Basic Tire Maintenance

"There are two causes of tire failure: defects in manufacturing which happen when a company fails to meet the safety standards, and poor maintenance of consumers.
The vast majority of tire failure incidents were caused by poor maintenance which means that people have more control over the safety of their car tires than they have thought.
To prevent tire failure which may lead to accidents, safety experts advise people to know the signs of a worn-out tire which include:

• Worn tread. Most tires nowadays have a tread-wear indicator bar (this run across the tread) that will show if a person needs to replace the tires or not. Ideally, the tread depth should be at least 1/16-inch.

If a tire has no bar indicator, a person can use a Lincoln-head penny. Just insert the coin into a grove, with Lincoln’s head facing the tire; if his head is showing, this means that the tread is already worn-out.

• Excessive vibration. If there is an excessive vibration, this may be a sign that the wheel is bent, misaligned, or unbalanced.

• Bulges on the sidewall. A bulge is a sign of a weak spot in tires.
Aside from knowing the signs of a worn-out tire, people should also know how to properly maintain this by doing the following simple tips:
• Drivers should check the pressure of all four tires and spares by using a tire gauge which can be purchased in stores selling auto parts and accessories.

The tire should be checked if the car is not used for several hours since driving more than a mile increases the tire pressure, making it difficult to set the proper air pressure.

According to safety experts, just by looking at tires will not show if these are inflated or not since most models can lose half of the air pressure without appearing flat.

• When purchasing for new tires, people should choose the same size as their cars’ original tires. Consumers can also ask their dealers so they can avoid buying new tires which are not appropriate to their cars.

Consumers can also rely on the federal government’s tread-wear rate that will help them choose the models which have the best traction performance and temperature resistance.
A properly maintained tire increases safety as proven by a recent study showing that the proper air pressure and intact tread can increase a tire’s rolling resistance by up to 10 percent."