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GETTING GOOD MILEAGE FROM YOUR TIRES
by Ray Granders
http://www.danatires.com
Every day, we get in our car, drive to some destination,
and give little thought to the big, round rubber things
getting us there - tires! While tires provide the ability
for us to move about, they do need to be maintained,
just as with any other part of the car. For starters, you
always want to check the air pressure of your tires. As
a rule, tires will lose between one and two pounds of
pressure each month during the cooler months and more in
the hot, summer months. If the air pressure is not
maintained properly, you could have less gas mileage, find
the car more difficult to handle, or worse, experience a
sudden and unexpected blowout.
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.
Another way your tires can wear out fast is if they become
damaged somehow. This can happen anywhere you go. You can
pick up a nail in your tire from anywhere, anytime. If it
comes out before you notice, then you may get a slow leak
in your tire. If this happens, your local tire shop can fix
it, or you may be lucky and try a can of "fix a flat," if
the hole is small enough, this may fix the problem. Tires
not put on properly can cause vibration within your car
at certain speeds. If this happens, take your car back and
have them check it out for you.
Rotating your tires every 5 to 8 thousand miles will really
give you long life from your tires. For some particular
reason, one tire will wear out faster than the others on
most cars, kind of like one shoe wearing out faster than
the other one. By rotating your tires this will allow your
tires to wear more evenly, thus giving them a longer life.
Good tires are very expensive and many cars will only use
a certain brand of tire. This is some kind of agreement
between car manufacturers and tire companies. By keeping a
eye out and taking care of your tires, you will be able to
get a good deal of wear before you have to buy a new set
of tires.
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