Tire Care Tips that Save You Money
The tires accumulate a great amount of dirt and grime, and thus require regular washing and periodic waxing. So stop being lazy and start washing and cleaning your car tires frequently!
You should plan a thorough washing and cleaning of your tires with soap and water followed by waxing at least once a month. This helps to dislodge any kind of foreign particles that might be sticking between the treads, because these often lead to punctures.
Periodic tire washing gives you the opportunity to inspect your tires for uneven wear as well as to check the air pressure in each of them.
You must regularly rotate your car tires. Rotation is the process of exchanging the position of the tires by bringing the rear tires in front and vice versa. Also, the tires should be swapped between the two sides.
Each tire of your car exhibits different wear patterns, and this kind of dual rotation helps to analyze the wear capacity of each tire in different positions. Rotation facilitates more uniform wear on each tire, so in this way you can increase the tread life of your tires by as much as 20%. Getting your tires rotated between every 5000 and 8000 miles should help you achieve this.
Make sure that the alignment of all the four tires of your vehicle is done in the proper manner. Correct alignment of the tires indicates that all the wheels of your car are pointed in the optimum direction relative to the road and to each other. If your tires are improperly aligned it will cause a strain to the tires – which in turn will start to wear out excessively, especially at their tread edges. This can affect the fuel efficiency of your car.
Get your tires checked at least once a year as to whether they are properly balanced and each of the wheels is spinning with the weights of all the four tires distributed equally. Otherwise you can expect your vehicle to wobble from side to side or hop up and down abnormally.
You must maintain a proper inflation pressure in all the four tires of your vehicle. In most cases the car owner's manual or a sticker inside the car gives you a proper idea about the optimum pressure you should maintain to get the best performance out of your vehicle. Always check the tire pressure when the tires are cold. By avoiding over-inflating or under-inflating your car tires, you can extend the tread life of your tires, improve driving safety and save gas.
Get your tires inspected regularly to detect any kind of puncture that needs immediate repair. It is very dangerous to drive on punctured tires, or tires that are losing air without your knowledge. Also, driving on punctured tires can damage your tires to such an extent that after some time they cannot be repaired at all.
So safeguard the health of your car tires as well as you can. This will contribute towards a smoother, safer and hassle-free driving experience for you.
