By Scott Ward | A Street Auto

Many people don’t know this, but tires are one of the most overlooked areas of the vehicle in regards to safety. There’s only one thing separating you and the road you’re driving on: your tires.
Let’s take a look at some of the things we need to remember when it comes to getting the life out of a tire:

• The first and foremost is tire pressures. You don’t know how many times we see people come in with their vehicles with under-inflated tires. The easiest form of maintenance to a tire is proper inflation. This should be checked at least once a month, if not bi-monthly. Tires can lose up to a pound a week depending on weather conditions. So, check tire pressures often to get your best wear possible. Not to mention, you will save on gas as it helps give you better gas mileage.

• The next thing, is to check the condition of your tires: Do you actually know what your tires look like? More often than not, we have people come in and have no idea they are riding on tires that are at the wear bars, or just plain bald. The average tire is approximately 11/32 in depth. The wear bar is put in at 2/32 when they need to be changed, but in raining wet road conditions, tires start to lose their performance capabilities around 4/32. In this industry, we call it hydro planing. It’s not a fun feeling gliding across the road with no control over your own vehicle. The tread depth serves a purpose to channel water and grip the road when conditions are not at their best.

• Last but not least is the way the tire is wearing. When we rotate your tires, we look to see how well the tire is wearing. Is it wearing flat? Does it have center wear from over inflation? Outside edge wear from under inflation? Or is it feathering/cupping from possible worn suspension components? The list goes on but the point I’m trying to make here is that the tire tells us the story. From there, we can make the necessary recommendations to help optimize the longevity for your tires.

So, if you are ever in need for some advice on your tires or just to check the inflation and/or the condition of your tires, please come see us, free of charge. We will be glad to help steer you in the right direction. After all, tires are safety.

Until next month, Scott