TIRE MAINTENANCE

Tire balancing is pretty much what it sounds like. It compensates for the weight of the tire and wheel assembly after the tire is mounted. A wheel is out of balance when one area is heavier or lighter than the rest. That causes bouncing or wobbling, which can decrease treadwear, increase vibration and cause stress on your vehicle. The cure? Correction weights are added to counterbalance the tires.

Once a month, or before embarking on a long road trip, check your tires for wear and damage problems. An easy way to check for wear is by using the quarter test. Just grab a Canadian quarter and follow these 3 easy steps:

If you’re talking about alignment, you’re talking about the adjustment of a vehicle's front and rear suspension parts. And it needs to be correct. If the alignment is off, the vehicle isn’t safe to drive.

The truth is, the whole rotating-your-tires thing is no gimmick. It really does help extend the life of your tires and improve performance. So if you’re into safety and saving money, check out the three main rotation patterns below:

Nothing makes a car look sweeter than a shiny set of tires. But don’t put your investment at risk by using just any cleaner. Make sure to only use non-petroleum based products to clean the tires.

Believe it or not, tires can actually lose up to 1psi (pounds per square inch) every month. So be on the safe side and check all tires, including your spare, once a month (or before a long trip). It’s no biggie. Here’s how you do it: