Tailgating parties are a popular tradition as the football season gets underway. Tires may be worn and you might not make the drive to the parking lot.
Tires with worn tread could pose a safety hazard. It’s possible for a car to brake when it’s wet. This can make it need four times its normal stopping distance. Cars with worn tread may hydroplane or skim the road without traction. This can lead to loss of control.
There are several steps you can take in order to avoid being blindsided by worn tires during football season. Firestone Complete Care offers some tire-maintenance game play options:
– Balanced Line – A balanced-line offense is one where the number of players for each team is evenly divided. Drivers must ensure that the tread pattern on their tires is uniform across all four tires and equally on both sides.
Different problems can indicate uneven tread wear, such as under- or over-inflation, tires out-of-balance, or wheels that are not aligned. Your service professional should inspect your tread for uneven wear.
– Spiral – A football spins smooth and smoothly when it is thrown correctly. A properly maintained tire will also spin smoothly.
Keep your tires balanced and inflated. You also need to rotate them every 5,000mi or as specified in your vehicle’s maintenance schedule. The tire’s location on the vehicle will affect the force applied to each tire, which can result in different tread wear patterns. Rotating tires can help ensure that your tires wear evenly.
Zone Defense – Tires can experience a loss of one pound per square inch (psi), and one psi with every 10 degree Fahrenheit temperature change. An accurate tire gauge is essential to ensure that your tires are properly inflated.
Only check your tire pressure if the vehicle has been parked for more than three hours or has been driven less that one mile. It is impossible to tell if a tire requires air by simply looking at it. Tire failure can result from driving at high speeds and overloaded tires for long distances.
Trisha Hessinger, a former racecar driver, is nationally recognized as an automotive-education specialist at Firestone Complete Auto Care.
