Your car's tires are some of the most important parts of your car because they are the reason the car moves in the first place. The tires may look indestructible, but they are not, and they can easily suffer premature damage if you don't take good care of them. Here are a few measures to prevent premature tire damage.
Drive with the Road Conditions in Mind
The nature of the road determines how fast your car's tires wear out. Ideally, you should only drive on smooth roads – with just a tinge of roughness for friction surfaces, if you want your tires to last forever. However, you can't avoid potholes, road, debris, and bad roads forever, so the next best thing is to slow down when driving on bad roads. That way you reduce the force of the road obstructions, such as the edges of potholes, on your tires and hence reduce the rate of tire damage.
Don't Overload the Car
Each car has a maximum load it can safely carry without damage to its various parts. If you don't already know what your car's load limit is, check the placard inside of your door or the owner's manual for the information. Tires are also marked with the maximum load they can carry without damage. Exceeding the maximum weight interferes with the shape the tire is supposed to maintain while it's rolling on the road, and deformed tires are likely to get damaged.
Maintain Proper Tire Pressure
Apart from your car's weight, the tires' pressure also determines whether they are able to maintain their optimum shape on the road. Note that both overinflating and under-inflating the tires is dangerous; under inflation leads to fire deformity and over inflation increases the risk of punctures and blowouts. Therefore, inflate the tires to the correct pressure and keep checking them regularly to confirm that they are not losing pressure, most tires do that after some time.
Ensure Proper Alignment
Lastly, you should also ensure that your car's wheels are properly aligned at all times. In this context, alignment refers to the adjustment of the car's suspension system; the suspension system attaches the wheels to the car. If the suspension is out of alignment, the weight of the car won't be evenly distributed across the wheels, some tires will experience more weight than others, and the overloaded wheels will experience accelerated wear and tear.
In some cases, accelerated tire wear may mean there is a problem in another part of the car. In such a case, it's best to seek a diagnosis from the mechanic instead of just changing tires one after the other. Contact a company like East Bay Tire Co. for more information and assistance.
I have never been an especially handy person, but a few years ago I decided that I needed to learn more about my vehicle. I was tired of always relying on someone else to fix things, so I began reading more and more about the process. I realized that there were a lot of things that I needed to do, so I began taking a little course on at-home auto service. I still have a lot to learn, but now I can at least go through and change my air filter and check my oil. Read this blog to learn more about auto service.