Tag: Tires

Believe it or not, driving with too little air in your tires can be risky for more than just your well-being. It can jeopardize other parts of your car and even wreak havoc on your budget without compromising any of your hardware. 

Luckily, inflating your tires is quick and simple with a tire gauge, an air pump and a little time. Make sure you’re consulting your owner’s manual to find the exact pressure. By keeping the amount of air at this level, you’ll be dodging a lot of these road troubles.

Why You Don’t Want to Drive on Deflated Tires

Reduced fuel economy

As soon as you take to the road on underinflated tires, you’ll be feeling some pocketbook pain at the pump. A drop of 6 psi can make a sedan’s fuel economy drop by 5 percent. That can mean sacrificing a couple of miles per gallon, which will add up quickly during any commute. 

Easier tire blowouts

You won’t be kicking yourself at the pump if you get a flat before filling up again, though. Underinflating your tires is the easiest way to kill them — the inner pieces of the tire don’t function well without the correct air pressure. This can spell immediate trouble if you’re normally hauling heavy cargo, too. If the tires are severely underinflated — any pressure 20 psi under the suggested amount — you may experience a blowout sooner rather than later.

Blowouts mean paying more to get the tires replaced, or getting into an even more dangerous situation.

Decreased braking force

The reason the owner’s manuals suggest such precise tire pressure is because the equipment is made to have the highest contact with the pavement and greatest efficiency at that level. Underinflated tires cause performance issues, the most dangerous of which is increased stopping distance. On underinflated tires, you may roll a few extra feet after slamming on the brakes. In an emergency, every inch matters, and those extra feet could mean nicking a bumper or getting into a worse accident.

Increased tire wear and tear

Even if your tires don’t blow out, having too little air in them will cause them to break down quicker. Underinflation will cause greater wear on the treads toward the sides of the tire. In the case of a Honda Accord the source used as an example, a drop in 6 psi would cause the tires to degrade roughly 25 percent faster. 

Keep your tires inflated at appropriate levels to lengthen the lifespan of your equipment and keep some extra cash in your pocket.

Don’t let deflated tires stand between you and a care-free road trip. Especially with used cars, maintenance and extra care is critical for safe, cost-effective driving. For all your budget-friendly, secure driving needs, visit NJ State Auto Auction in Jersey City, NJ.

A flat tire can be one of the most annoying and inconvenient obstacles for a driver to have to overcome. While there’s never really a good time for a flat, driving through town or even down the freeway with a punctured tire is one of the most irksome situations to find yourself in. In fact, driving on a flat at cruising speeds on a highway can be especially dangerous if drivers respond poorly. 

While certainly a major concern, a flat tire doesn’t have to be a total car catastrophe. Here’s what you should do if it happens to you. 

How To Handle a Flat Tire While Driving

Identify the flat

You may not always realize right away that you’ve got a flat tire. While puncture damage, such as running over a nail, tends to announce itself a bit more aggressively, sometimes a flat can be caused by a slow leak or a damaged valve stem. In such cases, there may not be an immediate telltale.

Your car does a good job of telling you something’s wrong, but it helps to know what to look for. If you notice that you’re having difficulty accelerating, or feel like you’re driving with the parking break on, there’s a good chance a tire may be flat. Difficulty maintaining speed can be another sign, as can your car pulling to one side, generally toward the direction of the flat. 

Get off the road

Driving with a flat is not a good idea for you or your car. You may be tempted to finish your trip home or to a gas station and fix the problem then, but if you do, you not only compromise your car’s ability to handle and brake, but you also risk dealing more serious damage to the wheel itself. As soon as you notice you have a flat, you should make an effort to get off the road as quickly as you can, but try to do so as calmly and safely as possible. 

Don’t slam on the brakes or jerk the wheel — you could lose control of the vehicle. Instead, slowly guide your car toward the breakdown lane or shoulder of the road, easing up on the gas slowly but steadily until you come to a complete stop.

Get Tire Service at Your Local Tire Center

If you experience a flat tire or any other problems with your vehicle, make an appointment with your local car care center. For help finding a car, get in touch with us at NJ State Auto Auction where we have a broad inventory of pre-owned vehicles in Jersey City, NJ.