Tire Inspection: Keep Your Vehicle Safe and Efficient

We all like to drive our cars and to safely arrive at our destination, whether that's home, work, or some other place. In order to do that, our vehicles must be functional and our tires need to be operational. To ensure that the tires are ready for the road, as they are your only contact with it, they need to be in good condition, which is why we have tire inspections.

A tire inspection is a systematic evaluation of a tire, which helps us determine if the tire is in good enough shape to handle the performance, ensuring safety and compliance with established regulations. This process is beneficial because it helps us detect early problems, minimizing damage, cost, and the chance of accidents. Tire inspection should be done at least monthly, or before going on a long trip, while a professional should check your tires at least once a year.

Since your driving safety depends on your tires, among other things, it's in your best interest to keep them in good condition. That is why we've prepared this tire inspection guide to help you understand the importance of regular inspections, what needs to be checked during this process, common tire issues, and some maintenance tips to ensure the longevity of your tires. Let's dive in!

Why Regular Tire Inspection Matters

Driving on damaged tires, or with some other issue going on with them, is detrimental to your tires and vehicle. This can leave you stranded on the road, requiring you to get towed away, while the worst outcome is an accident that results in injury or loss of life. This is why regular tire inspection is helpful, since it is able to prevent these negative outcomes.

Additionally, keeping your tires in good shape enables you to enjoy a number of benefits. By ensuring the tires have good structural integrity, even tread wear, and constant road grip, you can extend the life of your tires, improve your vehicle's fuel economy, and have a smoother driving experience.

To sum up, here are our top reasons to inspect tires regularly:

• vehicle and human safety
• better traction and handling
• minimal fuel intake, maximized tire life

Step-by-Step Tire Inspection Checklist

Tire inspection isn't difficult. Sure, it requires knowledge of the matter and some practical experience, but for the most part, anyone can do it with some practice. This procedure involves visual inspection of the tires, determining their pressure levels, measuring their tread depth, checking their alignment, and balancing them. Let's see what each of these steps entails.

Visual Inspection

When visually inspecting a tire, you're essentially looking for any sign that indicates that something is amiss. Different visual cues like cracks, cuts, bulges, or embedded debris indicate tread or structural issues, prompting either fixing the damaged section of a tire if possible, or its total replacement. Here is how some of these issues might look:

While you should pay attention to different types of damage that can affect the tread area and sidewalls of your tires, it's also crucial to keep yourself informed about how old your tires are by checking their DOT code. After all, no tire lasts forever. The older they are, the more likely they are to dry out, if they are too old or if they haven't been properly stored. Regardless, make sure to replace your tires every six years.

Tire Pressure Check

In order for a tire to perform optimally, it needs to be inflated to its proper PSI levels. Take a look at your tire's sidewall and find the maximum pressure in kPa and psi it can withstand. For instance, it can be something like this: 300 kPa (44 psi) MAX PRESS. In this case, the tire's ideal pressure should be a little bit under 44 psi. Make sure to check the recommended tire pressure on a label in the driver-side door jamb to make sure you've hit the right spot. Check the pressure in your tires with a tire pressure gauge, but make sure to do that when the tires are cold to get the most accurate reading. When inflating tires, be careful not to overinflate or underinflate tires, as they can lead to a series of issues we want to avoid. Keeping the optimal tire pressure is important, so make sure to check it at least once a month.

Tread Depth Measurement

Paying close attention to tread depth is crucial if you want your tires to have something to grip the road. Measuring tread depth can be done in a number of ways. Let's see how the penny test and tread wear indicators can help us.

The penny test involves using the penny, with Abraham Lincoln's head facing down, and putting it in tire grooves at different places to check tread depth. Once in the groove, see how much of Lincoln's head is covered by the tread. If the top of the head is visible, you should replace your tire. But if the top of the head is still covered, you still have enough tread to use.

Manufacturers make tires with treadwear indicators or wear bars, which are small raised sections of rubber within grooves that are evenly spaced. As you use tires, their tread wears off bit by bit, until the tread eventually reaches these wear bars. When that happens, the tires no longer have enough tread, so you should replace them at once.

Wheel Alignment and Balance

Proper alignment of wheels is crucial for any vehicle since it optimizes the tire's surface contact area. A slight change in the vehicle's wheel angle directly impacts the tire's surface contact, changing it for the worse. Misalignment of wheels effectively leads to uneven wear, but it also diminishes handling and controllability. As such, wheel alignment is important and should be fixed as soon as possible to avert other issues down the road. Manufacturers recommend checking the alignment every 5,000 miles or when you notice an issue with the steering.

