7 Tire Maintenance Tips Every Vehicle Owner Should Know

Did you know many one out of five Americans doesn’t know how to change flat tires?

Some drivers don’t even have a spare. If you want to learn about helpful tire maintenance tips and avoid a flat tire, we can help.

This guide will go over the importance of tire care and when you should look at getting a tire replacement.

Want to learn more? Keep reading.

1. Buy Quality Tires

First, make sure you’re buying decent tires. In the end, quality tires will last longer than cheap ones. You’ll also have peace of mind, knowing you’re driving around with reputable tires.

If you live in a colder climate, spend the money on decent winter tires. You don’t want to cheap out. Otherwise, you could end up sliding all over the road or get into an accident.

Are you unsure about where to find tires? Do you need particular tires for off-roading or a harsh winter climate? Buy here if you’d like a wheel and tire package.

2. Inspect Your Tires

You should inspect your tires after long trips or throughout the month.

Check your tires and watch out for over-inflation issues. Too much air pressure in your tires causes a lot of wear in the middle of the tread. You won’t wear the tires down at the edges.

If there’s too little air pressure, your tire’s exterior edges will contact the road. It can wear on both the edges of the tire tread and minor wear in the middle.

Another common issue is when the treadwear will occur on one edge. This can happen if the wheels end up out of alignment.

Erratic tread wear’s called cupping and means the wheel’s out of balance. The shock absorbers or other suspension parts will need to get replaced.

The raised part of the sidewall or tread might reveal that one of the tire carcass’s belts has become separated.

When you choose to inspect your tires often, you can avoid major accidents. Prevent underinflation or overinflation issues.

3. Noisy Tires

Have you begun to notice a thumping noise or unusual vibration?

These noises often reveal that a tire’s out of balance. The tread will have a flat spot due to wheels locking in a sudden stop.

4. Your Vehicle’s Pulling to One Side

If you’re driving and notice your tires tug to one side, you might have either a damaged or underinflated tire. Sometimes, poor wheel alignment or a brake issue will also cause the pull.

Tires will depend on decent tread condition depth to maintain traction. They will also need that to shed water on a wet road.

The tread will need to get checked at least once a month for uneven or excessive wear. An accurate tread depth measurement will get done with a tread depth gauge.

5. What About Tire Pressure?

You can extend your tires’ lifespan and maintain excellent gas mileage. Check tire pressure once a month. Use a quality gauge and measure the pressure.

Three kinds of tire pressure gauges tend to be available at various auto part stores. Pressure gauges will get built into air hoses at gas stations. The dial and digital designs will remain more accurate and easy to read.

6. Punctures or Flat Tires

Is your tire flat? Not all flats will have the same cause. The way you deal with the flat tire will depend on how it occurred in the first place.

If you found a hole in the tire, you will need to replace the tire. If you have a leaky tire, you can find out for sure in a few ways.

You should inspect the tire for clear signs. A nail or another sharp object might be extending from the tire. A nail in the tire doesn’t mean it will puncture the inner tube and create a leak.

Use a pair of pliers or a claw hammer. Get rid of the nail. A lot of tires will try to self-seal. You should have a plug on hand.

You could drive with a nail but only for a short distance. Hitting a curb or a bump could end up pushing the nail further into your tire.

If the puncture isn’t precise, you will need to test this further. You’ll need to get a bucket of water and soap. Mix the solution in a spray bottle.

Look for bubbles to form as the air begins to escape. You should coat the surface of the tire.

The leak might also be on the other side of the tire on the ground. You can move your vehicle to rotate the tire or even remove the wheel.

7. Try Rotating the Tires

Rotating your tires will keep you safe on the road and extend the lifespan of tires.

The rotation pattern is critical as well. The tires on the front axle have a different role compared to the tires on the rear axles.

Front-wheel drives and rear-wheel drive vehicles differ. The tire wear effects on a performance vehicle are way more severe compared to a family sedan.

Talk to your mechanic to determine a rotation schedule.

Don’t Forget About Tire Maintenance

We hope this guide on tire maintenance was helpful. Look at maintaining your tires so you can avoid expensive repairs. You should inspect the air pressure and watch out for tread issues.

Would you like to continue learning about vehicles and auto parts? Check out some of our other recent posts for more tips!