Are Your Tires Safe For All Seasons

Tire safety is something many don't take into consideration, until their tires fail them. Most forget that their tires are the only contact between their vehicle and the road and therefore how critical they are.
Maintaining proper tire pressure, observing tire and vehicle load limits (not carrying more weight in your vehicle than your tires or vehicle can safely handle), avoiding road hazards, and inspecting tires for cuts, slashes, and other irregularities are the most important things you can do to avoid tire failure. Regular maintenance of your tires will also help with:
• Improving vehicle handling
• Protecting you and others from avoidable breakdowns and accident
• Improving fuel economy
• Increasing the life of your tires.
Properly maintained tires also improve the steering, stopping, traction, and load-carrying capability of your vehicle. When your tires are under inflated and overloaded, this is when you can face serious tire failure. To avoid flat tires and other types of tire failure, here are a few things you should do:
1. Check Tire Pressure - Keeping tires properly inflated can boost fuel efficiency by one mile per gallon. Before any long trip and once a month, check the pressure of each. The carmaker's recommended tire pressure is on the tire placard and can be found near the driver's doorjamb, on the glove compartment door or in the owner's manual. Tire information placards and vehicle certification labels contain information on tires and load limits. These labels indicate the vehicle manufacturer's information including: Recommended tire size, recommended tire inflation pressure, Vehicle capacity weight (VCW–the maximum occupant and cargo weight a vehicle is designed to carry), Front and rear gross axle weight ratings (GAWR– the maximum weight the axle systems are designed to carry).

2. Rotate Tires Regularly. Regular rotation helps extend the life of your tires, saving time and money in the long run. Rotation ensures your tire's wear is even and therefore helps your tires last longer. If no period is specified in your vehicle's owner's manual, tires should be rotated every 6,000 to 8,000 miles. 

3. Keep Proper Vehicle Alignment. Alignment generally refers to the adjustment of a vehicle's front and rear suspension parts. Proper alignment helps ensure that your vehicle handles correctly and will help increase the life and performance of your tires.

4. Keep Tires Balanced. To get optimal performance from your tires, they should be balanced. When tire and wheel assemblies are unbalanced, vibration from the wheel assembly shakes from side to side or the tire and wheel assemblies hop up and down. It is important that these assemblies are in both static and dynamic balance.

5. Check Tire Tread Depth and Replace Worn Tires. In most states, the minimum legal tread depth is 2/32 of an inch. If you place a penny with the top of the head facing down into your tires' shallowest groove and you can see the top of Abraham Lincoln's head, it's time to replace your tires.

By practicing these few simple steps and becoming in the habit of them, you will save yourself money and more importantly keep yourself and those who ride with you safe.

Greg Chapman of Greg Chapman Motors is a knowledgable and leading provider of used cars, trucks, and SUV’s. Since 1959, Chapman motors has supplied reliable used cars in Austin and the surrounding area. For more information please visit http://www.gregchapmanmotors.com.

Taking A Look At Tires

Tires are more than those things that go round-n-round beneath your car. A good set of tires can provide better safety to you and your passengers improve your vehicle’s performance and even improve the look of your car.

Let’s start with safety. We know a good set of tires can prevent an accident. Different kinds of vehicle require different kinds of tires so do some research on your car type when buying tires. Do not trust the previous owner to have done this homework if you are buying a used car.

Tires vary in quality and type depending on your needs. Take into consideration your budget, how long you want the tires to last and most importantly the conditions under which your tires will be exposed. Extreme heat, frequent rain or snow, or heavy winter weather are all important and unique considerations.

As for safety, many car accidents originate with the car’s tires. To add insult to injury, most car insurance companies will refuse payment of accident damage to their clients if they can prove old, faulty car tires had been the cause. If your tires are old and beat up, consider making an investment now rather than later.

When it comes to appearances, there is nothing easier in improving the look of your car than getting a new set of tires. Just by switching over to some new rims or tires, you will be giving your car the equivalent of a facelift.

When you are going to pick out your new rims and tires, you will first have to answer some simple questions. Do you want to upgrade to a new set of wheels that has the same diameter and width of your old tires? Or, do you want to get something bigger? If you opt for wider wheels, your car will have that much more contact with the ground surface, which will give you a better rate of acceleration and a tighter grip during turns, as well as giving you more stopping power.

If you go with taller rims, you will draw more attention to your wheels. This gives your ride a striking, powerful feel that demands looks from those you drive by. Don't worry, necessarily, about fitting taller tires onto your car. There are specially designed low-profile tires that maintain the same tire diameter as the tires that came with your car. Getting taller rims with low-profile tires is called plus-sizing your car. The benefits of this are that, instead of recalibrating your speedometer as you would if you changed your wheel diameter, your car will be ready to drive immediately after your new tires are installed

It is most likely can’t go wrong in choosing the right tires for your vehicle, so spend some time and make the investment – you will find that you’ll add value and life to your vehicle and yourself.

Greg Chapman of Greg Chapman Motors is a knowledgeable and leading provider of used cars, trucks, and SUV’s. Since 1959, Chapman motors has supplied reliable used cars in Austin and the surrounding area and is known as one of the bad credit car dealers in Austin. For more information please visit http://www.gregchapmanmotors.com.