4 ways to maintain your tires

4 ways to maintain your tires

Maintain proper tire pressure

Check tire pressure regularly

Maintaining proper tire pressure can help extend the life of your tires, ensure a safe ride and maintain optimal fuel mileage. Too much or too little tire pressure can cause your tires to wear out faster.

The common tire pressure unit in my country is PSI or kPA. The standard tire pressure is different for each car model. Car owners must know the appropriate tire pressure for your car and develop the habit of checking it regularly (every 2-4 weeks).

You can get your tires checked and inflated for free at any gas station.

It is best to check the tire pressure in the morning or when the tires are cool, because the temperature of the tires will increase after the vehicle is driven and affect the tire pressure value.

Steps to inflate tires

Check your car’s standard tire pressure/air pressure

Next to the driver's door, you will see a list of your car's tire pressure standards. The chart will tell you how much air you should inflate for the front and rear wheels, but this also depends on personal circumstances, such as road, weather conditions, etc. .

Choose kPa or PSI

Whether it is kPa or PSI, they are actually the same air pressure capacity, but the units are different. Generally the outer number is kPa, and the inner smaller number is PSI. You just need to choose the unit according to the tire and tire pressure pump, whichever unit you choose is the same.

Adjust the air pressure and start inflating

Once the unit of the tire pressure pump and the tire are determined, then select the appropriate tire pressure on the tire pressure pump, press + (select a higher air pressure capacity) or - (select a lower air pressure capacity) to achieve the appropriate data.

Then, open the tire plug and align the air inlet tube with the tire mouth. When you hear the sound of "puff... thread... thread...", it means that the air pressure is preparing to enter the tire. At this time, you should press the air inlet tube tightly. Let the air enter the tire.

stop inflating

Once you hear the sound of "beep beep beep" from the tire pressure pump, it means that the tire has enough air pressure. Pull the air inlet tube open immediately, move quickly when pulling it open, and finally lock the tire plug and you are done.

There will also be a tire warning light on the dashboard of the car. This indicator light is used to display the tire pressure status of the vehicle's tires, which is mainly yellow or orange.

Under normal circumstances, this indicator light is off. When it lights up, it may be that the tire pressure is insufficient or damaged. The owner should get out of the car immediately and check whether the tire is normal.

Improper tire pressure

Under inflation

If you notice wear on the outside of your tires, that means your tire pressure is too low. This will also cause your car to feel particularly heavy. Driving in this state will result in greater drag, your car will use more gasoline, and it will shorten the life of your tires.

If you don't check your tire pressure regularly, your tires can also go flat when you don't realize it and cause low tire pressure.

Over inflation

If the center of the tire is more worn than the sides, it means the tire pressure is too high. If the tire pressure is too high, the contact area between the tire and the road becomes smaller, and the tire grip is reduced. This will greatly affect driving safety and tire life, and the earthquake resistance and comfort will also be reduced.

Where to change car tires

Due to the different installation positions of the tires, the working conditions and loads borne by the front and rear tires of the vehicle are also different. Generally, the engine of a car is in the front, and the driver's seat is also in the front, so the load on the front wheels is greater than that on the rear wheels. When the vehicle starts (front-wheel drive type), the front wheels rub against the ground first, so the front wheels Wear faster than rear wheels.

Therefore, in order to prevent tires from being worn in one direction (eccentric wear) for a long time, car owners should regularly exchange the position of the tires to balance tire wear, provide better operating performance throughout the tire's life cycle, and thereby extend the service life of the tire. .

Replace the tire position every 10,000km-12,000km or every 6 months. The specific replacement time depends on the condition of the tire and the type of vehicle.

If you frequently drive at high speeds, transport heavy loads, or drive long distances, you may want to replace your tires slightly more frequently. If you hear a buzzing sound from your tires while driving on a flat road, you may want to consider rotating your tires.

If the car's spare tire has the same specifications as the four regular tires, the car owner may wish to add the spare tire to the rotation, so that the wear of the five tires will be reduced. If the spare tire is a small-sized spare tire (narrow tire), do not try to change it.

