Road Trip Tire Essentials: Don’t Get Stuck on the Road

Road trips involve careful planning and preparation in order to make sure the journey goes as smoothly as possible. Your journey can easily be ruined if your tires aren’t ready for a long-distance performance. As such, tires shouldn’t be neglected, especially since they’re your only contact with the road.

Moreover, they’re constantly exposed to road and weather conditions, making it imperative to maintain them or risk having a dangerous trip that may result in a potential accident. After all, you can’t drive if all your tires are damaged and unusable.

Tires utilize air to keep them full and carry the weight of your vehicle. The same air helps them keep their optimal shape, along with their construction, allowing them to have the best contact patch and traction, for a safe road performance.

Since tires lose their pressure over time, they will become underinflated, impacting their traction and performance. In short, they are likely to wear out faster and diminish their handling ability, resulting in lower safety levels. It’s not something you’d really want.

To combat this, you’re going to inflate them and you’ll inflate them a bit more to make sure they’re inflated for a long period of time. It can’t hurt, right? Wrong! Overinflating your tires also leads to a set of problems you’d want to avoid. If that’s the case, what should you do?

First of all, tire pressure is checked monthly when tires are cold to get the most accurate readings. This means your vehicle should be parked for at least three hours. You can find the correct pressure for your tires on a sticker on the driver-side doorjamb of your car. Based on that information, you’ll be able to inflate them to proper PSI levels in order to secure a safe and reliable performance.

Proper tread depth is important if you want your tires to function properly. The tread pattern enables the tire to grip the road and maintain the overall stability during the drive. However, the tread is slowly being worn out as the tires are used. This process can be accelerated due to lack of balancing or misalignment of tires. Checking the tread depth from time to time can help you spot some of these issues and prevent further problems, which is of particular importance if you’re planning to go on a trip.

The penny test is one way of determining the tread depth. Place the penny into a circumferential groove with Lincoln’s head pointing down into the tread. If the head is not seen from the tread, that’s a good sign. It means the tread’s still above 2/32 of an inch. If you can see his entire head, it’s time to replace your tire, because it no longer has enough tread to perform optimally. When doing the penny test, remember to check the tread depth at different locations across the footprint. Any place that fails the test warrants the tire change.

Another option is to use a tire tread gauge. It’s a simple tool that is available at auto parts stores, costing about $5. This tool gives a more precise measurement of the tread depth. You first have to push it against a flat surface, insert the measuring pin all the way, and ensure the gauge reads 0/32. Then place the pin into a groove and push down the gauge until its base connects with the tread on either side of the gauge. Carefully remove it and read the tread depth. If it’s close to 2/32 of an inch, you should change your tire.

Aside from the tread depth issues, you should also inspect your tires for any visual indication that something is wrong with them. While it’s a good thing to have enough rubber on your tires, the rubber could show signs that the tires may no longer be safe to be driven on.

Bulges form due to impact damage, resulting in air pressure trying to escape from the tire’s weakened structure. Big bubble-like shapes are easy to spot on the sidewall, but you can also run your hand across the sidewall to feel the smaller deformations.

Cuts are caused by sharp objects like a nail or a rock that damage the tire’s construction, making it unsafe for prolonged use, which means you also need to replace the tire, particularly if the cut is deep. Look for any straight-like-line lacerations on the tread or the sidewall.

Beside these damages, you may also encounter tread cracking, which happens because the tire rubber is deteriorating due to being exposed to UV rays, heat, oxygen, extreme temperatures, and some other factors. Check for any lines along the sidewall or in the grooves. If your tires are cracked, there’s not much you can do but to buy tires online and replace the damaged ones.

Many of these issues can be prevented or minimized with regular tire inspections and visits to your mechanic, who’ll balance, rotate, and align your tires.

Having your tires balanced is important, because you don’t want some of your tires to carry additional weight and to be exposed to extra pressure, resulting in the shortened lifespan of your tires and prompting you to purchase them ahead of time. In other words, you lose tires and money for not paying attention to your tires.

Uneven wear could be a sign that the tires are out of alignment, possibly due to hitting a pothole or road debris. Have your tires aligned, particularly after you purchase new ones to ensure even wear rate across all four of them.

Regular tire rotation every 5,000 to 8,000 miles or per your owner’s manual will be beneficial in the long run. This practice makes sure that your tires are evenly worn out during the drive, which prolongs their usability, meaning less money spent ahead of the time.

Another thing to remember is that uneven wear could also be the result of overinflated or under inflated tires. Checking their pressure monthly is one way of ensuring a safe road trip without emptying your bank.

Summary

As discussed above, maintaining the correct pressure levels in your tires is crucial to ensure a safe road trip. Keep your eye on the tread depth of your tires with the penny test or with the tire tread gauge, while also inspecting the tread for any bulges, cuts, or cracking with your eyes and hands.

Additional safety levels can be provided with regular visits to your mechanics, who’ll ensure your tires are ready for extended journey. Balance your tires whenever you rotate them, and align your tires after 10,000 to 12,000 miles or one a year. 

With these practices you can ensure that your tires are ready for the special journey you’ve been waiting for. If your road trip coincides with a holiday, just follow these tips to ensure you safely navigate the holiday season.

Conclusion

Cars are wonderful vehicles as they allow us to quickly get away from the hectic city life into nature and enjoy the beauty of Mother Nature. No need to wait for the bus and squeeze yourself with other passengers. Sure, you need to take care of your car, but that is a small price to pay to ensure you have all the freedom of movement to get to any destination you desire. After all, it’s not a road trip if you don’t take a little detour here and explore a landscape over there. So, keep your tires in check, and enjoy your trip.

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