Similar to alignment, balancing your tires is also crucial for safe driving. Tire balancing corrects uneven weight distribution in the wheels with small metal plates. When tires are out of balance, it leads to vibrations, irregular wear, and suspension issues, to mention a few. Balancing tires after every 5,000 miles is advisable to ensure the best performance of your vehicle.

Common Tire Problems and What They Mean

Most drivers in their lifetime will encounter the same problems, like vibration, cracking, sidewall damage, uneven wear, and improper inflation. Let's take a look at what each of these issues really means.

Vibration: You can feel vibrations in the car for a number of reasons, such as imbalanced tires, inflation and rim issues, or tire belt separation.

Cracking: Cracking across the tread area and sidewalls happens when the tire is exposed to UV rays, ozone, extreme temperatures, improper storage, or old age, which means the compound is starting to break down.

Sidewall damage: It is a frequent tire issue that occurs when a tire hits curbs, potholes, or other obstacles.

Uneven wear: Tires develop uneven wear when some of their sections wear out faster than the rest of the footprint due to misalignment, unbalanced tires, or improper tire inflation.

Improper inflation: This is caused by overinflating or underinflating tires, which can increase fuel consumption and stopping distances, diminish steering control, and lead to blowouts.

Most issues can be handled safely with early detection, enabling you to prevent these problems from multiplying and affecting other parts of your vehicle. In other words, you won't have to waste your money on costly fixes or replacements.

Professional vs. DIY Tire Inspection

Whether you should inspect your tires or leave it to professionals is a difficult choice to make, since both options have pros and cons. In order to solve this dilemma, let's compare them.

Professionals evaluating your tires can accurately assess tire issues due to their extensive knowledge and professional tools at their disposal, lowering the chance of misdiagnosing the problem. However, you need to pay for their services.

When embarking on a DIY tire inspection, you need a vast knowledge to understand the difference between a tire problem that can be easily fixed and an issue that warrants tire replacement. Without the proper instruments and techniques, you can cause further damage, jeopardizing your and everyone's safety on the road. What seems like a cost-effective solution may result in a higher price for you to pay in the long run.

It's best to consult a professional if the problem is beyond your capacity to solve or if you don't have the proper tools to handle it. Safety is a priceless investment, so don't assume to know how to inspect a tire if you're a novice. Thinking about whether you inspected your tires well can be distracting and dangerous when driving, which is why a tire technician is a better option to preserve your peace of mind.

Maintenance Tips for Longer Tire Life

Once the tire inspection is done and no issues have been found, it's important to maintain your tires so that you can use them for a very long time. We've already mentioned the importance of wheel alignment, tire balancing, and proper inflation in combating irregular wear formations across the footprint. In addition to this, tire rotation and proper tire storage are also beneficial. Let's see how they help.

Tire rotation is the practice of shifting your tires from one position to another on your car in order to ensure even wear across all your tires. Different tire rotation patterns are used depending on your vehicle's drive type and the tread pattern of your tires. Inform yourself which pattern is suitable for your tires and vehicle to avoid any issues.

Off-season tires need to be properly stored if you want to be able to use them later on. Clean them first without using aggressive chemicals and let them dry. Put them in an airtight bag and make sure the bag and the tire are free of moisture. Avoid direct sunlight exposure and store them in a cool and dry place that's moderately ventilated. Keep your stored tires away from electrical equipment that can generate ozone. These steps will help you preserve your tires against harmful influences, enabling you to use them at their optimal condition.

Conclusion

Tire inspection is a simple yet effective way of keeping your tires in the best shape possible. Checking your tires for any damage, proper pressure levels, and necessary tread depth minimizes the chance of accidents during the drive. In case you experience extra issues when driving, visit a professional for a more thorough evaluation of your tires and the systems they interact with. Regular visits to a tire technician will ensure your and everyone's safety on the road. As such, establishing good habits regarding tire inspection and maintenance is an excellent way to keep every participant in traffic safe.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Long Does A Tire Inspection Take?

A tire inspection can last from 15 to 30 minutes, and sometimes it can extend to even 45 minutes. This depends on the service provider, the condition of your vehicle, and the issues that are found during the inspection.

How Often Should I Inspect My Tires?

You should inspect your tires once a month, as it will help you notice the first signs of issues, enabling you to act on time and prevent them from escalating into larger problems. This is a simple and preventive step that can minimize the possibility of accidents on the road.

How Do I Know If My Tire Needs Replacement?

Different reasons can prompt a tire replacement. You can perform the penny test to see if the tread of your tire is too shallow. A sidewall bulge is a sign of structural issues that can lead to a blowout. A tire with a puncture in the sidewall or shoulder area needs replacement since it cannot be fixed.