Today’s Post by Joe Farace
The US Tire Manufacturers Association will be promoting its yearly consumer awareness campaign, National Tire Safety Week from June 28 through July 4, 2021. After all tires are the only part of your car or truck that touches the road and I think we all know that the right tires can make or break a car’s handling and ride.
Here a few tire safety and maintenance tips provided by Bridgestone along with some personal comments from me. Full disclosure: Mary’s Ford Escape runs Continentals tires, her VW Beetle is shod with Pirellis and her 2018 Subie Crosstrek has Yokohamas. My car… well you know how that’s going. Most of our tires were purchased from Discount Tire in Parker Colorado because, over the years, we have been happy with their service. There are no freebies, at least, not for me.
Inflate: Use a tire pressure gauge to make sure that your tires are properly inflated, filling them with air when needed. TPMS helps monitor tire pressures so pay attention to your dash and take the time to look at your tires from time to time. Small air compressors are not expensive and Mary and I use a Craftsman model that I’ve had for years for our cars and bikes too, I use a Griot digital tire pressure gauge (that they don’t seem to offer anymore) as well as a classic Dräger analog gauge, depending…
Some people think the correct inflation pressure is located on the tire’s sidewall but what’s listed there is the maximum inflation pressure for the tire. Instead refer to the information on the driver’s side doorjamb or your vehicle owner’s manual to make sure you’re inflating your tires to the proper pressure. I’ve noticed that some tire shops overinflate tires which makes steering too light and makes the ride harsh. That’s why you should own and use your own tire pressure gauge.
Rotate: To maximize tire tread life, rotate and balance your tires every 5,000 to 7,000 miles by taking your car to a trusted tire dealer or automotive service center. For us that remains Discount Tire and they will rotate tires bought from them for free,
Evaluate: To make sure you have enough traction to grip the road check the tread depth of your tires from time to time. The penny test is a simple way to do this. Just place a penny upside down in your tread. If any part of Lincoln’s head is covered by the tread, you should be road ready. If not, it may be time for new tires. If you prefer something more precise pick up GODESON’s Smart Color Coded Tire Tread Depth Gauge that costs less than four bucks, a cheap price to pay for something that’s a critical as checking your oil. You should do that too from time-to-time, by the way.
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