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We've all probably felt it; that annoying vibration in your steering wheel or the side-to-side motion in the seat at slow speeds.
Although the vibration in the steering wheel can be caused by numerous things, the most likely is due to a tire that is not properly balanced. It's an easy fix with the use of a tire balancer and wheel weights at your local tire shop.
The side-to-side motion in the seat, however, usually leads to a reduction in your bank account due to tire replacement. One or more of your rear tires have separated! Simply speaking, that means the inner belt, which is usually made of steel, has broken. This is usually caused by hitting a pothole a little too hard.
You really don't need to buy a vehicle with the Tire Pressure Monitoring System on board to know if your tires are low. Simply take the time to do a walk-around and look at your tires. Although radial tires can sometimes appear to be low even though they're not, use your common sense. If you can't see the edges of the letters or numbers on a tire, that tire is LOW! Put some air in it before you ruin it.
You can buy a tire guage which measures the amount of air pressure in your tire for about $6.00. This is a relatively cheap investment considering what the cost of a new tire is these days. Open your driver's side door and you'll see a little sticker on the door jamb. This sticker provides you with the correct tire size you should be running and the amount of air pressure the tire manufacturer recommends.
The most obvious tire wear can be seen on the front tires, but if you have a front wheel-drive car, the wear can also be on the rear tires. Misaligned wheels are the most common cause of irregular tire wear. Your vehicle may go down the road straight, but that doesn't mean the tires will. If the tire is wearing on either the inner or outer shoulder of the tread, that tire is scooting down the road at an angle. You may also experience that annoying vibration again. Get out your wallet, buy new tires and have an alignment done!
Shocks, struts, chassis parts and brake problems can also lead to uneven tire wear. Have you ever pulled up to a stop sign and were welcomed by a pulsation in your steering wheel that's bad enough to make the loose skin of your arm jiggle? This is usually caused by your brake rotors. The brake pads are making uneven contact on the rotors, causing your entire car to do the shimmy. After a few weeks of doing this, your tires will
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Automotive maintenance: When to replace tires
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