by Richard Serra

Created on: January 06, 2010

Of the two most important safety precautions anyone can take is to make sure that  your brakes are in good condition, and the second is your tires. What good are good brakes if a tire fails at 65 mph? Unless your a seasoned driver who can handle such emergencies, an accident is bound to happen.

Several points to consider when making visual inspections, and it really doesn't come down to how much tread you have left either. You could have adequate tread showing, but the tire may be old, and an old tire, even if never used, runs the risk of a blowout just due to age alone.

This isn't always the case, but there were enough accidents caused as a result of old tires that look almost new, or even bought brand new. If your tread is good, check the date the tire was manufactured. You can do this by looking on the tire side that faces inside, and you would see four numbers within a horizontal circle, and an example would be 4001, which means it was made the 40th week of 2001.

Either by sight or by sound, a tire that's worn to the point you begin to see hardly no tread on either side of the tire, or even worse the inner threads, then get them replaced immediately.
If on the other hand, you hear some kind of unusual sound of sorts, this is telling you that something is wrong as well. Tires make a sound all of their own when bad.

If you've picked up a nail and its very close to the side of the tire, its not good to plug or repair the tire as most shops will tell you.
The handling of your car is pretty much determined by tires, and if the quality of your ride and handling is poor, then you may want to replace them simply for the sake of providing you what you paid for in buying the car.

Just check every so often for signs of excessive wear. You can tell by how much depth is left in the tread simply by placing a penny (Lincoln's head down) into one of the tread groves, and if it's not deep enough to at least reach the beginning of the top of his head, then its time to start shopping, because they won't pass inspection soon after that.

I couldn't drive my sport car over 65 without it shaking and vidrating. No amount of wheel balancing or alignment would help. They were almost new, but they were terrible. I bought new better quality tires with a wide profile, and my steering was easier, the ride exceptionally smooth, and the handling, well lets say I just looked for roads to test their potential.

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