Car Tires and Belts

Checking your Car Tires and Belts

• Tires - your car's tires are incredibly important to your safety. Your car is contacting the road on four spaces abou the size of your hand! If your tires are not in good shape you are definitely running a risk. Properly cared for your tires should last 20,000 - 50,000 miles and sometimes more. There are "wear indicators" on your tires that are meant to inform you when you need to replace your tires. If you have a flat "bar or line" of rubber at the same level as your tread running across it then you need to get new tires. A key element of your tires longevity is to make sure that the tire pressure is at the level it should be on a regular basis. If you have too little or too much air in your tire it will cause uneven wearing which can significantly reduce the life of your tire. Check all four tires each month and more often if you have wildly fluctuating outdoor temperatures.
• Belts - when your belts are worn it can impact the car's ability to pump the proper levels of coolant, power steering fluid etc... If you hear squeaks or noice that your belt is "glazed" (in other words shiny and smooth) it is likely time to replace them. Check your manual but typically you need to replace the belts of your car as preventitive maintenance every every 60,000 miles or 2-3 years of use.