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TIRES - STAYING SAFE ON THE ROAD
by Ray Granders
http://www.danatires.com
We really don't give too much thought to the tires on our
cars, we just get in and go. Tire maintenance is very
important though, even keeping the proper amount of air in
them will give you better gas mileage, so you need to keep
an eye on the air pressure in them. They will loose about
one to two pounds of air a month, less in the winter than
in the summer. Keeping the air pressure at the recommended
lbs allows your car to handle better too.
We recommend you check the pressure in your tires once a
month, to include the spare tire in the trunk. Just
remember that altitude and temperature both play a role in
how the air pressure holds up so when there are sudden or
extreme changes, the tires should be checked more often.
To check the air pressure, simply use a tire gauge, which
is pressed into the uncapped valve on the tire. A stick
like part of the gauge will pop out, showing you the number
of the current pressure. On the side of your tire, you
will see numbers before or after PSI, which is Pounds per
Square Inch. The gauge and the tire pressure should match.
In other words, if your tire holds 32 pounds of pressure,
when you test the tire with the gauge, it should read 32.
The front end of your car should be aligned, also called
a front end alignment. This can wear your front tires
really fast if your car is out of alignment. If your car
pulls to the left or right when you let go of the steering
wheel, only for a second or two, or pulls to either side
when applying the breaks, then you probably need
an alignment. A car out of alignment will wear out
one tire faster on one side then the other.
Tires can also become damaged. Many times, if you notice
you have a tire with a slow leak, you can take your car to
the local tire shop where they can seal or repair the hole.
With this, the tire would be almost like brand new.
However, if the leak is bad or if the car tire has a
bubble, then it would need to be replaced. For noise and
vibration of the car, as long as your tires were put on
correctly, the car should drive smooth but if you notice
any type of shaking or vibrating once, you reach between
50 and 60 miles per hour, it could be that the tires are
unbalanced.
Having your tires rotated after every 5 to 8 thousand
miles. Like most things, one tire may wear differently from
the other but by getting your tires rotated, this will make
your tires wear more evenly. With the price of replacing all
four tires at once today, you will want to get the most
mileage you can from your tires. By taking care of your
tires, keeping the appropriate amount of air pressure,
checking for nails or bubbles, and uneven wearing, and
rotating your tires when needed, you should be able to get
a fair amount of miles on your new set of tires.
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