Today's vehicles have flashy designs, brilliant engineering and gadgets, many of which help us stay safe the smart route. With our eyes on all this, and our nerves agitated by snow and ice, which remembers working rubber? Having the right tires can make a huge difference in driving safety.
A recent survey by the Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) found that nearly 11 percent of vehicles had at least one bald tire. This raises the risk of accidents in inclement weather. Why? bald tires can hydroplane more easily or skate on the water. Start hydroplaning and you lost control of your vehicle.
The RMA also found that 64 percent of motorists do not know how to identify a bald tire.
Fortunately, identifying problems is easy rolling. Here's how:
The penny test: Put a penny with Lincoln's head upside down into the tire groove. If you can see all of Lincoln's head, the tire is considered dangerous. Less than Lincoln's head, you can see, the safer you are. If you want to know when to start Shopping new tires use a quarter instead
The wear test of the bar :. All tires have wear bars molded into the tread, by federal regulations. When the tires are worn, a solid bar of rubber will take place over the entire width of the tire and will be even with the tread.
If you found that it is time to replace your worn tires, there is help available to make relative comparisons. Dan Zielinski, RMA senior vice president of public affairs, said to use the feedback of the quality grading tires uniform standards under your tire shopping experience.
The standards for tires (excluding winter / snow tires) for passenger cars, are considered as a single purchasing tool. Tire manufacturers use standards to attribute "grades" the three Ts of a tire:
- Treadwear Tires are evaluated against a "standard" tire with a score of 100 .. A tire rated at 300, for example, would be expected to have the tread that was to last three times longer.
- pull . This measures the ability to stop on wet pavement under controlled conditions. Tires are classified as AA, A, B or C. AA is above.
- temperature . This measurement capabilities of a tire's resistance to heat and generation to dissipate heat at high speeds. The tires are valued at A, B and C. A is the best.
The Security Administration of the national road of the US Department of Transportation (DOT) has developed these standards but DOT does not conduct the tests. Grades are assigned by tire manufacturers and are often used in manufacturer's marketing materials. TireRack.com provides information about qualities that can help you understand what they mean before making a purchase tires.
If the snow is your particular enemy, take a second look at winter we used to call them snow tires. They are underused, says Joe Nolan, senior vice president at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. "They can be a bit noisy, but they can really help."
The tread of winter tires is more efficient, and the composition of the tire is designed for stable temperatures below 45 degrees says Zielinski. other tires harden somewhat lower temperatures, offering less grip and reduced traction.
Whether you live in an area snow or no-snow zone, it is also important . keep your tires properly inflated (Yes, we've all heard But winter driving season is a good time to actually do it ..) that's what you should know:
- a visual inspection of radial tires is not working. "the eyes are a poor substitute for a tire gauge," Zielinski said. "radial tires today are fairly rigid. A tire can be 50% under-inflated and not the air. "A return survey of more than 6,300 pressure of the vehicle tires measured in 31 US cities found that 17 percent of vehicles had four properly inflated tires.
- Find the number of the tire pressure for your vehicle on the door of the driver's side or in the glove box. It is not the number on the sidewall of the tire. This is the "maximum allowable" for this tire. the vehicle manufacturer determines the tire pressure for your vehicle. Why? Because the appropriate pressure is based on vehicle load design and tire size.
- Do not believe the myth that under inflation of your tires, you will get better traction. the idea was that the larger area would increase traction, said Zielinski. instead, under-inflation has the vehicle riding on the tire sidewall, not where the handle is. Traction is based on the tire pressure.
Want to know your tires? Check their rating with the Department of Transportation of the United States.
Looking for other tips to help you make it through winter driving? Check out these National Security Council.
Watch a video on how to measure the tread on your tires.
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