Sometimes it’s easy to take your tires for granted, but you’d be ignoring them at your peril. Your tires not only allow you to proceed smoothly on the road, but good tires are essential safety features that keep you and your family out of harm’s way. Not only do tires hold the road and help navigate tight turns, the treads grip the road and help your brakes work properly.
Honest Abe
One of the easiest ways to test the safety of your tires is via the penny test. Take an American penny, turn it upside down, and insert the edge into your tire’s tread. If you can see the top of Abraham Lincoln’s hair, your tire tread is worn enough that you should consider replacing it. And hey, as long as you’re down there, do a quick visual inspection of your tires. Can you see any nails, screws, or other foreign matter that could lead to a loss of tire pressure? Also check the walls of your tires that you don’t normally see. Any bulges or bubbles in the tire walls means that you need to get that tire replaced immediately. A bulge like that means that your tire is in danger of a blowout, and nobody wants to deal with that on the road.
Under Pressure
When’s the last time you checked the air pressure in your tires? Tires that have lower than correct internal air pressure increase your car’s rolling distance – that’s the friction that occurs when an object rolls. Bottom line, that means your vehicle will use more fuel. And let’s be honest: none of us wants to spend any more at the pump than we already do! The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that keeping tires inflated properly improves fuel economy by approximately 3.3 percent. On the other hand, tires that are too inflated means that your vehicle doesn’t handle correctly because there’s less rubber meeting the road.
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We Can Help
Our certified technicians can examine your tires and fix any problems they find, and we’ll do it at an affordable rate and in a reasonable amount of time. Come see us at David Hobbs Honda, or make your service appointment online now. We’ll be happy to get you back on the road safe and sound.