4 Tire Care & Maintenance Tips in Houston
The tires are some of the most important safety features your Volkswagen has. After all, they're the only part that touches the ground, so they serve as the connection between your vehicle and the road. Because of this, it's best to make sure that your tires are in good condition. Not only is your safety at stake, but a new set of tires can be a significant investment.
4. Regularly Check Tire Pressure
How often do you check the pressure of your tires? It may seem like you don't need to do this unless something looks wrong, but that's not the case. Even in good condition, tires can lose anywhere from 1 to 3 psi per month, and fluctuations in temperature can exacerbate this problem. If your tires are underinflated, your vehicle's fuel efficiency will decrease. What's more, a tire without enough air can wear down faster, making it necessary for you to replace them sooner.
As bad as underinflated tires can be, overcompensating by putting too much air in your tires is also a bad move. Overinflated tires cause a harsher ride, decrease traction, and are more susceptible to damage. The best thing to do is to regularly check your tires' inflation and add or remove air as needed.
3. Check the Tire Tread
Inspecting the tread on your tires can tell you a lot about their condition--including what changes might need to happen. The first thing to look out for is uneven wear. Uneven wear can be caused by different problems. In general, overinflated tires will have excessive wear along the center, while underinflation will cause excessive wear along both edges. If just one edge of the tire is worn, or if the tire is misshapen, it's likely due to a problem with alignment. Meanwhile, patchy or scalloped wear can be caused by out-of-balance tires or suspension problems.
2. Have the Wheels Aligned When Necessary
We mentioned that an alignment issue could cause excessive and uneven tire wear. This means that you'll have to have your tires replaced sooner than you otherwise might. However, misalignment can also put you in danger, since the vehicle will pull to one direction or the other. Of course, if you wait for your tires to show this uneven wear, it's probably too late to save them. Instead, make sure that you get your alignment inspected regularly, and be sure to schedule a service appointment if something feels wrong.
1. Get Your Tires Rotated Regularly
Which would make you tired more easily: walking a mile carrying a five-pound backpack or walking a mile carrying a fifty-pound backpack? Extra weight puts extra strain on you, and tires are no different. The tires on your Volkswagen carry different amounts of weight, largely because the front tires have to support the extra weight of the engine. If the tires were left in the same position, the ones on the front would wear out much faster than the ones on the rear. Tire rotation is the way to avoid this. When you have your tires rotated, the front and back wheels will be switched, giving the tires that had been on the front a chance to rest while the tires that had been on the rear get their turn to do the hard work.
