Friday, May 18, 2012

Tire Tips for Safe Driving

To give you peace of mind as you make summer plans, were providing you with a Tire Boot Camp educations session—enrollment is free.
Since your tires provide the only connection your car has with the road (that is only as big as your palm), it’s important to know what to check and when to check it.
According to experts, it’s possible for a passenger tire initially inflated to 35 psi—or ‘pounds per square inch’—to lose as much as one psi each month.  Why does this matter?  Under-inflated tires can have an adverse effect on the handling of the vehicle.  On under-inflated tires, the outer tread will wear faster and disproportionally to the center of the tread, leaving you with prematurely worn tires that need replacing. 
However, over-inflated tires aren’t beneficial to the vehicle either.  According to experts, even if your vehicle is fitted with the best brakes money can buy, incorrectly inflated tires can still hinder the stopping distance of your vehicle—not taking into account road conditions affected by rain, snow or ice.
So, what is the proper tire inflation?  Recommended tire inflation is located in several places on your vehicle.  You’ll find the recommended pressure for your tires in one of the following places:
·         In the vehicles owner’s manual
·         On an information place-card located inside the vehicles door jamb
·         Inside the fuel hatch filler flap
·         The glove compartment door
You will not find the recommended air pressure on the tire itself.  The inflation pressure printed on the tire sidewall is only the maximum tire pressure the tire can hold—not the recommended tire inflation pressure for your vehicle.
Used by racecar drivers, airlines and military vehicle for years, nitrogen tire inflation has proven benefits for tire maintenance.  Pure nitrogen (as opposed to compressed air, which is 22% oxygen, carbon dioxide and other trace gasses) keeps tires inflated better and longer, as nitrogen molecules, which are larger than oxygen molecules, don’t slip through the rubber in tires easily.  In fact, according to the experts at getnitrogen.org, oxygen molecules escape three to four times faster than nitrogen. Also, without oxygen—which is highly corrosive element (hence the word oxidation)—tires usually last longer, too.
According to the U.S Department of Transportation, under-inflated tires can lower gas mileage by 0.3% for every one psi dip in pressure of all four tires.  Overall, gas mileage can be increased by 3.3 percent by keeping tires inflated to the proper pressure.  That may not sound like much, but it’s saving 9 cents per gallon of gas at the pump and who wouldn’t drive across the street for savings?
It’s not only good for you, but it’s good for America, too.  According to the experts at getnitrogen.org if 85% of the 220 million vehicles on the road today improved their gas mileage by 3.3 percent, the U.S. would save 3.7 billion gallons of gasoline a year—now if that’s not patriotic, I don’t know what is!
In order to keep your tires properly inflated, you must be able to check the inflation level in your tires.  Gas stations and convenience stores have tire gauges that you can use; however, they are often used and abused so much that they no longer provide an accurate reading.  It’s recommended that you have your own pressure gauge to keep in your vehicle, so that you can handily check your own tire inflation before making that big trip to see the fireworks, baseball game and or barbeque.
When choosing a tire gauge that works for you, there are several things to keep in mind.
·         PSI Range: According to experts, the most important part of this decision is to get a gauge that works within the pressure range of the tires that you will be using the gauge on.  For example, if your recommended tire pressure is 30 psi, the you should get a 60psi gauge.  All tire gauges work best in the middle of their range.
·         PSI increments: The finer the increments, the more accurate reading you will get.
·         Digital: Digital gauges are great; however, the cheaper the sensor the less accurate the gauge is.  With these gauges, you get what you pay for.
·         Analog: Analog gauges are a great unit of measurement for the money.  Normally, the bigger the face size is, the better the gauge is.
·         Face size: The larger the tire gauge the more accurate it is, in most cases, just think, a larger gauge head has bigger gears with larger teeth on them.  Therefore, the bigger gauge will last longer and hold calibration longer due to less wear and tear.
If your car is equipped with TPMS or a tire pressure monitoring system, and it’s a requirement for every car sold in the U.S. since 2007—you’ll need to pay special attention to tire maintenance.  Most tire pressure monitoring systems use remote pressure sensors coupled with radio-frequency transmitters to send tire pressure data to the car’s onboard computer.  Some automakers use systems that are wheel-specific (i.e. each transmitter corresponds to a certain wheel, light right-front, left-rear, etc.).
Like most things, even the sturdiest tires have a finite lifespan.  You can extend that lifespan with proper maintenance, but how do you know when to change them? 
Experts at Tire Rack have come up with the tests that you can do at home to determine the remaining life of your tires.  
·         The Penny Test:  Place a penny into several tread grooves across the tire.  If part of Lincoln’s head is always covered by the tread, you have more than 2/32 inches of tread depth remaining.
·         The Penny Test (again):  Place a penny into several tread grooves across the tire, but this time you’re using the back of the penny to determine tread depth.   If the top of the Lincoln Memorial us always covered by the tread, you have more than 6/32 inches of tread depth remaining.
·         The Quarter Test:  Place a quarter into several tread grooves across the tire.  If part of Washington’s head is always covered by the tread, you have more than 4/32 inches of tread depth remaining.
If you have less than 3/32 inches it is time to replace your tires.
Congratulations! You have successfully completed Tire Boot Camp! Now you’ll be fully prepared to have a safe summer.  Be sure to ask your service advisor for more information about tires at http://www.edvoyleshonda.com/!

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