What Can Happen if Your Tires Are Going Bald

There are millions of cars on the road and millions of drivers, most of which know what to do to keep a car safe. Keeping parts like the steering rack and the steering gearbox in good shape is something everyone makes sure to check out but what about the small parts? Well not really the small parts but the tires…they are ignored waaaay too often when it comes to car repair.

Tires are the contact patch on the road and are the only way that a vehicle can move around. If any driver were to stop and look around a bit at the tires on other cars around them they may think twice about getting on the road. It can be seen that one in five cars has tires that are beyond what would be considered bald and one in ten is to the point where failure is a serious concern. When a tire is new the rubber is stiff and has good grip in the road, as a tire loses tread it beings to soften due to less rubber in the wheel. Softer tired walls mean slower reaction time. Slower reaction time can be the least of the worries with balding tires. While a bald spot on a man may be cause for a comb-over, on a tire it is a serious situation. The tread on a tire has been specifically designed to help grip the road just like the tread on a shoe.

When tires are bald the grip they can provide is compromised and the stopping power is also reduced. The tread is designed to take advantage of the friction between the spaces in the tread and when it is missing the tires are useless. Bald tires also run the risk of bursting due to the reduced amount of material on them. The Tires are extremely important and should never be over looked, so next time you head out to your car take a min to check out the tires. 

An Introduction to Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems

Since 2006 most car have been fitted with a TPMS or tire pressure monitor system to check for issues with the tires. The basic idea behind the TPS system is that the tires pressure can effect the movement of the car. Just like an oxygen sensor or air fuel ratio sensor the TPMS sensors are crucial to the proper operation of the car.

While the tire pressure may seem like a trivial element but when the facts are examined it become a lot more interesting. Tires that are 10% low on air will result in a 1% decrease in gas mileage which can start to show in your wallet later on.

The main issue with the TPMS systems is that the sensors in the wheels are all battery powered which means over time they all have a failure rate of 100%. When the TPMS systems fail they will turn on a light on the dash which will alert the drive and also cause the vehicle to fail a state inspection. The good thing about these parts is that they are cheap and can be replaced when a set of tires is installed on any vehicle. Each one of the the sensors relays info to the central computer and will be standard equipment on all civilian vehicles from 2012 on.

How to Choose the Proper Tire Size

Tires like people come in all shapes and sizes, from monster trucks to lawn mowers they all take some sort of tire. There can be so many choices when buying tires it can be confusing. Tires are not like a wheel hub assembly or wheel bearing assembly there are tons that can fit on the same car. Some tires are able to fit under a car but are too large to allow the car to turn and others are too small making all the gauges in the car inaccurate. Not to mention tires that are too small will lower the performance of the car.

There are numbers that are listed on the side of a tire that will indicate the diameter and thickness. These numbers are listed in a very specific order which as an example would be something like a 205/40/85R. This code can be broken down by section the 205 is the width of the tire. The 40 refers to the height of the sidewall and the 85R will refer to the compound of the tire and the speed rating.

The width of the tire will decide the contact patch on the road, this is the area where the tire is actually resting on the road. This is also the only area where the horsepower of the car is actually transferred to the pavement. The height of the sidewall will dictated the comfort of the ride since the sidewall is the area that absorbs the small bumps in the road. The sidewall also protects the rims from dents due to large impacts. The speed rating literally dictates the speed at which the tires will begin to fall apart. Exceeding the speed rating of any tire is dangerous and potentially fatal due to the chance of failure and the resulting accident. The compound rating will tell the stickiness of the rubber used, while a stickier tire will give more grip it will wear out much faster than other tires.

Selecting the correct tire is essential to the ride and handling quality of the car and is best left to the professionals. If you are going to buy your own tired be sure to study up on the suggested tires for your individual ride.