The air pressure of the front and rear tires of the vehicle is different. The owner should adjust the tire pressure according to the position of the tire after changing the position.

Check dynamic balance and wheel alignment

Wheel Balancing

Have you ever tried to drive and the steering wheel of your car vibrated so much that it interfered with driving? This means you have to adjust the balance of your tires because your car has a balance problem.

Dynamic balancing refers to the balance of car tires. Because cars often drive on roads with ups and downs and potholes, the vibrations and bumps over the years will have an impact on the wheel rims, and uneven weight distribution will occur when the wheels rotate. Therefore, it is necessary to Perform dynamic balancing regularly to make the weight distribution of the wheels more even.

Wheel imbalance can also lead to uneven tire tread wear. Severe tire imbalance may even cause unnecessary wear and tear on shock absorbers, affecting driving safety.

It is recommended that car owners perform dynamic balancing every 10,000 kilometers to ensure that the car tires are in good condition.

Wheel Alignment

If you clearly see the car slowly moving to one side when you drive it on a straight road, or the steering wheel cannot return to its original position, it means that the tire alignment has shifted.

Four-wheel alignment is the same as four-wheel dynamic balancing. Sometimes when car tires hit foreign objects on the road, the tire angle will "move".

Problems with the four-wheel alignment will cause abnormal tire wear (commonly known as "tire eating"). In more serious cases, it will cause the car to wander and affect driving safety, so it must not be ignored.

It is recommended that car owners perform four-wheel alignment when doing dynamic balancing.

Check tire tread

The condition of your tire tread is important, so check it at least once a month, before and after a long trip.

Check tread condition

Small objects stuck in the tread

Sometimes there will be some small things stuck on the tread. If it is stuck in the groove, the car owner can carefully take it out to avoid damaging the tire; if something penetrates into the rubber, such as a nail, do not touch it and directly Send it to a repair shop, otherwise it will cause the tire to lose tire pressure.

Tire outer wear

If you find that the shoulder tread on both sides of the tire is worn, you may need to add air or check for air leaks. If tire shoulder wear is only found on the front wheels, it may be caused by driving in a snake shape or turning too fast.

Excessive tread center wear

If the center of the tread wears more than the shoulders, the inflation pressure may be too high, which increases the risk of a puncture.

Uneven wear of single tire

Patterns of tread wear will alert you to possible problems with your vehicle. If you notice uneven tread pitch wear, or bald spots, you may need wheel balancing or alignment. Sometimes bald spot wear indicates that the shock absorber is worn, please consult a professional to solve it.

Check tire tread thickness

There must be many tread wear indicators (Tread Wear Indicators) on the edge of the tire, that is, the small convex words TWI. Extending to the nearby tread, there will be a small arched crossbar. The height of the small crossbar is 1.6mm.

The tread depth of the new tire is 8mm. When the tread wear gradually reaches the minimum of 1.6mm, the tread wear indicator will become horizontal to the tire. This also means that the tire's grip and braking performance are extremely poor, and the risk of skidding is greatly increased. The risk is greatly reduced compared to wet braking performance. Basically, the tires are completely worn at this time, so new tires should be replaced after the tires are worn to a certain extent/when the tread depth is less than 3mm.

Don’t neglect the spare tire

The spare tire is an emergency item that is often forgotten. Car owners often take it out a few years later and discover that the tire pressure is too low or has aged.

Therefore, it is recommended that car owners also check the condition of the spare tire before routine maintenance or long-distance driving. Check the tire pressure of the spare tire and whether there are wear/cracks. Replace the tire as soon as possible before the tread wears to the wear mark line.

Check your car tires regularly

The tires of a car are like the feet of a car. No matter how powerful the car is, it still needs tires to perform its performance. In addition, once the tires are neglected, they will not only consume fuel and have poor control performance, but may also suffer accidents such as tire blowouts and uncontrolled skidding, which are at stake for the lives of drivers, vehicle passengers and other road users. Therefore, it is important to ensure that your tires are in good condition.