4 Important Reasons to Purchase New Tires!
The tires on your car take a beating every time you drive. This isn't a sign of bad driving but rather an inevitable fact of life. Just like a pair of shoes, they get old and worn down. A tire failure while you're driving can be catastrophic--causing your car to go out of control or leaving you stranded in the middle of nowhere. You want to know when your tires are in bad shape so you can get new ones before something goes wrong.
There are Several Things You Can Check Yourself:
- Tread Depth - The tread depth should never fall below 1/16 of an inch (1.6 millimeters) in depth. Twice that much is better if you regularly drive on slick, wet surfaces. There's an old trick that will give you a rough idea of how much tread depth you have left. It only takes a penny. Take a Lincoln-head penny and insert Abe's head (head-down) into the tread. If Lincoln's entire head remains visible, you don't have enough tread. Even better, newer tires have tread-wear indicator bars built into the rubber itself. As the tread wears down, these bars (invisible when the tires are new) gradually begin to appear as flat rubber bars running perpendicular to the direction of the tread. It's time to see about buy new tires if the bars are starting to appear.
- Cracks in the Sidewall - Do a visual check of the sidewall for tracks or cuts. They could be a sign that your tire is developing a leak (or worse, that it's nearly ready to blow out). If the cracks are looking serious, get to a tire repair shop at the next opportunity.
- Bulges and Blisters – When the outer surface of the tire begins to weaken, it can result in a bulge or blister that extends outward from the rest of the surface. This weak spot can cause a sudden blow out, and if you don't have a tire repair service before this happens, you will end up putting yourself, your passengers, and other motorists at risk when the tire blows out on the freeway.
- Too Much Vibration - A certain amount of vibration is inevitable when driving, especially on poorly paved roads. But if you're an experienced driver, you probably know how much vibration feels right and how much means that something's going wrong. There can be a number of causes for the vibration--your tires are misaligned or unbalanced, your shock absorbers are starting to go, or that there's some sort of internal problem in the tire itself. Too much vibration is almost always a sign that something is wrong.
Needing a set of high-quality tires? The tire repair experts at Gary's Quality Automotive are happy to help you. Contact our ASE-Certified Technicians by calling (308) 381-2295 or go on-line at https://www.garysautoinc.com/ for more information. Our auto shop proudly serves vehicle owners in Grand Island, NE, Wood River, NE and Doniphan, NE.
The tires on your car take a beating every time you drive. This isn't a sign of bad driving but rather an inevitable fact of life. Just like a pair of shoes, they get old and worn down. A tire failure while you're driving can be catastrophic--causing your car to go out of control or leaving you stranded in the middle of nowhere. You want to know when your tires are in bad shape so you can get new ones before something goes wrong.
There are Several Things You Can Check Yourself:
- Tread Depth - The tread depth should never fall below 1/16 of an inch (1.6 millimeters) in depth. Twice that much is better if you regularly drive on slick, wet surfaces. There's an old trick that will give you a rough idea of how much tread depth you have left. It only takes a penny. Take a Lincoln-head penny and insert Abe's head (head-down) into the tread. If Lincoln's entire head remains visible, you don't have enough tread. Even better, newer tires have tread-wear indicator bars built into the rubber itself. As the tread wears down, these bars (invisible when the tires are new) gradually begin to appear as flat rubber bars running perpendicular to the direction of the tread. It's time to see about buy new tires if the bars are starting to appear.
- Cracks in the Sidewall - Do a visual check of the sidewall for tracks or cuts. They could be a sign that your tire is developing a leak (or worse, that it's nearly ready to blow out). If the cracks are looking serious, get to a tire repair shop at the next opportunity.
- Bulges and Blisters – When the outer surface of the tire begins to weaken, it can result in a bulge or blister that extends outward from the rest of the surface. This weak spot can cause a sudden blow out, and if you don't have a tire repair service before this happens, you will end up putting yourself, your passengers, and other motorists at risk when the tire blows out on the freeway.
- Too Much Vibration - A certain amount of vibration is inevitable when driving, especially on poorly paved roads. But if you're an experienced driver, you probably know how much vibration feels right and how much means that something's going wrong. There can be a number of causes for the vibration--your tires are misaligned or unbalanced, your shock absorbers are starting to go, or that there's some sort of internal problem in the tire itself. Too much vibration is almost always a sign that something is wrong.
Needing a set of high-quality tires? The tire repair experts at Gary's Quality Automotive are happy to help you. Contact our ASE-Certified Technicians by calling (308) 381-2295 or go on-line at https://www.garysautoinc.com/ for more information. Our auto shop proudly serves vehicle owners in Grand Island, NE, Wood River, NE and Doniphan, NE.
