With the economy seeming to decline a little more each day, an increasing number of consumers are deferring important maintenance to their vehicles, including replacing worn and/or damaged tires. According to the Tire Industry Association (TIA), delaying such purchases can cost people extra money and, potentially, their lives.
The TIA has issued a national press release on the topic. The release has gone out to the wire services and daily newspapers; tire dealers may wish to pitch a story on the subject to your local publications plus television and radio news departments within your market.
These are the TIA’s recommendations for consumers:
Look for wear bars in the tread grooves. Every tire is constructed with wear bar indicators between the tread grooves. These wear bars are 2/32 of an inch in height, so when the surrounding tread blocks are worn even with the wear bar, the tire has 2/32 of an inch or less tread depth, so it should be replaced.
Use the “penny test” to check for tread depth. The old test still works -- place a penny in a major tread groove of a tire with Lincoln’s head facing down. If the top of Lincoln’s head is visible, it’s a good sign that the tire needs to be replaced.
Perform a visual inspection and check tire pressure every month. Look for any cracking and/or irregular wear, and make sure all tires are properly inflated. Drivers should check the owner’s manual or the placard on the inside of the driver-side door to determine the correct inflation, and always check the pressure first thing in the morning, when tires are “cold.”
Do not use a temporary spare tire for longer than recommended by the manufacturer. Many people are using their temporary spare, or “doughnut,” when a tire goes bad in the hope of delaying the purchase of a replacement tire. However, all doughnut spares are only designed for emergency use, and are NOT to be used as a day-to-day replacement tire.
“In addition to properly rotating their tires on a regular basis and making sure their tires are properly inflated, these simple steps can help consumers ensure that they are getting the longest life possible out of their tires,” says Kevin Rohlwing, the TIA’s senior vice president of training. “And, with the average price for a set of new tires continuing to rise, proper tire maintenance will have an even more significant impact on operating costs.”
Rohlwing also advises that the consequences of not performing these simple steps can be disastrous -- both to your wallet and even your life. “Improper tire pressure is one of the biggest drains on fuel economy for all vehicles, and it has the potential to more than double tire costs over the lifetime of a vehicle. Most importantly, driving a vehicle with worn tires can have disastrous results, especially when road conditions are not favorable at highway speeds.”
He goes to note how “in cases where a tire is so worn that the belt material is visible on either edge of the tread, the tire will soon fail at any speed at any time. A quick visual check of the tread surface on every tire could save someone’s life.”
For more information and to obtain a verbatim copy of the release for forwarding to your local media outlets, visit www.tireindustry.org.
