Keys to Wheel and Tire Care
Posted on March 12, 2020
There are few parts of a car, pickup or SUV that take as much punishment and are as important to how our vehicle drives as the tires and wheels, which is why regular tire care and wheel care is so important to look of them. It's not just the safety and performance aspects that make looking after our tires so important though, it's also the potential extra cost of not doing so. So, let's take a look at a number of the key elements of tire and wheel care that should be part of your regular car care and car maintenance routine.
General tire car
Tires are going to wear, but there are a number of things you can do as a driver to make sure they don't wear out sooner than they need to. For a start, you need to maintain the correct pressures in them. A lot of modern vehicles now have tire pressure monitors that tell you if a pressure isn't correct, but there are a lot of vehicles out there still that need manual checks. Check at least once a month or if there's a significant change in temperature. Always fill them to the manufacturer's recommend pressure as over inflation can be as bad as under inflation.
And while you're checking the pressures, be sure to look at the amount of tread and the way the tires are wearing. If the tread is getting low it might be time to think about a replacement, but if you see wear that's uneven, there could be problems with the wheel alignment or the tire balance. If you do spot uneven wear, get in touch with a professional to get it checked out.
Tire rotation
As tires on different wheels can experience different levels of wear, it makes sense to rotate them so the workload is shared. Front wheels often work harder than those at the rear as the fronts will often be steering the vehicle as well as driving it, so swapping the fronts and rears around can make them last longer. If you're not sure about when or how to rotate the tires on your vehicle, don't hesitate to get in touch with us here at Caledon Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram for expert advice and help.
Wheel alignment and balancing
Your wheels take almost as much of a beating as your tires, so it pays to keep them properly aligned to keep your vehicle driving the way it should and to avoid uneven tire wear. It's easy for your wheels to be knocked out of alignment by hitting a curb or driving over a pothole in the road, so an expert alignment will make sure everything's as it should be. If your vehicle is vibrating at speed, it could also be that your tires are out of balanced. Once again, this is something an expert will need to check and fix, so get in touch if you think there might be a problem.
Get your differential serviced
A differential controls the speed of the left and right wheel of a vehicle, which allows them to turn at different speeds when you are turning. The act of turning creates friction and heat, which inside the differential can cause the additives in the fluid to break down and stop working as they should. Here at Caledon Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram our differential service will replace the fluid with the correct new fluid recommended by the manufacturer, as well as cleaning the transmission and service areas.
For more information about caring for your tires and wheels, don't hesitate to get in touch with us here at Caledon Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram today.