Your tires play a crucial role when it comes to keeping your car safe to drive; that's why this post by Jim Ackney in Edmonton lists essential preventive maintenance tasks for your wheel-tire sets.

Main Preventive Maintenance Procedures for Your Tires

Tire Pressure

Checking your tires to make sure they are inflated adequately is an essential preventive maintenance task you can perform every month. Simply put, tires lose around 1 pound per square inch (PSI) of pressure every month due to permeation or temperature changes; if their inflation is overlooked, they can become underinflated over time. As you might expect, driving with poorly inflated tires can be dangerous. For example, tires with low pressure need more energy to overcome rolling resistance while supporting the vehicle's load; hence, the engine is forced to burn massive amounts of fuel. Conversely, driving with over-inflated tires compromises the tires' grip to the ground, which results in less friction and poor steering control for the driver. Knowing all the risks associated with driving on under or over-inflated tires, make sure to monitor their pressure at least once every month. The first thing you need to do is check your owner's manual to find the operating pressure at which you should inflate your tires. Next, check all tires by removing the caps from the valve stems to push your tire gauge over the open valves for a few seconds. Look at the gauge to check its reading matches the pressure recommended by the manufacturer; otherwise, correct the tire inflation by following the step-by-step instructions specified in the tire placard placed on the inside door jamb of your vehicle or inside your owner's manual.

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Wheel Alignment

Before going over the importance of wheel alignments regarding tire performance, you should know that each vehicle's design comprises specific suspension angles to keep the wheels perpendicular to the ground and parallel to each other. Altogether, these angles help the tires to rotate smoothly, minimizing tread wear and improving the vehicle's fuel consumption and steering. Generally speaking, it is recommended to get a wheel alignment once every year; however, this interval may vary depending on the type of car you own and how you drive it. For instance, let's say you typically drive through uneven or rough road surfaces; in that case, your wheels might likely fall out of their intended alignment angles faster due to having a more turbulent interaction with the surface. In that case, you might need wheel alignments more often than someone who drives through regular pavement roads. Regardless, follow the wheel alignment intervals described in your owner's manual. Also, make sure to call your mechanic if you become concerned that your vehicle is suddenly pulling to one side while driving, that your tires make a squawking sound, or that your steering wheel vibrates, as these all are signs of misaligned wheels.

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Tire Balancing

While your tires' weight distribution might not be the first factor in consideration when giving them preventive maintenance, keeping them balanced can make a huge difference in your driving safety. Quite simply, tire balancing involves attaching a fraction of ounces of weights to the wheels. This procedure is necessary to ensure an even weight distribution for the wheels, which helps them spin smoothly at high speeds. Now, tires often develop weight imbalances for a wide range of reasons. For instance, wheels and tires are manufactured with minor, inevitable weight imbalances; on top of that, their wheel weights can get detached by accidentally hitting a pothole, by damaging or bending your car's axles, or by driving with improperly inflated tires. Weight imbalances result in an uneven rotation for the tire, which can have a huge impact on your vehicle, making it wobble while moving, causing the steering wheel to vibrate, and the engine to produce unusual wheezing sounds. Call your trusted mechanic to balance your tires if you notice your vehicle shows some of those symptoms.

Tire Rotation

A tire rotation is, quite simply, one of the most critical services you can get for your tires. This procedure consists merely of switching your tires' position; still, it holds a crucial value to promote even tread wear, efficient fuel economy, and driving safety. On the whole, you should keep up with your tires' rotation because they are the only part of your car in constant contact with the surface. Given that fact, they are taking the impact of rough surfaces continuously, which can cause damage to your suspension and take your wheel-tire sets out of alignment. These factors contribute to uneven tread wear, resulting in poor traction, increased fuel consumption, and poor vehicle performance. Ideally, you should rotate your tires every 5,000 to 8,000 miles; however, this interval may vary depending on the type of car you drive and how you drive it. Nonetheless, make sure to check your owner's manual to become familiar with your tire maintenance needs.

Protect your engine against heat and premature wear by adding quality lubricants to it, like AMSOIL's Signature Series 10W-30 Synthetic Motor Oil. To place an order on the most efficient synthetic oil in Edmonton, call the experts at Jim Ackney at (780) 476-0545 or visit AMSOIL's online store.