Has it been a while since you got new tires? Have you recently had a flat tire or a tire blowout, requiring a tire repair? Are you driving on a spare tire, or is your car vibrating a lot? Driving with bad tires is dangerous and not something to be taken lightly, as it can make your car difficult to handle and decrease the integrity of your car’s connection to the road. In some cases, all new tires are in order, or maybe you just need a tire repair if you a drove over a nail or something similar. It’s also possible you need a wheel alignment if your tires are unbalanced. Read on for more answers to the question, “When do I need new tires?”
The Penny Test
An easy way to test your tire’s tread wear only costs one cent. This is widely known as the penny test. In this case, a penny can buy you peace of mind when it comes to your tires and safety. Insert a penny head first into various tread grooves across the tire. If you always see the top of Lincoln’s head, your treads are shallow and worn. If this is the case, you will need new tires. If part of Lincoln’s head is always covered by the tread, chances are you have more than 2/32 of an inch of tread depth remaining. In this instance you probably don’t need new tires.
Other Factors
Some drivers are under the misconception that tire wear can cause misaligned wheels. But in fact, it’s quite the opposite—a car that’s out of alignment will cause uneven tire wear, which is why it’s so important to get a wheel alignment once or twice a year. If you’re getting new tires and it’s been a while since your last wheel alignment, the mounting of new tires can be an excellent opportunity to address alignment. Every vehicle has recommended wheel alignment specifications. These can—and should—be referenced when your new tires are installed to ensure your car is in alignment, and you’re going to get the most from your new tires—in years and performance.
Other Factors
Equally as important as the condition of your tires, is making sure your tire alignment is correct. Good tire alignment helps your tires in optimizing their performance and allows them to last longer. Tire alignment also decreases the pulling of your vehicle in one direction while driving and gives the driver a better sense of control over the vehicle as a whole. If you haven’t gotten your tires aligned in a while, come in today so we can take care of that for you.