Summer is almost here and with it comes all the summer travel for vacations, special events, and just getting away from the house.  In order to do all these things we simply jump in our vehicle and away we go.  Most of the time, we take off with very little thought to the maintenance of the four tires that are carrying us down the road.  As long as they look round and aren’t completely flat, we figure all is well.  The fact is that simply looking at the tires isn’t enough to determine if they are fine or not.

The confusing thing about tires is that while they might appear to be fine, they can actually cause a huge problem if they are low on air pressure.  A tire that doesn’t have enough pressure in it rides on the road differently than one that has enough pressure.  One that is low has more rubber riding on the road; this has a tendency to overheat the rubber and can cause the tread to separate making the tire blow out the side.  The tire blow outs can be bad enough to cause an accident especially if they happen at a high rate of speed.  In fact a new government study warns that as many as one in 20 crashes could be linked to tire-related problems.   Underinflated tires have a really high risk of causing a problem on the roadway.  If the tires don’t suffer blowouts, they will certainly wear out a lot faster than they would if they had the proper amount of air in them.

Next to the brakes the tires are the most important safety feature on every vehicle.  But if the tires have a problem then the brakes may not work right either.  A low tire actually reduces the vehicles stability on the road, when you factor in weather and road conditions, the risk of an accident is much higher.  It is significantly more difficult for a driver to maintain control of the vehicle in bad weather if it is necessary to swerve to avoid an obstacle or even applying the brakes really hard.  A low tire won’t allow for quick responses in either of these instances.

While an underinflated tire is more likely to be noticed, an overinflated tire is more likely to be completely overlooked.  Being overinflated isn’t a good situation either.  When the tires have too much air in them they tend to ride high on the road causing the vehicle to bounce around.  When the tires are bouncing instead of being firmly planted on the road, traction isn’t as good and this changes the distance required to come to a complete stop.  The comfort of the ride is noticeably different as well, you will feel every single bump and groove in the road.

Checking the tires is actually a simple enough procedure if you have the proper tools and some idea of what you are doing.  Keeping the proper amount of tire pressure in each tire is very important.  Each tire should have the same amount of pressure in it, you can find out how much that should be in your vehicles manual or sometimes on the orange sticker on the inside of the door frame.  There is a digital tire pressure tool as well that costs around $10 and will tell you how much pressure is in each tire.  Make sure the tires are regular air temperature when you check the pressure.  The idea here is don’t check it right after you have driven around town for an hour or so.  Let them cool down and then check it.  It’s a good idea to get in the habit of checking the tire pressure each month; you will see a difference in how your tires wear and your fuel mileage as well.  Imagine saving money by not having to replace your tires as often and increasing your fuel mileage, all you have to do is check the tire pressure once a month.  It’s not too much to ask to get such great rewards back in your wallet.

Many folks don’t necessarily have the patience, time or ability to do routine maintenance on their vehicles, so that is what your favorite auto repair center is for.  We not only sell tires, we also maintain them and can repair them too.  Often garages will repair and maintain tires that were purchased from them at no additional charge.    Add to that the peace of mind in knowing that a professional has just examined your vehicle and deemed it safe, there is simply no peace of mind like that as you head out on your trip.   Summer is almost here – drive out and enjoy it.