Posted on 11/19/2023
There's lots of good information to read in books and online. You might not know that you can also "read" your tires and learn a lot about what shape they're in and if they are in need of attention. It's important to know how your tires are doing because a tire failure can be very dangerous to you, your passengers and others on the road near you. You read your tire by looking at the surface that rides on the road, where the tread is. Check out the outer and inner edges. If you notice there's more wear on the inner or outer edge than on the rest of the tread, your vehicle could be out of alignment. Wear on an inner or outer edge could mean your wheels are leaning too much to one side. When you see this, visit our service center soon to have the alignment checked. What about if both edges are worn? That could be a sign that you don't have enough air in that tire. In an underinflated tire, the middle is not contacting the road surface as much as the edg ... read more
Posted on 7/23/2023
You know that sinking feeling when you realize one of your tires has a problem. It may be making an odd noise or behaving oddly when you're driving. You may hit a pothole or curb and one suddenly goes flat. Or you may head back to your vehicle and discover it has one tire deflated without a clue of what must have happened to it. With a lot of different tires hitting the streets these days, the issue of whether to have a tire repaired or replaced can be tricky, and we strongly recommend you have a trained technician help you make that decision. One of the most common causes of flat tires is picking up a screw or nail in the tread area. Many of those can be patched and plugged if the puncture isn't more than ¼ inch/6 mm in diameter. Most tires can handle two of this type of repair, but any more and you should buy a new tire. If there's a puncture or bulge in the sidewall or shoulder, the rule of thumb is it's not repairable. The sidewall d ... read more