Think of your automobile’s tires as its shoes. You wouldn’t walk around in a pair of shoes with holes in the soles, and your automobile cannot drive around on a pair of worn tires. Driving on a bald tire is dangerous, especially if we’re having a rainy day here in Orlando, of which we have many. Auto Solutions can inspect your tires to make sure they are still safe and reliable. If not, we can replace them. Let’s talk about tires, how to maintain them, and how to extend their life.
Signs You Need New Tires
The number one sign that you need new tires is the tire tread depth law in Florida. This law states that tires must be replaced once they have reached 1/16-of-an-inch. Failure to replace your tires at this time, i.e., driving on bald tires, could result in a moving violation. A quick way to check your tire tread depth is to insert a tread depth gauge between the tread rows around each tire to read the measurements.
Tire Rotations
Tire maintenance and extending the life of your tires go hand-in-hand. In other words, we know we are stating the obvious but the best way to extend the life of your tires is to maintain them. This includes getting tire rotations every 6,000 miles at a maximum. This allows the tire tread to wear down evenly because the tires are switched out so they don’t have the same pressure points all the time.
Wheel Balancing
Your wheels should also be balanced to extend the life of your tires. General recommendations for wheel balancing are when you get a new set of tires and every 6,000 miles after that. Balancing the wheels after the tires have been rotated ensures that the weight across the axles is even and your tire tread wears down evenly instead of in patches or scallops.
Wheel Alignment
Wheel alignment is also important, but it doesn’t need to be done anywhere near as often as tire rotations and wheel balancing. As with balancing, your wheels should be aligned when you have a new set of tires put on your car, crossover, SUV, or truck. After that, they should be aligned every one or two years depending on your driving habits and whether you have knocked them out of alignment yourself.
Auto Solutions works tirelessly to give our customers the best service possible and to be the best auto service shop in Orlando, FL. We’d be happy to inspect your tires and get you back on the road with a safe set that has plenty of tread and life in them.