Winterize a Car - Tires

Jeffrey Boone: Hi! I am Jeff Boone with AAA Mid-Atlantic's approved auto repair department. And I am here today to talk about the importance of tires when it comes to winter driving.

One of the things that a lot of people tend to neglect in their vehicle is their tires. When you are driving down the road, your tires are who will keep you on the road. Believe it or not you have less than six feet keeping that 2000 lbs vehicle connected to the road. On a vehicle, it is important to make sure that the tire tread depth is proper and you have more than 2/32 of an inch. This tire measures a 10/32" which tells me it is going to perform well in the snow this year. One of the other things that you need to look for when purchasing tires, is to make sure that it is an all season tire. There is a few different ways to do that and this one simply look what the tire size is and it will say, M plus S which just stands for mud and snow. This tire would do me good all season long, whether it is hot summer time driving, cold and snowy conditions in the winter time, or rainy conditions; throughout the seasons. The other thing that you need to pay attention to when checking your car for winter time, is the air pressure of the tire. It should really be done every couple of weeks. This tire's pressure supposed to be at 33 lbs. It is actually a little low. One of the things that you should pay attention to, is how the the tread pattern is wearing? Whether or not it is wearing smoothly will tell you whether or not your car's alignment is properly maintained. One of the things that you will see when it comes to tires in an improper alignment, is uneven wear. This, the car that this tire came off of, was out of the alignment enough that it tore the inside of the tire down to the 0/32". While still leaving on the outside of the tire, 8/32" of tread left. This tells me that this car was way out of alignment and was chewing the tires up. When you are airing the pressure up on the tires, you should check inside the driver's door the pressure readings that are required for your car. Don't go by the pressure readings on the side of the tire. This tire, you can see that the maximum pressure is 44 lbs. This tire should be run at 33 lbs for the car that it is own. The tire will tell you the maximum pressure limit, the car will tell you where it is maximum ride and controllability feature is set out on the air pressure on your tires. Now let's talk about preparing an Emergency Preparedness Kit for your car in case, of an emergency on the road.