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Car Maintenance You Shouldn't Try at Home

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Car Maintenance You Shouldn't Try at Home

In a troubled economy, many people look for ways to cut costs by doing household tasks themselves. Some automotive jobs can be done fairly easily at home, particularly if you know something about cars. However, taking on the wrong job on your own will only cost you more time, stress and money in the long run. My name is Jill, and I want to tell you about which car maintenance tasks you can safely tackle on your own and which really do require some help from a pro. I'll break down the needs of a typical car and tell you exactly why you might need to ask for help sometimes.

Three Useful Ways To Help Your Tires Last As Long As Possible

10 February 2016
 Categories: Automotive, Blog

Tires represent a significant expense for your vehicle, making it beneficial to think about smart ways of making them last as long as you can. That being said, you shouldn't ever run the same set of tires past the point of them being safe; if they're no longer providing the necessary traction, it's important to visit your local automotive shop to buy a new set of tires and have them installed. Provided there's still an acceptable amount of tread on your tires, here are three useful ways that you can help extend their life.

Have Them Rotated

Rotating your tires is integral to extending their life. If you consistently run your tires on the same hubs, it's possible for them to wear in specific areas—often along the inner or the outer edge—if the alignment of your vehicle isn't perfect. The result will be increased wear to the point that your tires no longer provide the traction that you need. Visit an automotive shop like PDR Automotive Inc or consider doing the work yourself if you're comfortable doing so. The general rule is to plan to rotate your tires every time you get your vehicle's oil changed. The frequency with which you change the oil depends on your make and model of vehicle, but aiming for this maintenance task to coincide with your oil-change schedule is ideal.

Visually Inspect Them

It's beneficial to get into the habit of visually inspecting your tires. Although there's no set schedule for doing so, some drivers do so when they're pumping their gas. Inspecting the tires is an ideal way to check tread wear—if you notice the emergence of a worn area, you can get an alignment or wheel balancing quickly before the problem reaches the point that you have to replace the tire. Inspecting them can also help you detect if there are any foreign objects, such as a nail, embedded in the tire. In many cases, such an issue can be resolved by patching the tire in a timely manner.

Change Your Braking Habits

It's easy to make the mistake of braking too late, which means you'll have to brake more aggressively to stop your car. By changing your braking habits and starting to brake earlier, you'll put less wear on your tires and help them last longer. Reducing your speed and watching farther down the road are two simple driving changes you can make that will allow you to brake more moderately when you're driving.