I learned something very interesting about tires after what seemed like a catastrophe at the time. A visit to beautiful Crater Lake in Oregon was cut short by a flat at one of the overlooks. This was not a good place to change a tire, so I utilized an electric tire pump that I keep in the trunk in case of emergencies. This device plugs into the cigarette lighter and in a short time the tire held enough air to move the car to the main parking lot — an even location on solid ground. I could have called AAA, but I decided to handle this one on my own. I don’t like to bother people if I can do something myself!
Rolling Like a Dounut with no Crumbs
After replacing the flat tire with the spare, it was a long drive to a tire store. I chose Discount Tire in Redding, California, and made the 200-mile trek on the donut — I definitely do not recommend that, but that’s what I did. At this point you might be wondering why I would travel that distance, when surely there were other places that were closer. Well, it stems from an incident that I had in Las Vegas shortly after I had purchased my 2004 Honda Accord VP. It was on its maiden voyage and I was on one of the main thoroughfares when a person pulled up next to me and started pointing — I thought he wanted to cut into my lane. A few seconds later I realized what he was pointing at — my front left tire was flat! There was a Discount Tire store just up ahead, so I pulled in. I didn’t know what to expect — you know, we’re from out-of-state and this is a tourist town. What we found was a clean shop, very friendly employees, and a quick patch of the tire for 8 bucks! I was so impressed, that I’ve continued to purchase all of my tires from either my local Honda dealer, Discount Tire, America’s Tire (same company) or Discount Tire Direct. I’ve had nothing but good experiences with them, so it was worth the extra drive for me, and it was in the direction I was going, anyway.
So, when I arrived at the store, I told the technician that I have always had terrible experiences with tires and they would get diagonal wear patterns. He told me that I kept the air pressure in my tires way too low for my style of driving. I had always just accepted that the manufacturer-recommended pressure was O.K. He told me that since I drive long distances and generally have extra weight from luggage and other gear in the trunk, I needed to run full pressure in the tires. I was wary when he filled my new tires to 51 p.s.i., more than 50% higher than I had been running them, but I thought I would give it a try, and I’m really glad I did!
Optimum P.S.I.
I am now getting full tread life out of my tires. They wear very evenly and last much longer than they had before. I am not an expert and am not recommending any particular pressure setting for your own tires — please consult a professional if you are not happy with your tire performance. It’s amazing how much they can tell you from examining the wear pattern on your tires. What I am trying to relate to you is the importance of asking about your tire pressure. Remember, this is the setting that he recommended for my particular driving style. I normally fill the tires about three pounds below the maximum recommended pressure setting, because the tires are cold at that point, and will warm up as I drive, thereby raising the pressure. I have heard about the problems with this, including excessive wear in the center of the tread, but so far, this has not been a problem for me.
Getting Pumped Up!
One more tip about tires… it’s a necessity to have a portrable tire inflator in your car at all times. They run off the current of your battery and can save you hours of frustration. For example, last October I went to get into my car and noticed that my rear passenger-side tire was completely flat! At one time, it would have necessitated me backing out of the garage, getting the donut out of the trunk and changing a tire before I could do anything. That’s a real pain, especially if it is winter or raining. Thankfully, my brother had bought me this Slime tire inflator for a gift, since he knows I like to travel. When I attached it to my tire stem and plugged it onto the cigarette lighter, it showed 11.5 p.s.i. I switched it on and in a matter of minutes, it was reading 43 — plenty of air to get me to the dealer for a quick fix. It was really easy to use and very intuitive. They are very well designed. Apparently, a roofing nail had blown onto the driveway and I must have run over it on the way in the night before. At one time, it would have wrecked my morning, but thanks to the thoughtfulness of my brother, I was on my way in no time!
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