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- Most drivers seldom spend much time thinking about the health of their tires. However, tires play an integral role in the safety and performance of our cars.
- There are a handful of indicators that tell drivers it’s time for new tires including uneven tire wear, cracked rubber, and low tread.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Most drivers seldom spend much time thinking about the health of their tires. The fact that our tires are so often overlooked is most unfortunate. Tires play an integral role in the safety and performance of our cars.
Maintaining proper tire pressure and tire health can drastically improve handling and braking performance. According to Edmunds.com senior consumer advice editor Ron Montoya, drivers should check their tire pressure at least once a month.
Read more: 12 things you should keep in your car at all times in case of a disaster.
"A lot of people just wait until the (tire pressure monitor) light to come on," Montoya said. "That’s not when you should be replacing the air in your tires. At that point, it’s actually a little too late and it’s an emergency situation."
But there will come a time when you will need to replace the tires on your car. Here are seven signs that it’s time to for new tires.
Falling air pressure
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If your tire is losing air pressure. That could be a sign of a small leak. You could either have the patched or replaced.
Low tire tread.
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Naturally, when the tread on your tires gets too low, it’s time for fresh rubber. An easy way to see if your tread is too low in the US is the penny test. Place a penny in the grooves between the treads on your tires with Lincoln’s pointing down. If you can still see the top of Lincoln’s head, then the tread is too shallow and new tires are in order.
Uneven tire tread wear
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There will be instances where the tread on a tire wears off at different rates. Sometimes, parts of a tire can look perfectly fine while other parts are worn downs to the cords. Uneven tire wear can be the result of improperly inflated tires, misaligned wheels or even damaged suspension parts.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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Source: Business Insider – bzhang@businessinsider.com (Benjamin Zhang)