June: National Tire Safety Month

 

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Maybe it's because the kids are out of school and you can finally go on vacation or maybe it's because wherever you live the weather is significantly changing...but, June is National Tire Safety Month.  There are so many parts of tire safety that I never really thought about.  And maybe you're like me, when the service man asks if you'd like to add a tire rotation to your oil change, you think, "eh, next time."  But that tire rotation could be helping you tremendously.  Here are some things I am learning about tire safety.  

Tire Pressure:  Having low tire pressure causes tire wear (yea, I know).  And having too high of tire pressure can also cause tire wear.  So what can you do to fix it?  Get yourself a handy dandy tire gauge.  It's pretty easy to do.  But what are you looking for?  Ideally you want a PSI (measurement of pressure) of 35.  And anywhere under 30 or over 40 is a danger zone and will cause some pretty bad tire wear, which means some costly tires are in your future.  

Tire Rotation:  Did you know tire rotation is recommended every 7500 miles but most people wait until 15,000 miles?  Oops.   That means every other time you get an oil change you should also get your tires rotated.  And unless you have a car lift at home, it's not a do-it-yourself project.  Plus it only costs $20.00 to get your tires rotated at Eckert Hyundai and 30 minutes.  And it could save you a few hundred dollars on new tires.  I'd say that's worth it.  Rotation keeps the wear on your tires even, because our tires tend to wear on the front since that is where a majority of the weight sits. 

Alignment:  I had no idea that your car's alignment had anything to do with tires.  You car comes with a system to keep your car going straight.  This produces a lot of wear on the center of your tires.  Trouble happens when you hit a bump or a pot hole that begins to wear on the sides of your tires (God forbid you live in a neighborhood with speed bumps!).  This causes more inner and outer wear that will make your car pull to the right or left.  If you notice that or even if you don't, you should get your alignment done each year.  Good to know, huh?

Set up any of these tire safety appointments at Eckert Hyundai today!

Here are a few more helpful articles I found.  The Weather Channel's: Tire Safety for All Seasons & PR Newswire:  Are your Tires Road Ready?

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