Below are the 5 top recommended tips for keeping your car
tires in top shape.
1. Check tire pressure. Do this at least once a month and
before and after any long trips. Automakers often suggest a tire pressure in
the neighborhood of 30 psi, but you should check your owner's manual to see
what your car needs. Be sure to use the automaker's recommended pressure and
not the maximum pressure indicated on the tires. That number represents the
absolute max psi a given tire can hold, not what it should be rolling on day in
and day out.
According to Goodyear, a tire that is underinflated doesn't
roll as easily and the increased rolling resistance requires more energy,
robbing the vehicle of fuel efficiency. Optimal inflation can improve fuel
economy by 3.3 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
Keep a gauge in your glovebox, and visit your neighborhood
gas station to get air if your pressure is too low.
2. Rotate your tires. Michelin says this should be done
every 6,000 to 8,000 miles. Every tire will wear differently. On
front-wheel-drive cars, the front wheels wear at almost twice the rate of the
rear wheels. In left-hand-drive countries, the left tire will wear faster than
the right. Rotating where the tires sit on the wheel helps achieve more uniform
wear, which means consistent performance and longer tire life. Have your tires
rotated at a shop for about $15 or buy a hydraulic floor jack and do it
yourself.
3. Examine your treads. The old wisdom was that tires should
have at least 2/32 inch of tread depth, and laws agree. But new information
from Tirerack.com shows that greater depth is preferred. In their tests, a new
tire with 10/32 inch of depth took 195.2 feet to stop in the rain, while tires
with 4/32 inch took 290 feet and tires with 2/32 inch depth took 378.8 feet to
stop.
To make sure your tires have a tread depth of at least 4/32
inch, stick a quarter, Washington's head facing down, into one of the
tire-tread grooves. If any part of Washington's head is obscured, you have at
least that amount of tread. Prefer to stick with the legal 2/32-inch tread
depth? Perform the same check, but use a penny and, of course, Lincoln's head.
4. Align your wheels. Improperly aligned wheels can create
rapid and uneven wear, says the Rubber Manufacturers Association. Misaligned
wheels can also create steering and tracking problems. Take you car to a
service station for alignment and the technicians will adjust the steering and
suspension components to manufacturer specifications, making sure that the
wheels are perpendicular to the ground and parallel to each other. According to
Midas, a basic four-wheel alignment on an average sedan will cost about $80.
5. Keep the deepest treads in the rear. Though this may seem
counterintuitive, since the front tires do the braking and steering, if you
have two newer tires and two older tires, keep the newer rubber on the rear
wheels. Deeper treads grip the road and channel water better, making the rear
of the car less likely to hydroplane and fishtail. The result is that, while
your shabby front tires may result in understeer, it's easier for a driver to
correct from such a condition than from oversteer resulting from worn rear
tires.