2018-08-13T09:01:00
(BPT) – With the final days of summer upon us, now is the time to spend a few extra minutes performing a tire safety check. Here are three easy steps to ensure your tires will be ready to handle the season change and keep you and your family safe year-round.
Stay on top of your tire pressure.
Tire blowout season runs from early summer through October and both under-inflation and over-inflation can cause a tire to blow out. High outside temperatures cause the air inside tires to expand quickly and can cause over-inflation, leading to premature wear and tear or blowouts. It’s also important to not let air out of your tires while they are hot, as this could leave you with an equally dangerous problem: under-inflation.
Checking tire pressure regularly by hand or taking it to a dealership for monitoring can help prevent a tire blowout. Looking at your vehicle’s manufacturers sticker inside the driver’s side of the door or console will tell you the recommended pressure for your vehicle, and some vehicles will alert you of a change in pressure through its tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS). TPMS symbols do not specify which tire needs attention, so if you’re driving when this happens, be sure to pull over to check the pressure of each tire.
Not only does checking your tire pressure prevent blowouts, it can also extend the average life of a tire by 4,700 miles and save you as much as 11 cents per gallon on gas, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Check your tire tread depth.
After a long summer of family road trips, you will need to determine if your summer tires have worn out. While obvious signs of damage such as cracks, splits and punctures can help drivers identify a problem, it’s also important to check tire tread depth on a monthly basis. If your tires are already worn down or fall below the recommended tread depth level, they may not provide the traction needed to make quick stops or could cause you to hydroplane while driving.
An easy way to check your tire pressure is to insert the edge of a penny in each large groove of a tire, with Lincoln diving in headfirst. If the top of Lincoln’s head is visible (not covered by tread), it is time to replace your tire. If his head is only slightly covered, you should still strongly consider purchasing new tires. Remember that tires depend on their treads to grip, so the deeper the tread, the better the tire will be in both rain and snow as fall approaches.
Know what questions to ask when buying new tires.
Once you decide it is in fact time to invest in new tires, you should know the right questions to ask. The answers will vary depending on the region you live in and the type of weather it has. In many places driving on summer tires into the fall and winter will be unsafe. All-season tires are created to handle a wide variety of road conditions, while winter tires are better geared toward deep snows. If you are interested in the ability to drive both on- and off-road regularly, all-terrain tires may be the best option.
Additionally, asking how the tires are rated and what that rating means will tell you how long the tire tread is expected to last. The traction grade communicates the ability of the tire to halt within a shorter distance and the temperature grade lets you know how the tire will resist heat.
No matter what type of tire you choose, changing weather and road conditions means your tires need to be at their top performance to keep you and your family safe. Now is the time to inspect your tires and invest in new ones before challenging weather strikes and tire inventories start to dwindle. For those willing to beat the rush, USAA is partnering with Goodyear to offer its members a discount on a new set of tires now through Oct. 30. The 25 percent discount applies to any USAA member purchasing tires on Goodyear.com, and can only be accessed from the “My Vehicles” section on USAA.com or the USAA mobile app.
