Summer driving tips: check your tires

Before making that long drive for your summer vacation, check your tires. Here are monthly general guidelines to check the safety of your tires.

Under pressure

Under-inflation creates excessive stresses and heat and may eventually lead to tire failure.  Over-inflation will cause uneven wear as well as handling and stopping problems.

By the numbers (and letters)

A tire rating of P18570HR13 (this rating is located on the side of your tire) is full of information about your tire. The “P” indicates the type of tire. The numbers “185” is the nominal width while the 70 is how tall the tire is. “H” is the speed rating and “R” is the tread type. Finally, “13” is the rim size of the tire.

The additional numbers found on your tire, for example, 200AB, is the quality grading system. The “200” is the grade of how long the tire will last, however, rock used for road construction as well as other factors will affect this. “A” represents how well the tires will stop and “B” how well it handles heat.

Get a load of this

Check vehicle manufacturer’s reccomendation for loading your vehicle. Overloading the vehicle creates excessive heat inside your tires.

Tread on me

Check the tread grooves of your tires to make  sure they’re free of foreign objects. Also, check the sidewalls for gouges, cuts, bulges or other irregularities. You may have irregular tread wear if there are high and low areas or unusually smooth areas. Built-in tread wear indicators, or “wear bars,” which look like narrow strips of smooth rubber across the tread will appear on the tire when the tread is worn down to 1/16 of an inch.