How to Take Care of Your Car Tires

The tires on your vehicle are its only connection to the road. Without good tires, it’s going to be difficult to maintain a good grip on the ground, potentially leading to a dangerous situation. Despite the importance of tires, they tend to be overlooked by the average car owner. If you’d like to pay more attention to your tires and give them the care they deserve, this article is a great place to start.

At Taylor & Sons Chevrolet, we’ll never take the health of your tires – or any other part of your vehicle – for granted. When you trust our service department with your maintenance and repair needs, you’ll always have a team of experienced professionals taking care of the work in a timely manner. To schedule an appointment or to learn more, please reach out today.

Start with the Basics

When trying to keep your tires in good condition, it tends to be the simple steps that make the biggest difference. If you can pay attention to the points we’ve listed below, you’ll be off to a great start.
• Maintain proper air pressure. This is perhaps the most important tip of all, so it’s the best place to start our list. Simply put, you need to maintain proper air pressure in your tires if they are going to operate to the best of their potential. When the tires have too little or too much air, the tread pattern isn’t going to contact the pavement properly, and the rubber may be compromised, as well. Fortunately, there are a couple of easy ways to address this matter. First, you could just stop by a service center to have your tires checked and the air pressure adjusted. Alternatively, you could do it yourself, either with an air pump at a gas station, or at home with an air compressor. No matter how you do it, be sure to check the ideal air pressure for your tires in advance, so you know exactly what PSI they should read when optimally inflated.
• Rotate frequently. Tires don’t wear out evenly as they age. Since it is only the front tires that turn, the tires in those two positions are going to experience tread wear faster than those in the back. By having the tires rotated periodically, you can even out the wear and get a longer lifespan from each set.
• Pay attention. One important piece of this puzzle is simply to pay attention to how your tires are wearing down as the miles add up. Make it a habit to periodically walk around your vehicle and check on each of the tires. How do the treads look? Do any of the tires have damage that should be inspected? You don’t need to be a tire expert to spot signs that something is wrong and needs to be addressed.

Just those three tips alone can do a world of good when trying to care for your tires. None of these points should take up much time, so make it a point to plan out things like air pressure checks and tire rotations so you can stay ahead of the game.

Be Smart Behind the Wheel

Another part of caring for your tires involves driving your vehicle responsibly. If you drive in a wild or aggressive manner – such as accelerating suddenly and then stopping hard – you will wear rubber off the tires far quicker than if you drove in a controlled fashion. Of course, there are plenty of other good reasons to pay attention to your driving habits, like staying safe and avoiding tickets, so this one is a win all the way around. If you’ve fallen into some poor driving habits over the years, use this reminder to be gentle on the pedals and your tires will thank you.

Dealing with Inactivity

One of the tricky things about caring for tires is figuring out what to do with them when you aren’t going to be driving for a while. This might be a problem you face if you own a vehicle – like a sports car – that is only really suitable for driving during the summer months. If you are going to park that vehicle until spring rolls around again, it’s important to have a tire care plan.

The first point of concern is flat spots developing on the side of the tire that is contacting the ground while it’s parked. Since the vehicle isn’t going to move for months, the bottom of the tire might flatten slightly under the weight of the car or truck. One potential solution to this issue is simply to move the car very slightly every few weeks or so. Just rolling it forward or back a quarter turn on the tires will do the trick. Alternatively, you could choose to overinflate the tires just slightly before putting the vehicle into storage, which may also help to avoid the flat spot issue.

Also, you might need to think about protecting the tires from the elements. If you are going to park in a garage, this won’t be a problem. You should be able to just leave them alone, as the whole vehicle will be protected by the roof and walls of the garage. If you don’t have that options, however, and you are going to be forced to park outside, consider adding tire covers to protect the condition of the rubber. Considering the modest cost of a set of four covers, you might feel like this is an investment well worth making. And you can even use the covers in the summer months as well, to keep the sun from beating down on the rubber and drying it out.

How Can We Help?

When you hit the road with tires that are in good condition, you stand a far better chance of remaining in full control of your vehicle until you reach your destination. That’s particularly important here in Idaho where inclement – and sometimes extreme – weather conditions are always a threat. Thank you for taking the time to stop by Taylor & Sons Chevrolet and we hope to serve you soon!

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »