Tire maintenance for anybody.

I get so many completely off the wall questions about tires at work that it boggles my mind and it only takes a little bit of information to eliminate 90% of these so for those of you in SG land here is my attempt at giving you the small bit of information you need to know what to ask for when you need tires for your gelopy.

1. Tread depth.
When a tire reaches 2/32nds of tread depth it must be replaced and this is on any part of the tire not just all the way across. The reason for this is that while one side of the tire may be wearing out faster then the rest the entire tire is still in contact with the road. The primary reason a tire wears out faster on one side than the other is that the alignment of the suspension is no longer correct. However, correcting the alignment does not mean the tire wear will reverse itself or that the one side of the tire will stop wearing out so the rest of it will catch up. Once a wear pattern has been established it is there for the life of tire. To tell whether or not a tire is worn to 2/32nds of an inch feel in between the major tread groves for a raised portion, this is the wear bar indicator. Once the tread is even with this raised portion of tread the life of the tire is over.

2. Air pressure.
You've probably seen those commercials with Mario Andretti about checking your air pressure and while the interval is correct the reasoning is a little bit overexaggrearted. Low air pressure will shorten tire life and can cause a drop in gas mileage but we're talking LOW air pressure, like 15-20 lbs low and if your air pressure is that low then you've got more important worries than lack of gas mileage, you've got a leak. Check your air pressure once a month and try to maintain a range of 30-35 psi (for passenger cars and most high performance cars) or 35-40 psi (for large pickups or SUVs). AIR PRESSURE SETTINGS DO NOT DEPEND ON THE TIRES. They are soley dependant on the vehicle and the rule of thumb is this; The heavier the vehicle and loads it carries the closer to the maximum air pressure you should be. A Ford Ranger that never carries anything more than couple of bicycles is not going to need as much air pressure in its tires as a full size F-350 that is pulling a trailer everywhere. Most vehicles have their air pressure settings on the driver's side door jam.

3. Tire size.
Inevitably you will need to buy tires for your car, truck or SUV and the first thing you need to know is what size you have on your particular vehicle. Too many times people have called me or walked into my store and asked me what tire size they have on their vehicle. Sometimes this can be looked up in a computer but 99 times out of 100 we will have to walk out to the vehicle and read the size off the side of the tire itself. A real common tire size is 185/65R14 and is found on most compact sedans or sport compact coupes. What the fuck does that mean? you ask. 185 is the width of the tire in milimeters, 65 is the height of the sidewall as a percentage of the width (in this case 65% of 185 milimeters) and 14 is the diameter of the wheel in inches. Yes us crazy Americans mix metric and S.A.E. sizes, don't ask me why. The second thing you need to know is what speed rating the tire comes in. If you have an ultra high performance car then you need an ultra high performance tires no matter how slow you drive. If you have a pickup or large SUV you need truck tires. THIS IS NOT THE PLACE TO GO CHEAP. The money you save will cost you in lost traction and control and greatly shorten the tire life so make sure the replacement tires at least meet the requirements for the vehicle then discuss your options from there.

4. Maintenance.
Rotate your tires every 5,000 miles and get your alignment at least checked that often. If you feel a slight vibration at freeway speeds in the steering wheel or the seats bring your vehicle in for tire balancing.

Thats it folks, thats 90% of what you need to know to take care of the tires on your car and if you do all of these then you'll most likey not have to buy new tires for at least three years (depending on how you drive) which is good because at anywhere from $300-$1,000 a set changing tires every year is EXPENSIVE.

Is there an SG auto group?

Thanks for the information!

yes.

The worlds largest tire.

That is very useful information, a lot of it new to me.

What I really want to know is, how do I get my tires for free?

Excellent info for those not in the know.

Also, giant wings obtrusive to rear vision and exhausts the size of coffee cans totally make your car fast. Like fucking mad hella sic fast.

You totally forgot the neon lights under the body.

Drive around until you see someone with new tires that are the same size as yours. Then follow them home and wait for them to go to sleep. The rest is easy.

Plus tribal vinyl graphics add horsepower in a relationship directly proportional to how far away it takes the average onlooker to say "Get a load of this asshole."

And don't forget that huge amounts of bass being blasted from the speakers also make cars go faster and are garunteed to get you laid.

You forget to mention that most, not all, 4wd or awd vehicles don't need tire rotation. Otherwise that's a very nice thing you posted there.

Actually thats a good point but when it comes to full time all wheel drive. 4wd trucks still need to. Also if you have full time all wheel drive you need to change all four tires at once or you'll burn up the transfercase.

P.S. If anyone out there has anything to add feel free!

That is one bad ass Chevelle.

So the only other problem I've noticed about changing tires or maintaining them is scheduling to have the work actually done. Next to price this is the most hotly contested issue at my shop, how fucking long is the work going to take?

Hours.

One, maybe two or more depending on how busy the shop is. if you can set up an appointment then do so, thats the best way to ensure a minimal wait but if you can't wait more than one or two hours then don't bother even trying. Murphy's law dictates that the customers who are most in a hurry are going to be the ones stcuk in the shop for double the amount of time they were told to begin with because things don't go exactly according to plan. Nuts dissapear, studs snap, tires that the computer said were on hand can't be found all kinds of things that can't be anticipated always seem to happen to those customers that absolutely can not wait and soon they don't have a choice. So here's a couple of tips to schedule getting some work done on your car.

Minor work can normally be done in an hour or two, that includes, tire rotations, balancing, oil changes, up to four tire chages (most vehicles, some take longer like a Lexus SC 430 which takes two to three hours) and vehicle inspections. Anything not on that list will take three hours or more. Just plan on that kind of timetable and you'll be ok. Something I always suggest to my customers is to leave their car at my shop in the morning on their way to work. Leave us a number at work where we can reach you and by the time you get off of work all will be well and good. These are the tickets that always get done in half the expected time I don't know why it just always works out that way.

So above all else be patient and don't expect to just to get a lot of work at the last minute. Its often possible to pull the car in very quickly but the work itself is going to take a lot of time.

I'd argue that all 4WD and all wheel drive vehicles should have the tires rotated. The reason is the front tires experience more lateral forces while turning than the rear. Especially if your AWD vehicle is primarily front wheel drive.

Some troubleshooting tips.

If you're getting vibrations in the steering wheel going down the road it's probably the front tires that need to be balanced.
If you feel the vibrations in the seat its probably the rear.
If it's a slow wobble at 5-20 MPH it may be a busted belt in the tire and should be checked by a proffesional as soon as possible.
If you only feel vibrations when you apply the brakes it's probably your brakes. Disk brakes can warp causing the wheels to vibrate when you apply the brakes.

Check your spare tire air pressure when you check the other tires.
If you don't know how to change a flat tire get someone to teach you. Once you're comfortable with it it's easy and it could save you alot of cash over the cost of paying for road side service. "I'm just a girl," is no excuse. My sister new how to change a flat before she was 16 and she's the girly girl of all girls.

Don't go to Tires Plus, they suck. Namely in the online versus real world pricing department. Tires Plus guy "oh we don't carry the yokohama avid t4, we're out of the Fuzion HRi, here have some shitty Uniroyal tires instead, that are only 25 dollars more than the online list price of the tires that you actually wanted". Plus they tack on balancing charges.

Why is that?

what I need is a way to make the rear tire of my motorcycle so that it is nail and screw repellant.

I replaced a fairly new tire over the summer because of one and now I find myself having to shell out another $120+ less than five thousand miles into the tire. it's frustrating to say the least.

the tire actually held air and rode fine for almost two months with the screw in the tire but now it's going flat. considering removing the screw and plugging it. it's either that or air it up, some fix a flat and ride it to the shop.

*sigh*

Fuck....there's probably going to be a test on this tomorrow.

A big "hell no" on the Fix-a-Flat stuff. I've found out the hard way that almost no tire shop will plug a tire once you put Fix-a-Flat in it. I also found out the hard way that Fix-A-Flat is a VERY temporary solution and literally dissolves if the "plugged" area is sitting in water (like during a rainy season) and you'll come out to not only a flat tire.....but also a puddle of what looks like burnt bacon grease will surround your tire. Quite pretty.

nah. I was going to plug the tire myself. I'll only put fix a flat in to get it the 8 miles to the shop to buy a new tire and have it replaced.

cool, thanks for the info... I've always been quite tire-illiterate... glad someone could help me understand things !