A tire consumer report :
How to extend a tire's useful life

The last thing you want to see happening is early wear and tear on your tires. How frustrating it is to replace your set of tires at 20,000 or 25,000 miles.

Let's look at the first aspect of this tire consumer report : Causes of Tire Wear Problems.

Tire wear patterns, such as scuffing, cupping and outside shoulder wear, often indicate a bigger problem with a vehicle's chassis components. It can be caused simply by under inflation or over inflation, but it also can be due to loose parts such as shocks, struts, ball joints, steering linkage or from weak springs.

Be on the watch for the following signs :

¤ Shoulder wear, caused by under-inflation or hard cornering

¤ Center tread wear, caused by over-inflation. Sometimes, vehicle owners try to compensate slow leaks by over inflating the tire to make it stay up longer. Don't do that ! Fix the slow leak !

¤ Cupping, caused by an unbalanced tire condition, faulty wheel bearings, loose parts, fatigued springs or weak shock absorbers. Check the balance of your tires and get these parts inspected !

¤ Camber or toe wear, caused by misalignment due to loose, worn or bent steering linkage components or by worn spring suspension .Check the alignment and the suspension !

The key aspect of this tire consumer report is the early detection of these signs. It's important ..... it's vital ......it's .......OK, OK.

So don't neglect to implement a good tire preventive maintenance schedule. In order to achieve optimum tire performance, you should frequently check the tire pressure and rotate tires every 6,000 to 7,500 miles. In addition, you should have a good tire gauge to monitor your tire pressure. Do it regularly ( once or twice a month) and make sure you meet the manufacturer's suggested pressure. See inside the passenger door.

Did you you know that tire failure is the # 1 cause of highway breakdowns ? This is why the message in this tire consumer report is so important. Your security and your loved one's is important !!

A couple more comments before we conclude this tire consumer report :

¤ Potential tire wear problems can also be identified by making sure there are no pieces of steel belting or metal embedded in the rubber which sould result in a cut or splinter

¤ As you check your tires, be sure to check the tread pattern on the outside of the tires. If it looks worn, either a camber or toe problem exists and you may be due for a wheel alignment.

This wraps up our tire consumer report. Have a safe drive ! .... with tires in good conditions.