Tire Safety Tips

Quick tips for tire safety include:

Visual inspections. It’s a great habit to get into before you get into your car each time – a quick walk around to check your tires for confident driving so you know you haven’t picked up one of those infamous screws that seem to find their way onto roadways and ruin tires.

Check your tire pressure. Temperature fluctuations change the air pressure in your tires. For maximum tire wear and fuel economy, keep your tire pressure equal to what’s recommended in your manual.

Rotate your tires regularly: Tire rotations maximize the life of your tires by keeping tread even along with wheel alignments.

Wheel alignments: Proper wheel alignments and balancing keeps the weight of your vehicle sitting on a correct angle on the road. This gives you better gas mileage, smoother steering and reduces uneven tread wear. Signs that your tires are out of alignment can include shaky steering or your car pulling to one side when driving. Improper alignment can lead to suspension damage and tire wear. Often wheel alignments and balancing are performed during your regular vehicle maintenance. The most significant benefit from our wheel alignment and tire balancing service is the extended lifespan and improved performance of your tires. Keep in mind that regular tire maintenance is less expensive than replacing your tires.

Brakes: Brakes are part of tire maintenance. If you have your brakes checked regularly, we can detect potential problems before they happen. Regular maintenance is always more cost effective and safer than waiting for a problem to occur. In our regular vehicle maintenance checks, we check your brakes and replace the brake pads if necessary. Some vehicles have indicator lights that trigger, or turn on when the brake pads become worn down, but if your brake pedal is vibrating or you hear squealing when braking, you need to bring your car in to us for brake service. We can recommend ways of keeping your brakes in good working order including flushing your brake fluid regularly, and rotating your tires.

New tires – mounting and balancing: When it’s time for new tires, visit us and we’ll advise you on the best tires for your driving needs. It’s best to replace all four for optimum wear, but when replacing two tires, be sure the new ones are the same type and size as the other two, and install the new tires on the rear axle of your vehicle. This provides better wet grip and reduces the potential you’ll lose stability when driving in wet conditions. Whether you choose all seasons, seasonal tires, off road favourites or styles that look great on your classic car, we’ll mount and balance them for a safe driving experience.

Conveniently schedule your next appointment with our advisers through our online form or call us to talk with one of our friendly staff. We have two convenient locations in Kamloops to serve you from Valleyview and the North Shore. For more information on what we have to offer drivers in Kamloops, please see our Auto Services page.