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Know when its time to replace worn tires By Peter Bohr Contributing Editor Road A Track Ive gotten a lot of mileage out of the subject of tires during my years writing this column And Im still mildly surprised that theres always more to say about these seemingly simple of rubber I recently came across an unusual ly readable and helpful brochure from Tire entitled Tire Tips To Keep You Rolling It sheds some new light on an old subject Among other matters the brochure offers innovative pointers to help you determine when its time to replace your tires Of course you happen to run over a rock and shred your tires sidewall to bits theres a pretty strong indica tion that you 11 have to replace it But in most cases you 11 need to buy new tires when the tread on your old tires becomes too worn As the Bridgestone brochure ex plains the tread is the part of the tire that touches the ground believe it or not the tread is only about as thick as your finger When the tread wears away after 2500045000 miles or so the tires will lose their grip on the roads surface especially under adverse conditions like wet weather Smooth or bald tires are not only dangerous but theyre illegal In many states Therefore you certainly don t want to drive on a set of Urea that has worn anywhere near the point of baldness But how do you tell when too much tread is gone Most tires have socalled wear bars built into them Look along the tread of your tires inside the grooves At some point you should find a row of small raised bits of rubber that run across the tires width If the tread is no higher than these wear bars its time for new tires There are a couple of other ways to determine how much tread is left For one let your fingers do some walking around your tires Feel each tire all the way around its tread If you feel any unusually high low or smooth ar eas you may need new tires These flat or worn spots are called irregular treadwear and they have a variety of causes If you leave your car parked for several weeks or months at a time without moving it the tires may develop flat spots Man ufacturing defects can cause them as well If your cars suspension is out of alignment it will cause irregular treadwear But it you catch irregular wear soon enough you stand a good chance of saving the tire Finally you can use a penny to check normal That right take the smallest coin of the realm stick it in a groove of a tires tread Make sure you stick it in so that Abraham Lincolns head points down into the tread If you see that part of Abes head is obscured by the tread the tire still has enough tread left to be safe But you can see all of his head youre ready for a new tire Though the brochure doesnt mention it tread isnt the only indication that your car deserves a new set of tires Age can destroy tires too Over time heat cold dirt and even smog will cause tires to deteriorate So even though a tire may have plenty of tread left it can still be unsound Give your tires an especially close inspection if theyre more than four years old Examine the tread for any unusually deep cracks which may show that the tread is separating from the tire carcass Look too for any deep cracks in the that could indicate the tire is dry rotting At first these cracks may cause the tire to develop a slow leak and if you don catch it soon enough flatten If you re not sure how old your tires are theres a handy way to find out Look for the Department of code on the sidewall its print on the outside on some tires while on others its on the inside You 11 find the letters DOT fol lowed by a series of characters The last three numbers tell the week and the year the tire was made For ex ample indicates the tire was made in the week of 1986 Car tips for car trips Getting ready to motor In that case youll want to prepare your car so it wont break down and spoil your trip Before taking it to your technician for detailed servicing give your car the once over yourself Start with the tires checking for excessive or uneven tread wear and under inflation which you can test with an inexpensive pressure Follow the proper inflation instructions printed in raised letters on each tire wall Giving the once over Make certain all interior and exterior lights and lenses are good condition and replace any that are cracked or burned out Since its bound to rain some time during the spring replace cracked or worn wiper blades While some of the many fluids in your car should be checked by your technician there s no harm in personally checking the levels of such fluids as your oil windshield washer and only when the engine is cold your radiator If they re low top up While youre under the hood have a close look at all belts and hoses If theyre cracked frayed or have them replaced The same goes for loose or corroded metal clamps Noisy or spongy brakes loose steering and warm shocks each contribute to poor handling not to reduced safety Bring any of these conditions to your technicians attention Pre trip car service should always be performed at least a week before you plan to leave That s so your technician can make any post service adjustments that might be necessary To ready your car for the long trip hell replace dirty air oil and fuel filters check the battery spark plugs and wheel alignment Hell also check and replenish those fluids you dont like the brake and transmission fluids It may be for him to adjust your carburetor and valves to tighten drive belts and to reset ignition timing as I said before no tune up is complete without a thorough emission control system check he likely give that the once over too Take some spares It s a good idea to stow a few replacement parts and emergency equipment in your trunk before you take to the road Things like electrical or duct tape spare fan belt some flares and of course a flashlight with fresh batteries can come in handy Established HALTON HILLS COLLISION R R 1 ACTON GEORGETOWN CUSTOM CAR SOUND THE EXPERTS SINCLAIR AVE 077 GEORGETOWN NORTH END NISSAN 610 MARTIN ST 8784137 MILTON ONT WERE YOUR INSURANCE BROKERS WE UNDERSTAND PAUL C ARMSTRONG BROKERS LTD MILL ST Hilton HUs Georgetown Ontario If You Meet by Accident Ur I villi REPAIRS RENTAL CARS AT LOW RATES lM WORK GUARANTEED 8731607 RD N GEORGETOWN THE WEEKEND OUTLOOK Friday Much Pag McKAN ALTERNATORS REBUILDING GUARANTEED WORK SPECIALISTS IN CHARGING STARTING SYSTEMS AIL MAKES OF ALTERNATORS GENERATORS REGULATORS STARTERS DOMESTIC IMPORTED CARS DIESELS TRUCKS FARM MARINE NEW LOCATION 190 ARMSTRONG AVE UNIT 3 GEORGETOWN 8776151 FINANCING Peter Delllo Sales Representative 8779803 Up To Months OR CASHBACKS On Cars Or Trucks From PONTIAC CADILLAC 320 QUEEN ST E BRAMPTON 4590126 JAKE S Auto Service Ltd Tires Brakes Wheel Balancing Transmission Service Fuel Injection and Computer Control Service Repairs To All Makes of Cars and Light Trucks Air Conditioning Service Motor Vehicle Inspection Station JAKES AUTO SERVICE