Tire Maintenance

    A lot of people aren't sure why they should take care of their tires. Well here is why, if you do not rotate your tires, inspect them for damage or just fail to keep them at their proper tire pressure, they could blow out, wear bad, or void your vehicle warranty.

    Rotating your tires allows your tires to wear even between eachother by moving them from back to front and front to back. Even wear keeps the vehicle riding smooth and when it comes time to change them, you usually change them all at the same time because the wear is evenly bad. Rotating your tires should be done every 5,000 miles or just every other oil change which should be every 3,000 miles. 

    Inspecting your tires for wear is just looking over the tread and the side wall for damage. Damage could be uneven wear, slashes from curbs or gangsters in the hood, chunks of tread taken out from driving on sharp rocks or bad roads, or just when the wear has gone down to those little wear bars on your tread. The wear bars are an indicator to change your tires before they get to dangerous. If you ever have a nail in your tread then take it to your local automotive shop and they will usually repair it for little or no cost. If you want a free tire repair then just go to Mullahey Ford in Arroyo Grande and ask for Jeremy, he'll do it for you because he's the best. If you have any sort of slash, nail, or buldge in your sidewall where the writing is and not on your tread. Then the tire needs to be replaced. Sidewall damage is very dangerous because it can cause a blowout while driving and lead to an accident. Be sure to get your tire changed as soon as possible if you find any sidewall damage. Tread damage can usually be repaired no problem. 

    Tire Pressure is also a huge part of taking care of your tires because proper inflation keeps tires wearing to their correct potential and keeps your vehicle riding smooth. If a tire in under inflated then it causes the edges of your tire to sag and wear more on the edges. It can also cause the sidewall to become weeks and flake off inside the tire where you don't see it. This can be very dangerous and cause a tire blowout. If a tire has too much air then it wears down the center and make the car not handle as well because the tire isn't using it's whole available area to turn. The area that is touching the ground is often times all the foot of the tire. The foot of the tire is what is touching the ground and you need the biggest foot you can to have the best handling of your vehicle. If you aren't sure what to inflate your tires to then usually if you look in your owners manual or check the vehicle ID sticker in the driver door jam. There they have information on the vehicle VIN number, paint codes, and other info. Often times they tell you what to inflate your tires too as well. If you still can't find out how much to inflate them to. Then on passenger cars usually 30-33 PSI is a good amount. SUVS, and regular size trucks can usually be set from 35-45 PSI. Larger work trucks that most of us don't drive, or diesel powered trucks often times go from 55-90 PSI. 90 PSI usually is the max you'll see and are mostly for trucks with duel wheels in the back. 

    Balancing your tires is also important because it keeps your tires nice and round. If your driving down the road and your steering while starts to shake then your tires need to be balanced. If your tires aren't balanced, then it will have high and low spots which wheel feel like you are riding on eggs rather then a perfect circle. You should balance your tires every 15,000 miles just to keep them nice and perfect. You need a special machine to balance them so don't count on doing it yourself. 

    So there you have it, the key to proper tire care is, rotating, checking for damage, and keeping the proper tire inflation. Be sure to take your vehicle to your local shop or Mullahey Ford in Arroyo Grande to get your tires rotated or repair. Inflating your tires can usually be done at any gas station yourself.