how to properly maintain your vehicles tires and how to service them

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Tire Maintenance

Before you get in your vehicle to take that extended road trip be sure to follow these simple rules of thumb. Tire pressure should be adjusted to conditions, like when the vehicle is loaded down with gear and the maximum number of people most tire manufacturers recommend adding up to 4 psi over the vehicle manufacturer's recommended pressure. However, never exceed the vehicle's maximum load rating which is stamped on the sidewall of each tire on your vehicle.

Tire pressure should be checked monthly or before any extended road trip and during extreme temperature fluctuations. Always take a pressure reading while the tires are cold—driving as little as one mile can produce an inaccurate reading. Normal tire deflation is approximately 1 psi per month; cast-aluminum wheels are more porous than steel wheels and allow even faster leak-down. And don't forget to check the spare if you have one.

If you need to add air to your tire or tires and you have to drive to a gas station to inflate your tire use this rule of thumb when inflating the tire. Lets say your tire requires 32 lbs. of pressure for proper inflation; your vehicle tires will gain 1 lbs of pressure for every 5 minutes of driving for the first 20 minutes of driving. If you have to drive 5 minutes to a gas station you'll need to increase air pressure in your tire to 33 psi. If you drive 15 minutes to the gas station you'll need to add and extra 3 lbs or 35psi. The reason you add more air pressure than require to a warm or hot tire is so when the tire cools off the tires air pressure will be at it's proper "cool" psi setting. When the tires cool the air inside gets smaller or it contracts, when air is heated it expands and raises the tire pressure. If you don't add the extra psi to those warm or hot tires when they cool off your tires will be under-inflated by as much as 5 to 7 psi.

Then the air pressures stabilized, typically gaining no more than 1 psi of additional pressure during the next 20 minutes. This means that even a short drive to inflate your tires will result in tires that will probably be "under in-flated" by a few psi the following morning. But we've shown you how to avoid this common problem.

Always have your tires rotated and balanced at every other oil change or every 7,500 miles. Have your vehicles wheel alignment checked once a year or after running over large pot holes, hit a curb or go to fast over speed bumps.

Follow the steps we've lined out for you and your vehicle will drive straight and true and your tires will achieve their mileage duration.

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