Take Care of Your Tires
and They Will Take Care of You

Maintain Your Tires for Longer Life, Increased Safety and Increased Mileage

Spending just a few minutes each month maintaining your tires will reap big rewards in longer tire life, a safer driving experience, better performance and improved gas mileage.

Learn more by selecting a topic from the column on the left.

Tire Inflation

The most important aspect of tire maintenance is proper inflation of your tires. Most drivers don’t check tire pressure correctly or often enough.

• Purchase your own tire pressure gauge to ensure accuracy.
• Pressure should always be checked when the tires are cold.
• Check all tires—including the spare—at least once a month, after a significant change in air temperature and before and after a long trip.
• Always replace the valve caps to keep out dirt and replace any missing caps as soon as possible.

Vehicle manufacturers list recommended tire pressures in the owner’s manual, on the end of the driver’s door or in the glove compartment. This is the number you should refer to for proper inflation, rather than the number molded on the sidewall of the tire itself. (Note: With rare exception, never exceed the maximum inflation pressure molded on the sidewall.) Any recommended differences in front and rear pressure should also be observed.

Under inflation is the number one cause of tire failure. A tire can be under inflated by almost 50% before it is visibly low. In addition to failure, under inflated tires can lead to higher fuel costs—3–5¢ per gallon.

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Tire Rotation

Tires don’t wear evenly in all positions on your car. Rotating your tires will help prevent irregular and premature tread wear and prolong tread life. Almost half of all drivers don’t rotate their tires as recommended. Rotate tires according to the vehicle manufacturer’s recommendation or at every 5,000–7,000 miles if you are unsure. If you have trouble remembering, you might try rotating them with every other oil change.

When replacing 2 tires, rather than all 4 tires, be sure that the 2 new tires are installed properly on the rear of the vehicle to avoid hydroplaning, fishtailing, and other problems.

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Tire Balancing

If your tires are unbalanced, you’ll notice an annoying vibration. Unbalanced tires can lead to early and irregular tire wear and possible damage to your suspension. Tires should be professionally balanced when they are mounted on the wheels for the first time, when they are remounted (after repair) or when you notice any vibration.

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Check Your Tread

The two most common ways to check tire tread wear are the penny test and checking the tread-wear indicator.

• Penny test—Insert a penny into the tread with Lincoln’s head upside down and facing you. If you can see Lincoln’s entire head, you should replace your tires.
• Tread-wear indicator—You may also check the tread wear indicator bar molded into your tires. The bars are located at the bottoms of the tread grooves around the tire. When these bars become flush with the tread, it’s time for new tires.

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Tire Repairs

Tire repairs should be made by a trained tire professional only. A professional will dismount the tire from the wheel, thoroughly inspect the tire for damage and use a patch and plug to repair any repairable punctures.

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How to Read Your Tires

Your proper tire size may be found in several places, such as your vehicle owner’s manual, or on a metal tag in your door jamb, glove compartment door or fuel hatch. However, you may find more than one size listed in these locations. It is easiest to read the sidewall of your current tires.

Tire size is determined by three main numbers: Width, Aspect Ratio and Diameter. Roll over each area on the sample sidewall below to learn more.

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Changing a Tire

Matthews 10 Step Tire Change

1. Find the spare beneath the floor of the trunk. Also needed are a lug wrench and jack. (Most cars should come with these items. If yours doesn’t, purchase them on your own.)
2. Make sure the stem of the spare tire is on the outside. Pop off the hubcap. (Make sure the vehicle is on a hard, flat surface and that no one is inside.)
3. Loosen the lug nuts with the lug wrench in a star pattern, but don’t take them completely off yet.
4. Crank the jack up a few inches before putting it under the car. Place the jack under the car in a spot that won’t damage the frame. Start jacking up the car.
5. Once the tire is off the ground, remove the lug nuts in a star pattern, and put the lug nuts into the hubcap for safe keeping.
6. Remove the spare tire by “walking it” off the studs. Don’t yank! Roll the tire out of the way.
7. Line the spare tires’ holes up with the studs on the wheel drum. Gently “walk” the tire onto the studs, using the lug wrench for a boost if necessary. Move the spare as far back as it will go.
8. Screw the lug nuts back on in a star formation. Once the car is back on the ground, tighten the lug nuts with the lug wrench in a star formation.
9. Replace the hubcap.
10. Don’t go faster than 50 miles per hour while driving on the spare. Don’t drive on the spare for more than 50 miles. It’s always recommended to put the spare tire in back rather than in front to avoid ruining the transmission. Bring the vehicle to Matthews Tire for inspection immediately.

