invest in new tires before you hit the road.
Rotate Your Tires
In order to ensure that your tires wear evenly, it is smart to rotate your tires. If you can't remember the last time that you rotated your tires, you may want to head to your local tire center and have your tires rotated. You should rotate your tires after you have driven somewhere between 6,000 to 8,000 miles or every six months.
Balance Your Tires
In order to ensure that your tires continue to wear evenly, it is a good idea to have your tires balanced when you get your tires rotated.
When your tires are balanced, the tire shop just makes sure that the weight of your tires and vehicle are the same on each tire. If the weight is off, magnetic weights are added to the inside of your tire's rim to balance your tire.
Fix Your Alignment
If your vehicle feels like it is pulling to either the left or the right when you are driving, your vehicle's alignment probably isn't quite right. In order to ensure that you have a smooth and straight road trip, it is a good idea to have your alignment checked and fixed.
If you have an all-wheel drive vehicle, make sure that the tire shop doesn't do a front-end alignment on your vehicle but does a full, four tire alignment. With all wheel drive vehicles, all of your tires have control over the direction your vehicle goes, which is why the alignment on all of them needs to be fixed.
Check Tire Pressure
Finally, before heading out on your road trip and while on your road trip, it is a wise idea to check the pressure in your tires and make sure that it is at the correct level. Your local tire or oil shop can check your tire pressure for you, or you can use a tire pressure gauge reader on your own or use the air machine found at many gas stations to check and adjust the pressure in your tires.
You should be able to find the exact tire pressure that your tires should be kept at by consulting your owner's manual. If you don't have your owner's manual, often times this information is contained on a sticker inside the driver's side door.
Make sure that your tires are in the best shape possible before you go on a road trip and put distance between yourself and your home. Talk to a company such as Action Al's Tire Company for more details.
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