Along with the New Year comes this refresh on tire maintenance and proper checkups to ensure long-lasting tires and safe driving. Take a look at these 2024 suggestions for tire maintenance and make life simpler with a checkup list to follow.
Use the New Year for a vehicle checkup
As we refresh other factors in our lives, such as winter gear, memberships, and goals, it’s also a great time to check up on vehicles and performance tires to ensure safe and comfortable winter driving. Tire maintenance is crucial for a smooth ride. The months leading up to winter may have done a number on your all-season tires until they’re switched to winter tires.
To maintain your 2024 winter tires, they should’ve been carefully stored when not in use, wrapped up, and stacked off of the ground. Once they’re installed on the vehicle, there are a few things you can do during the winter months to ensure they last for more winters to come.
When should you inspect your performance tires?
If you’re not sure when the last time was, use the New Year to start a new cycle. Inspect them now, see how they’ve been faring for the first few weeks of driving, and then check them every month afterward.
It doesn’t have to take long or feel like a chore. A simple check for tire pressure and punctures or deformities will do.
2024 guide to tire maintenance
- Inspection
Inspection normally highlights any obvious visual problems, including tread depth. Tread depth determines how efficient the car will be at maneuvering through mud, snow, ice, and slush, as well as its ability to stop quickly.
Use a tread depth gauge to measure the depth, or a penny to see how shallow the tread has become. Find the shallowest part of the tread to determine the health of the tire. Check out Sailun for the best all-terrain tires that withstand winter on-road and off-road driving.
Tread wear indicators
Some tires have a small bar within the tread to indicate the shallowest point the tread
can reach before it’s unsafe to drive with that tire. Once that bar is visible, the tire should be replaced. Generally, these bars are found on a few spots around the tire for a visual of how the tread experiences wear across the tire.
- Rotation
Sometimes uneven wear can be curbed by rotating the performance tires. If one tire is experiencing more weight than another, rotating the tires can give one tire a break and give another the load. Tires should be rotated each time they’re installed to lengthen lifespan.
- Balancing
Balancing (not to be confused with alignment) ensures the tires are installed with the correct weights. This is something that would have to be done in an auto body shop as the vehicle needs to be lifted and the tires and wheels spun with a tire balancing machine. If there’s vibration in the steering wheel, floorboard, or seats, this is an indicator that the tires might need to be balanced.
- Alignment
Alignment is related to how the vehicle drives. Drivers experiencing a pulling sensation to one side or the other while driving likely need to have their wheels aligned. This pulling sensation also means some of the tires are experiencing extra pressure from the misalignment as the driver tries to steer straight.
Alignment issues need to be addressed at an auto body shop. Letting them just be can further affect the vehicle’s frame, steering, braking, and suspension. An alignment will adjust the camber (outward and inward tilt of the tires), caster (front and rear tilt of the tires), and toe (direction of the tires during an aerial view).
- Patching
The need to patch something is easy to assess once a visual inspection has been completed. Check the treads and sidewalls for punctures, foreign objects, gouges, or bulges.
Patching can be done at home with the proper supplies, ideally only for small problems. Bigger problems likely mean visiting an auto body shop or a new set of tires. While the best all-terrain tires are adept at withstanding harsh driving conditions like rugged terrain, it’s important to fix what can be fixed when the problem is still small.
- Pressure
As always, check the tire pressure and remember that with cold temperatures, the air molecules shrink, resulting in a lower tire pressure reading. Don’t forget about the spare tire (if you have one). That way it’s ready to use when needed and keeps the right shape when not being used.
When to seek professional help
Tire pressure, minor patches, and inspections can certainly be done at home or on the road. Even tire rotations can be done if you’re accustomed to switching your tires at home.
However, while we suggest a tire inspection every month, it’s beneficial to mix in a professional inspection now and then to ensure important details aren’t missed that only a professional would see.
Also, see a professional when it comes to tire balancing, alignment, and patching that can’t be easily fixed. Neglecting to see a professional in these instances could result in a tire failing while driving and an accident. Stick to these routine maintenance tips to ensure all the tires and the vehicle itself last for as long as you need them to.
Shop Sailun Atrezzo tires for passenger vehicles and trucks to find all-season tires or performance tires that last. They offer high ratings for both wet and dry performance, ride comfort, quietness, and tread life.
Sailun is committed to quality tires that last, which is why all of our tires have great ratings. Get your next set of safe, dependable tires today.