Tire Shop Tips: How to Inspect Tires To Prevent Damage

High-quality tires shouldn’t call much attention to themselves, but they can have problems you are unaware of. If you don’t catch these problems early on, they could quickly worsen, potentially resulting in dramatic issues like an unexpected blowout.

Fortunately, assessing the condition of your tires isn’t a complicated process. Here, you’ll find all the tips you need for inspecting tires in Tucson, Arizona and information on services that can protect your wheels.

How To Inspect Your Tires

Ideally, drivers in and around Tucson should check their tires at least once each month. When the time comes for your next tire inspection, be sure to:

Check Your Tread Depth

Your tires’ tread depth determines their traction (their grip on the surfaces you drive on). When your treads get too low, your braking distance and ability to control your vehicle will suffer.

One easy, highly effective way to measure your tread depth is the “penny test.” For this test, all you need is a standard U.S. penny, which you’ll insert in your treads upside-down. If the top of Lincoln’s head is still visible when you do this, it’s time to look for a new set of tires.

Measure Your Tire Pressure

If your tires aren’t correctly inflated, they could reduce your fuel efficiency and make it harder for you to drive safely. Because of that, it’s wise to check your tire pressure during tire inspections — and to do that, you’ll need a tire pressure gauge. Once you have one of these tools, remove your tire’s valve stem cap and push the gauge’s head onto the valve stem with firm pressure to measure the tire's air pressure.

Despite the intense summer heat in Tucson, nights in this part of the country can get cold, and chilly temperatures can reduce your tire pressure. With that in mind, be sure to check your tire pressure whenever cold weather is a concern.

Assess Your Tires’ Age and Condition

While you’re taking a look at your tires, you’ll want to keep an eye out for any visible signs of damage. Check your tires’ sidewalls and treads for red flags such as:

• Cracks
• Punctures
• Bulges
• Cuts/scrapes

If you notice issues like these, it's always a good idea to schedule an appointment at a local Tucson tire shop.

You'll also want to know exactly how old your tires are. Low tread depth is a big reason you shouldn’t rely on aging tires, but they can run into trouble even if their treads are sufficiently deep. Since older tires can have difficulty maintaining air pressure and have a higher risk of cracking, it’s best to get new tires before your current tires hit the one-decade mark.

The key to finding a tire’s age is the DOT serial number stamped on its sidewall. The last four digits of this code express the date when a tire was manufactured: the first two numbers indicate the week, and the remaining digits indicate the year. For example, the code “2319” means that your tire was made in the 23rd week of 2019.

Protect Your Wheels With Tire Maintenance

Though monthly tire inspections can help you avoid blowouts and other problems on the road, this process can’t replace professional maintenance from trustworthy tire stores. Tucson residents should be sure to prioritize these tire maintenance services:

Tire Rotation

Logically, it might seem like your tires would wear down evenly if left alone — but that’s not the case. Instead, keeping your tires in the same spot on your vehicle is a recipe for uneven tread wear, which can reduce their life span and cause all sorts of other problems.

To avoid this, you’ll need to take your vehicle for a service called tire rotation. This is a relatively straightforward job — the mechanics providing this service will take the tires off your vehicle and move each one to a different location. Despite its simplicity, tire rotation is the single most effective way to reduce your risk of uneven tread wear.

Wheel Alignment

Your vehicle’s tires are meant to meet the road at a specific angle. When that’s not the case, you could experience symptoms such as a pull to one side of the road, abnormal tire wear, or a crooked steering wheel.

Wheel alignment service can help fix issues like these. The mechanics providing this service won’t make direct adjustments to your tires — instead, they’ll tweak your suspension until your wheels’ angles are back where they should be.

Tire Balancing

All your tires need to weigh precisely the same amount to function correctly. That’s always the case for a set of new tires, but tread wear can affect the weight of your wheels and potentially throw them out of balance.

Fortunately, an appointment for a tire balancing service can set things right. Technicians complete this task by analyzing the weight of your wheels and applying weights to unbalanced areas. The result? A set of four balanced tires.

Your Destination for Tires in Tucson

When they need help from the best auto shop and tire store in Tucson, residents count on BRAKEmax Tire & Service Centers. Along with our massive selection of tires, we’re proud to offer the tire maintenance tasks you’re looking for. Find out why we’ve been Tucson’s go-to tire store since 1997 by booking your appointment today!