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- Under inflated tires cause the engine to work harder. It's like
riding a bike with low tires. It's harder to pedal because of the
increased rolling resistance.
- Should you rotate side to side or front to back? Radial tires can
be crossed from side to side in the rotation pattern. Bias ply tires
should never be rotated from side to side, only front to back.
- Not all SUV's come with "P" (passenger) rated tires. Some have the
"LT" (light truck) designation.
- Under inflated tires wear faster, and they affect the steering and
handling of your vehicle.
- If tire pressure is too low, then too much of the tire's surface
area touches the ground, which increases friction between the road and
the tire. Thus, your tires wear out earlier, and they could also could
overheat.
- One sign of low tire pressure is if your tires squeal when
cornering.
- A tire can lose up to half of its air pressure and not appear to
be flat.
- Under inflation is the leading cause of tire failure. It results in
unnecessary tire stress, irregular wear, loss of control and
accidents.
- Tire manufacturers (not the U.S. government) test tires and assign
their own grades for treadwear, traction, and temperature resistance.
However, there is no prescribed formula for converting the
manufacturers' test results into universal grades, so be aware of the
fact that numbers from tire to tire are not objective.
- Tires lose air at a rate of about a pound a month, which means if
they weren't checked since the last time you had the vehicle serviced
(say 4 months ago), they could be several pounds low.
- Under inflation, by as little as 6 psi, can cut gas mileage by 3%.
- Cold temperatures affect the air pressure in your tires. There is
a loss of one pound for each ten degrees of temperature drop.
- Warning: Never buy a tire with a lower load index or speed rating
than your vehicle's original tire!
- In North America, regulations require tire manufacturers to
grade passenger car tires based on: Treadwear, Traction, and
Temperature resistance. Treadwear is based on the wear rate of the
tire. A wear rating of 300 to 400 is considered good; 500 to 700 is
very good. Further, a tire graded 200 would wear twice as long as one
graded 100. Traction grades (from highest to lowest: AA, A, B, and
C)represent the tire's ability to stop on wet pavement. Temperature
grades (from highest to lowest: A, B, and C) represent the tire's
resistance to the generation of heat.
- Gas mileage decreases 1% for each 10 lbs of under inflation.
- If you're only buying one or two tires at a time, always put the
new tires on the rear axle. It's a myth that putting the new tires on
your drive-wheel position will give you the most protection; instead,
doing so will make your vehicle more susceptible to oversteer
(fishtailing or swinging out during fast cornering).
- Under-inflated tires wear more on the outside edges. Over-inflated
tires wear excessively in the center of the tread.
- Use a penny to determine if the tread on your tires is too low.
Take a penny and put Abe's head into one of the grooves of the tread.
If part of his head is covered by the tread, you're ok. If you can see
all of Abe's head, it's time to replace the tire. When the tread is
worn down to 1/16 of an inch, tires must be replaced.
- Most manufacturers put "P" (passenger car) rated tires on 4WD
trucks as well. Some put "LT" (light truck) tires on SUVs and
four-wheel drive trucks, but most do not.
- The "T" on your tire's sidewall does not stand for Truck, it
stands for "temporary" spare.
- The "recommended" tire pressure is almost always lower than the
"maximum" tire pressure printed on the tire's sidewall. Check your
owner's manual to find out where to look on your vehicle for the
recommended amount of air (usually on the driver's door, the glove
compartment, or the gas filler door).
- Since tires can harden and crack with age, you should steer clear
of old tires and buy the freshest ones available. Here's how to tell:
Every tire carries a U.S. Dept. of Transportation serial number on the
sidewall (EX: DOT M6 RV T1HR 499). The last 3 digits are a date code
indicating the week and year the tire was made. (EX: the 49th week of
1999).
[l]Most punctures, nail holes or cuts up to 1/4 inch and
confined to the tread may be satisfactorily repaired by trained
personnel using industry-approved methods.
- For the most accurate reading, tire pressure must be checked when
tires are cold. You can check tire pressure any time of the day, as
long as the tires have been sitting for a few hours or haven’t been
driven for more than a few miles.
- Under normal loads, you should inflate tires according to the
vehicle manufacturer's recommendations, NOT the maximum pressure
listed on the sidewall.
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