TIRE EDUCATION
Tire Sidewall Markings
Tire and Loading Information
To locate your vehicles proper tire size and proper tire pressures (PSI), open the driver's door and locate the "Tire and Loading Information" sticker on the door frame.
Alignments
There is a dirty little secret in the auto industry: it’s the “Toe and Go” alignment. This refers to a really fast yet inadequate technique of only adjusting the toe on an alignment and nothing else. Even though the same equipment is used a lot of times, not all alignments are the same.
A frustrated truck owner recently came into our store for an alignment. His truck was not aligned, though he had 3 previous alignments at other businesses. This is because nothing, but the toe had been touched. This is common practice because it's fast, it fixes the most common problems felt by bad alignment (such as the car pulling), and less qualified people can do it. The problem is that it doesn’t fix problems like uneven tire wear that will void your tire mileage warranty. It also doesn't address erratic handling or reduced braking caused by improperly adjusted camber. This is why all the alignments, including our free alignments at Vermont Tire & Service are complete and use ALL available adjustments to make it right. Our alignment technicians are the best in the business, each with over 20 years of experience.
So what is an alignment anyway?
Your car has many suspension parts that all work together to not only cushion your ride but also drive the wheels and allow you to turn. It also keeps your wheels straight. This last function is where the need for an alignment comes in and many variables need to all be checked and adjusted during the alignment for everything to be right. Below are the three main components of a good car alignment. A vehicle that is aligned properly, will: - Handles correctly - Achieves optimal fuel efficiency - Maximizes your tire life If a vehicle is even slightly out of alignment: - Tires wear out faster - The vehicle may pull or wander to one side - Uses more fuel - Unnecessary wear and tear
Toe
Toe is what is most commonly thought of as alignment. This controls if the tires are pointed in the same direction going down the road. Misalignment in the toe is also most noticeable to the driver because, if the wheels are pointed towards or away from each other, the problem can feel like poor balancing as the tires fight each other. This can also show itself in drifting if the tires are pointed more in one direction than the other. In time, this will cause the tire to “chop” leading to the tread look serrated.
Camber
Camber is the adjustment that ensures that wheels are aligned vertically. Race drivers use a negative camber, which angles the wheels towards each other, to improve their grip on corners. The downside of this is that when going straight tires will wear unevenly either on the inside or outside and in the worst cases, the handling of the car will be very twitchy. This is the most common alignment problem to be overlooked by a driver because the tires still wear smoothly.
Caster
Caster is least understood by the common driver. Caster refers to how straight up and down the steering and suspension assembly are. If one wheel has a more positive caster than the other, that wheel will pull toward the center of the vehicle. This condition will cause the vehicle to pull or lead to the side with the least amount of positive caster.
Information credited to Les Schwab.
Tire Balance
How do I know if my tires need to be balanced?
Tire balancing is a tune-up for your wheel-tire set. It makes sure that weight is evenly distributed around the entire circumference of the unit. The common symptoms of out-of-balance tires are uneven and faster tread wear, poor fuel economy, and vibration in the steering wheel, the floorboard or the seat that gets worse at faster speeds.
When all areas of the wheel-tire unit are as equal in weight as possible, the tire will roll smoothly. This helps it wear evenly, for the longest life. Balancing also contributes to riding comfort: Imbalanced tires will wobble or hop up and down, which causes vibration. If a front tire isn’t properly balanced, you’ll likely feel vibration in the steering wheel. If the problem is in the rear the tremor will be noticeable in the seat or floor.
Imbalanced tires are easily corrected, but the work is precise. It’s done by attaching small weights, just fractions of ounces, to the wheel.
