Have your car's tires been maintained in proper ways?

Owning a car isn't cheap but it definitely comes with its own privileges. For starters, you don't have to wait patiently on the side of the road to wait for public transport. You also don't need to tolerate sitting next to other strangers and literally rub elbows while getting squished on your way to your destination. However, it's also not all sunrise and sunsets when you have a car and it can actually be very costly when you need to attend to repairs.

One great way to minimize the chances of your car subjecting you to thousands worth of bill by repair is by keeping your ride well-maintained. Maintenance for cars is like exercise for humans, we workout to stay fit and stay healthy so we will have a strong resistance and will not be susceptible to diseases. That is somehow similar to what cars need too - it's all about maintenance to avoid more expensive repair costs. Don't get us wrong and assume that maintenance is free because there are chances when you would need to replace a part or two. However, compare the costs of maintenance against repair and you would still see a massive difference between the two.

One great way to minimize the chances of your car subjecting you to thousands worth of bill by repair is by keeping your ride well-maintained

Simply put that if you don't exercise, eat and sleep well and in addition to that you're also full of stress, you are bound to get sick. That renders you disabled or incapable until you feel better or until you are taken to the doctor for a check-up and get medication - which all cost money. Lucky for us, the human body has regeneration properties but cars are inorganic so they are incapable of this. Think of the cost you'd have to end up with by blowing a tire or sliding off the road! Pretty ugly deduction. Good thing you can avoid that with this easy tire maintenance tips brought to you by Philkotse.com.

1. Tire Pressure

In order for the car owner to fully understand the importance of correct and adequate tire pressure, we would say it is comparable to the relationship of the fuel to the engine. When the fuel is low but you continue to run the engine, it makes damages that are invisible to the eye until it’s too late. This is the same relationship that the tires and the air inside it share. On an ordinary term of usage, a single tire can lose about 1-2 psi of air per month.

The pressure decreases all by itself. This goes to show that if you don’t care for your tires for a long time, the day might come that it cannot support the same weight that it has been carrying for the past months. So remember to have your tire pressure checked every now and then, it won’t take you an hour to do so but blowing out a tire in the middle of the road may take you days before you could drive your car again – not to mention a few bills to pay.

Remember to have your tire pressure checked every now and then

2. Rotating Your Tires

If you’re not that informed about the “what’s” and “how’s” of tire maintenance, well you may have heard of tire rotation but you’re not really sure of what it means. To put it simply, rotating your tires mean you move both the wheel and tires from its original position to another. This practice promotes that the tires wear out evenly. This also promotes the service life of your tires as rubber for your car is not really a cheap buy.

We highly suggest that you rotate your tires every 5,000 to 7,000 miles to avoid accidents that involve your tires. It’s also good for you to know that cars these days wear out the front tires more than those at the rear – especially in the case of Front-wheel-drive vehicles. So rotating your front wheels to the rear and positioning those at the rear to the front, you are creating even tread wear on all of your tires. Failing to practice tire rotation will cause your front tires to be more worn out than your rear tires. This may cause vibrations or worse, a front-tire skid. 

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Rotating your tires mean you move both the wheel and tires from its original position to another. This practice promotes that the tires wear out evenly.

3. Aligning Your Wheels

This is the measurement of your wheels’ position in comparison to the specs that the manufacturers want you to follow. If you fail to address your car and tweak it in accordance with what the manufacturers recommend, then you may end up with uneven tire wear. There is no universal or generic wheel alignment measurement as of now, so it’s safer to say that there are different wheel alignments for each vehicle.

If there’s a failure in the alignment of the wheels, you may notice that steering is ineffective and your vehicle will become less efficient in terms of fuel. We highly advise that you check for the suggested wheel alignment specifications indicated in your car’s manual every time you get your tires changed. Also, get an expert’s advice or head straight to a mechanic once you feel there is something unusual or wrong with your steering. 

Unusual steering reactions can be noticed if you try to drive in a straight, flat pavement. If your car, drives across smoothly then there should be no problem. However, if there is some tugging, pulling or drifting that takes place then consider having your wheel alignment checked.

If there’s a failure in the alignment of the wheels, you may notice that steering is ineffective and your vehicle will become less efficient in terms of fuel

4. Visual Inspection

This is perhaps the cheapest and less demanding tire maintenance procedure in this list. While it is good to have all the other three tire procedures done to maximize tire performance and service life, still nothing beats the old way of using your eyes with a dash of common sense. Make visual inspections a habit so you can attend to early problems that can result in worse concerns later.

This will only take a few minutes of your time and you clearly don’t require any special tools – except for a clear vision. Take a quick check up on your wheels right before you leave home every morning and maybe if you’re waiting for someone at the parking lot. This is a good habit to develop since you are also likely to notice other imminent problems that your car has to offer.

Make visual inspections a habit so you can attend to early problems that can result in worse concerns later

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