Where the rubber meets the road

July 14, 3:19 PMChicago Hypermiling ExaminerTony Gasbarro

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Proper tire maintenance can save you some pennies.

Perhaps as important as a well-tuned engine, healthy tires are integral to your potential to save money and stretch your gas tank range, whether you practice hypermiling or you don't.

The average brand of tire is designed with 40,000 to 50,000 miles of life under typical conditions, though certain driving habits can shorten or lengthen tread life. The more aggressive your style of driving, the less time you'll likely spend with any set of tires.

Tread
Your tires are what carry your vehicle wherever you steer it, but their tread is what keeps your car headed in the right direction through good weather and bad. Tire manufacturers spend many fortunes on research and development of tread design in the effort to give a tire the best traction, or the smoothest ride, or a happy mix of the two. Most cars come equipped with a set of tires the auto manufacturer has deemed optimal for that model or package. Those are usually all-weather, radial, "middle-of-the-road" tires.

When you're shopping for tires, you're most likely going to find all-weather tires on your list, especially if you're on a tighter budget. Not all tires of this type are the same, however. Some offer a more aggressive tread for greater traction in ice and snow, while affording less accommodation for a smooth ride. Tires with the most aggressive treads will usually yield lower mileage and fuel efficiency.

A wear bar, visible here across the center, will cause a very
noticeable vibration at any speed when the tire tread has
worn past its effectiveness

 

As always, let safety — and, in this case, your mechanic or your tire retailer — be your guide. Unless you plan to switch to snow tires in the winter, putting the smoothest, quietest, most mileage-friendly tires on your car is going to give you fits in the winter. Your mechanic or your tire retailer can recommend the best tires for your car, and should be able to offer you a wide selection of brands and prices.

Wear
It's important for the life of your tires as well as for your safety, to know if, and how often, you should rotate them. Some brands of tires, designed specifically for certain types of cars, are not required to be rotated. Other types need to be rotated regularly in order to ensure proper, even wear. Unevenly worn tires may cause vibrations, "pulling" (turning unexpectedly while braking), or may fail under stress. Your tire retailer should be able to tell you your tires' requirements.

Eventually, your tires will need to be replaced. Your mechanic should inspect your tires for wear with each maintenance visit, and will know when to recommend they be replaced.

An auto manufacturer tire information guide.

You can monitor your tires' tread wear through several means. One very simple way is the "penny test." Take a US penny — heads side visible to you — and insert the top of Abe Lincoln's head into the tread of a tire, and press it toward you against the tread wall. The rule of thumb is that, if you can see any space above the top of Lincoln's head, the tire needs to be replaced. Safety dictates that even if most of Lincoln's head is visible above the tread, you should consider replacing your tires.

Tires sold in the US and Europe are manufactured with a "wear bar" deep in the tread. As the tread wears away to minimum traction, the wear bars begin to contact the road, creating both noise and vibration noticeable to the driver. When this occurs, the tire is beyond its minimum traction capabilities and must be replaced.

Inflation

All tire manufacturers place recommended inflation and maximum inflation notices on the side walls of their tires. Automobile manufacturers specify the size and types of tires to be placed on the vehicle, and they recommend the level of inflation. These specifications and recommendations are printed on a tag and affixed to the rear wall of the driver's door well.

Your vehicle is designed to achieve a specific level of performance. Never install wheels or tires of a different size, or inflate your tires above or below the recommended range provided by either the vehicle or tire manufacturers. Your vehicle's performance will only be diminished, and you will reduce its ability to protect you from hazardous conditions.