Car Safety: 5 Tips for Safe Tires
Don’t be too quick to hit the road and get going. Sometimes, it’s best to take a step back to ensure that you are safe before you head out. Checking your tires is one of the most effective ways to do this. After all, tires are the only parts of the car that make direct contact with the road. If another part of your car is touching the road, you may have a more serious problem that you should have checked out.
photo/ Torsten Dettlaff
In any case, here are five useful tips that you can use to ensure that you are always in a safe place where your tires are concerned.
- Be Careful with Tire Choice
When on the hunt for tires for your vehicle, there are a couple of factors that matter. Thankfully, the vehicle manufacturer tends to go the extra mile of laying it all out for you. Even if you bought your car used, an electronic copy of the owner’s manual is likely floating around on the internet.
Alternatively, a dealer or an auto tire repair company can give you the details you need to choose the right tires. Please stick to the recommendations, as they tend to take the vehicle size and maximum load into consideration.
- New Tires Go on the Back Axle
You have likely heard of this unwritten rule before, and it’s more than something someone made up for everyone to listen to. You need to have the best traction possible for encounters with wet roads. It may shock you to learn that this has nothing to do with your vehicle being a front-wheel, all-wheel, or rear-wheel drive. Once there’s no traction at the back end of the vehicle, it’s a cause for concern, as you are likely to spin out after.
- Do the Required Tire Checks Regularly
Nothing can keep you as safe as ensuring that your tires are stable and ready for the road regularly. You’d be surprised to know how many things you could potentially identify that could save you a huge headache. Here are the most important things to do where personal inspection is concerned:
- Check tire age metrics. Tires don’t last forever, after all.
- Check tire pressure.
- Check for any visible signs of damage or compromise throughout the tire’s exterior. This is a good time to check for dry rot.
- Check your tire tread depth regularly. Grooves that are still deep enough mean that the tire can still give good traction on the road.
- Have professionals check your tire balance. Any imbalance can lead to uneven wear.
- Replace the valve stem if it is broken or compromised. Your tire receives air through these, so they must always be in good shape.
- Check tire for debris. Remove anything that could pose a problem. If it has pierced the tire, get to the professionals to remove it, and address the open area at the same time.
- Check for signs of a tire bubble so professionals can address it.
- Replace Tires Promptly
Many people choose to wait until their tires are on their last legs, or some unfortunate occurrence happens to replace their tires. Don’t be that person. Once you notice that your tire grooves are going after having the tires for a while, start thinking about getting a replacement.
- Don’t Mismatch Tires
Mismatched tires are a recipe for disaster. Not only do you create unusual wear on all the tires, but you can negatively impact other components, such as those that make up your steering system. As you can imagine, having your handling thrown off is not a fun prospect, as it can have detrimental and even fatal implications.