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Choosing Tires

One important rule is to choose new tires that have a similar speed rating to the original tires that came on the car. Still, there are many types of tires to choose from. Here are the pros and cons of many common tire types.

• All-Season Tires are best for year-round traction. Pros are that they have long tread wear and offer a comfortable ride. Cons are that they lack precise handling and cornering grip.
• Performance All-Season Tires have better handling and cornering grip but often have shorter tread life.
• Ultra High Performance Tires give great grip and handling but have shorter tread life AND a less comfortable ride.
• Winter Tires perform better than All-Season Tires in cooler temperatures but become so soft and flexible in warmer temperatures that handling, traction, and wear are negatively affected.

Feel free to contact us at Matthews Tire if you have questions about your next tire purchase.

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How Tires are Made

Every tire begins as a strip of rubber fed onto a drum, but rubber alone simply isn’t strong enough to make a reliable tire, so it’s reinforced with strips of rayon fiber called ply. Depending on the tire, it could have 2 – 30 layers of ply. 2 inflatable bladders then force the resulting band of rubber and ply around 2 metal hoops which will secure the finished tire to the wheel. A couple metal strips are added to the internal layer of ply. The whole thing is molded into a familiar tire shape. At this point, the tire is “green” which means it lacks tread. Getting the tread involves a bit of pressure cooking. Another bladder inflates inside the tire and “brands” itself onto the tire. Finally, it’s “cooked” in an oven and after 12 minutes, is ready to go.

Here’s another look at how tires are made, this time also discussing the more than 200 different raw materials combined to make tires.

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General Tire Safety

Flat tires, blowouts, tread separation, skidding, loss of control, hydroplaning, weak handling, poor fuel economy, decreased comfort, long stopping distances, and other tire failures. We can all agree, we don’t want these things. Now the question is: How can we keep our tires safe, so these unfortunate things hopefully won’t happen when we’re on the road? Matthews has the answers.

1. Check tire pressure monthly.
   Address under-inflated tires immediately.
2. Rotate tires every 5,000 miles (for uniform wear).
3. Get tires professionally balanced.
4. Ensure tires are properly aligned.
   Have a tire dealer check the alignment periodically to ensure that your car is properly aligned.
5. Inspect tires for tread wear and damage such as cuts, slashes, bulges, and other irregularities. Never hesitate to replace worn or damaged tires.
6. Observe tire and vehicle load limits.
   You should never carry more weight in your vehicle than its tires can safely handle.
7. Avoid road hazards.
   By avoiding visible road hazards, you will be protecting your tires from avoidable breakdowns and accidents.
8. Don’t forget the spare.
   Getting stuck with a flat tire is an unfortunate experience, but realizing that your spare tire isn’t usable is even worse. Inspect your spare tire as you would all other tires.
9. Purchase the correct tires for the vehicle and climate.
10. Replace all 4 tires at once...
    or if that’s not an option replace the back 2, rather than front 2.
11. Know the tire’s age.
    Tires do age and become unusable after time regardless if they were in service or not. Most auto manufacturers will offer an age replacement recommendation. Tires older than 10 years or older should be replaced, whether or not tread wear is visible. Purchase the newest tires possible, no older than 1 or 2 years old to ensure longevity.

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