Girl waiting for father to fix tire

Tire Safety

Making sure your tires are in good condition will not only ensure your safety, but it will also save you money! There are plenty of things you need to be aware of so that your automobile is as safe as possible. This page is here to make sense of it all for you and help you stay on top of it.

Keeping your tires in good condition is essential for good vehicle handling, driving comfort, and fuel efficiency but there are also numerous other tips you need. Pay attention to these following systems to ensure your car or truck is properly tuned for optimal and safe performance.

Wheel Alignment

A wheel alignment is adjusting the angles of your vehicle's wheels so that they are perpendicular and parallel to each other. This enables your vehicle to track straight and true with your steering wheel centred. A wheel alignment will also maximize your tire life.

We recommend that you have your wheel alignment checked periodically (don't wait until your tires are worn irregularly) and always have it checked when new tires are installed. At the time of a wheel alignment check, we perform a complete safety inspection of all the vehicle's front end suspension parts. This ensures your safety for kilometres ahead.

Tire Tread Wear

When you least expect it, sunshine can turn to rain, hail, snow or slush, causing reduced visibility and slippery driving conditions. To ensure traction, your tires need to be in good condition. Treads need to be thicker than 1/8" or 3mm, so water and slush can disperse along the tire grooves and away from the tire and onto the road. Most tires have a built-in tread wear indicator that will show when there is 2/32" remaining on the tread. When you have reached this safety indicator, it's time to replace your tires.

Stop by Hyack Tire's shop we can do a quick visual inspection and tell you how much tread you have left and if there are any problems you should be aware of.

Tire Rotation

Tire Rotation is the second most important tire maintenance practice you can follow, even for AWD vehicles.

The two main reasons to rotate your tires is money (extend the useful life of your tires) and safety (it could be your family in the car).

  • A new set of tires can range from $500 up to $1,600 and more. The longer they last, the less they will cost you per day of driving.
  • An even wearing tire will be more reliable when responding to emergent breaking or turns; or adverse road conditions like pot holes or unstable surfaces. A tire with uneven wear has a weak spot.

Tire rotation performed at recommended times, can preserve balanced handling and traction, even out tire wear, and provide performance advantages. Tire rotation will help all of the vehicle's tires to wear at the same rate, keeping the tires performing equally on all four corners. To maintain original handling balance, all tires (including snow tires) should be matching & replaced in sets of four.

To get the best performance, longest tire life and safest driving experience, you want to have your tires rotated every 10,000 km or every other oil change.

You can check with your car's user-manual or come in to Hyack Excel Tire; our experienced tech staff can look up the specific recommendations of each vehicle's manufacturer and assess the condition of your tires.

Tire Balancing

Unbalanced tires can cause shimmying and vibration that not only make for an uncomfortable ride, but can put more stress on your car's suspension parts. A properly balanced tire (where the mass of the tire and wheel is distributed equally) ensures a smooth ride and increased control of the vehicle.

Inflation Pressure

Air pressure not only carries your vehicle's weight and additional load capacity, but is responsible for handling and high speed durability. Under-inflation by only 6 pounds per square inch could lead to a reduction in fuel economy, reduced tread life, and even possible tire failure. Over-inflation cannot isolate road irregularities.

Each tire's air pressure should be checked, when cold, using a quality air gauge, at least once a month and always before a long trip. Stop by Hyack Excel Tire's shop, we'll check it for you.