How do wheels get out of balance? Everyday wear on tires will contribute to imbalance. Normal manufacturing imperfections are also a cause: Tires and wheels don’t have precisely equal weight distribution. They’ll be slightly heavier in some spots. Just half an ounce in weight difference is enough to cause a vibration when you’re driving. How tires are rebalanced Rebalancing is done in a tire shop by putting the wheel-tire unit on a tire balancing machine that takes measurements to pinpoint lighter or heavier areas and making adjustments to account for these weight differences. The best time to get it done is when tires are being rotated, both for convenience and because you might have a tire out of balance on the rear of the vehicle and won’t feel it until it is moved to the front. Here's how it's done: A tire mounted on a wheel is attached to a tire balancing machine. The wheel is spun while vibration measurements are taken. This tells the technician if the weight is spready evenly, how much weight to add, and where on the wheel to attach it. If an imbalance is found, the technician may be able to rebalance and adjust the weights (adding more). But sometimes it requires the tech to also move the tire on the wheel and then rebalance. This is because a heavy spot on the wheel and on the tire can sometimes line up together, causing a greater imbalance that needs to be corrected. Balancing versus Alignment Though both should be part of regular auto maintenance, balancing isn’t the same as getting an alignment. Alignment is about correcting the angles of the tires, so they’re properly positioned in relationship to each other and to the road. It gets the wheels all traveling in the same direction and makes sure the tires make contact with the ground as they should. When to get tire balancing done. - You feel vibration in the steering wheel, the floorboard, or your seat. - You get them rotated, generally every 5,000 miles. - At the very least, every two years. Yearly if you drive on rough roads. - You get a flat and repair the tire. - You buy any new tire(s). - A weight that used to be on the rim, falls off. - You notice uneven tire wear. Vibration when underway could be caused by an imbalanced tire and wheel assembly or something else — a bent wheel, a damaged tire (which won’t be fixed by balancing), worn suspension parts or other aging components. If you feel a vibration, don’t wait to get it diagnosed. You’ll head off other problems — and enjoy a smoother ride — when your tires are well balanced.
Tire Repair
Driving on an improperly repaired tire is dangerous. It can not only further damage the tire but can also allow its strength to deteriorate over time. An improperly repaired tire driven at high speeds may suddenly fail, causing loss of vehicle control. Continuing to drive on a tire with a slow leak may allow moisture to seep around the object and into the tire. This will reduce the probability that the tire can be repaired properly because the moisture will ultimately reach the internal steel and fabric cords used to reinforce the tire and possibly cause rust and loss of strength.
Many places that advertise free tire repairs or cheap tire repairs use what is commonly referred to as a “plug”. The plus is essentially a rubber cord soaked in rubber cement. Back in the bias tire days, this was the main way to fix tires because they not only had short life spans to begin with but there also wasn’t any metal in the tire. Modern radial tires (which do contain steel bands) should NOT be fixed this. Be aware that if the tire is fixed with a plug, it avoids the manufacturer’s warranty, and the tire is considered ruined. Many less reputable tire and repair shops still use this technique because it's fast and cheap. Using plugs on road-going tires is actually becoming illegal in certain states. With this method, the tire doesn’t even need to be taken off the car to be plugged. This method is by no means proper, since damage often occurs inside the tire as well. According to the RMA (Rubber Manufacturers Association), the following must be included in a proper tire repair: - Repairs are limited to the tread area only. - Puncture injury cannot be greater than 1/4 inch (6 mm) in diameter. - Repairs must be performed by removing the tire from the rim/wheel assembly to perform a complete inspection to assess all damage that may be present. - Repairs cannot overlap. - A rubber stem, or plug, must be applied to fill the puncture injury, and a patch must be applied to seal the inner liner. A common repair unit is a one-piece unit with a stem and patch portion. A plug by itself is an unacceptable repair. At Vermont Tire & Service, Inc., all of our tire repairs are done the proper way. This means the tire is taken off the car. It is then also taken off the wheel and inspected inside and out. The damaged area is cleaned and prepared and a two-piece patch and plug is installed on the inside of the tire. The plug portion fills the puncture hole reducing the possibility of the tire's steel cord rusting over time while the patch reinforces the injured area. This is the proper, legal way to repair a tire that won’t void the warranty and will keep you and your family safe on the road for miles to come.