Tips to Make Your Car Tires last Longer
Tire experts will tell you that there are several things that you can actually do to make your tire last longer. Good maintenance can increase your tire’s life span by as much as 50%. Proper care and maintenance is practically free and might just take up a few minutes of your time each week.
When your tire is not properly inflated it makes the tire hotter than usual when the tire is inflated properly. This excessive heat wears down the tire faster and increases the risks of tire failure. When you drive with under inflated tires you are actually using up more fuel and power to overcome the resistance that the partially inflated tire is generating. It is thus important that you regularly check your tire pressure to ensure that they are properly inflated.
Over time, a tire will gradually lose air. About one to two pounds of air is lost each month of cooler weather and even more when it is warm. Too much air in your tire is also bad. It may help the car roll smother, but it increases tread wear and makes the car harder to control. This makes over inflation just as bad as insufficient air, so a professional will have to periodically gauge your tire air pressure to correct any abnormalities. There is a tire placard just on the inside of the driver’s side door and it contains the recommended air pressure to follow.
Take note that air pumps at your local gas station are usually inaccurate. It is thus important that you always cross check the air pressure using a tire gauge. You can buy one, they are quite cheap and leave it in the glove compartment and use it to check your air pressure every week. Always check the air pressure when the rubber is still cold, like early in the morning before you have left on you journeys.
Other things to be on the look out for include out of balance tires, misaligned suspensions and faulty shock absorbers. You need to periodically check that these aspects of your car are in good condition as they greatly affect the performance and durability of each tire.
Tire rotation is another technique that can effectively extend tire life span. Experts highly recommend that you should rotate your tire after covering between 6,000 and 8,000 miles. The car manual usually shows the right pattern and direction to follow when rotating. Proper rotation promotes even wear among all of them and increases the tire’s life span. If the tread wear is however extensive, they may need replacement and not rotating.
Watch out for the appearance of tread wear bars and consult a professional when they begin to appear through. With good care, these bars, which indicate wear levels, will begin to appear through after covering about 60,000 to 80,000 miles. Do not continue to use a tire with exposed tread wear bars as that is illegal and unsafe.
Spending about five minutes a week to closely inspect each tire (däck is the word in Swedish) is certainly a wise decision. It increases the safety level of you and your car, improves the car’s fuel efficiency, helps the car run smoother and extends the life span of your tires.
Another Swedish word I know is dubbfria vinterdäck, which is non-studded winter tires. Do you know if you learn Swedish, Danish and Norwegians will understand you too?
Processing your request, Please wait....
