Tire Maintenance
Your tires need regular maintenance to keep them in shape and working properly. Under normal driving conditions inspect you tires once a month. See a mechanic to keep regular maintenance on Uniroyal tires in Reston, VA.
Necessary tire maintenance:
- Maintain proper inflation. Underinflated tires will decrease vehicle handling and can lead to excessive tread wear and a blowout.
- Rotate your tires. This maintains even tread wear. Rotation makes tires last longer. Tire rotation is a convenient time to get your wheels balanced
- Ensure that wheels are properly aligned. Even small misalignment can increase tread wear.
- Look for objects that may have punctured the tire, such as nails, screws or glass.
- Measure your tires tread depth.
- When measuring the tread be sure to look for large sidewall cracks and bulging spots. Bulges create weak spots on the tire surfaces. This can increase the chance of a blow out or hydroplaning.
How do I Make My Tires Last Longer?
Clearly tires wear out and lose tread quicker the more you drive, but age and mileage are not the only cause of tire wear and tear. Poor driving habits and road conditions can also shorten the life of a tire. Uniroyal tires in Reston, VA will last longer when you practice good driving habits.
- Avoid Speeding/driving at top speeds. The heat generated can waken and soften the tire.
- Avoid accelerating too quickly. This makes your tires go against the road and could possibly leave a strip of black rubber on the road.
- Avoid turning too fast. This will wear out the tread unevenly and too quickly.
- Do not stop too quickly. The results are similar to accelerating too fast and you could wear a flat spot on the tires.
- Do not drive with heavy loads that exceed the maximum weight of the tires. The tires will weaken and become vulnerable to a blowout.
- Avoid driving over potholes or debris. Avoid parking on or rubbing a tire against a curb and curbs. This can damage the sidewalls and cause an alignment problem.
Tire Wear and Tread wear Indicators
The first way to tell if you need new tires is to look for the tread wear indicators. They are located at the base of the main grooves, are smooth strips of rubber that cross the tread and are equally spaced all around the tire. As a tire wears out, the tread wear indicators will be more clearly visible. When the tire indicators reach a remaining tread depth of 2/32" (1.5 mm) it is considered unsafe. you must replace your tires before they have reached this point. Deeper tread tires provide better handling and grip. Your tire’s tread needs to be thick enough to grip the road and properly stop and maneuver.
You may experience slipping and loss of stability on wet roads when your treads are worn down to about 4/32" (3.2 mm) of remaining tread depth. If you will need to drive in snow or icy conditions you should replace your tires even sooner. Specialty tires have varied tread patterns that are made to enhance performance for different road types and weather conditions. Specialty tires, such as all-terrain and winter tires, resist uneven tread wear and provide longer lasting tread life.
Your tires are an investment. Uniroyal tires in Reston, VA will protect and last.
