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MAINTAIN VEHICLE SUSPENSION, WHEEL ALIGNMENT AND BALANCE AND ROTATE YOUR TIRES.
Lack of rotation, worn suspension parts, under inflation/over inflation, wheel imbalance and misalignment can cause vibration or irregular wear. Rotate tires at maximum intervals of 6,000 miles.
Tire/wheel balance is important for vehicle ride and stability. Tires are manufactured to close tolerances for roundness and shape, but as a tire wears, the tire's mass may become unevenly distributed, and the original rim/tire balance may be affected.
There are two approaches to wheel balancing on-car balancing and off-car balancing. Various types of balancing equipment are used and include static and dynamic balancers for off-car work and mechanical and electronic balancers for on-car work. Wheel weights added to the inside or outside of the rim correct imbalance as indicated by balancing equipment. While balancing may seem a relatively simple operation, care must be taken to eliminate imbalance, because even a minor imbalance contributes to wheel wobble and poor ride and handling characteristics.
Tires should be checked monthly for signs of irregular wear in both tread and shoulder areas. Irregular wear may indicate underinflation or tire damage, or the need for a wheel alignment or suspension repairs. Also, when a replacement set of tires is fitted to a car, a wheel alignment is mandatory.
There are three elements involved in wheel alignment, each affecting the vehicle's performance. These angles are referred to as caster, camber and toe.
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CASTER is the angle between a vertical line and a line drawn through the center of the ball joints (steering axis) when the vehicle is viewed from the side.
Improper caster can cause hard steering, increased road shock, reduced straight line stability and cause the vehicle to pull to one side or the other. Positive caster helps in maintaining directional control of the vehicle, tends to return the vehicle to straight-ahead position when cornering, and helps compensate for the crown on a road. Most cars are engineered with positive caster. |
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CAMBER is the angle between a perpendicular line and a line drawn through the centerline of the tire when the vehicle is viewed from the front.
Camber helps distribute the vehicle's weight across the tire contact patch during cornering for reduced tread wear and is used to fine tune a vehicle's handling characteristics. Incorrect camber causes uneven tire wear, poor steering and vehicle stability, and vehicle pull.
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TOE refers to the angle between a line drawn through the center of a vehicle and lines drawn through the centerlines of the tires when the vehicle is viewed from above.
The toe alignment is the most critical to tire wear. Incorrect toe results in rapid and uneven wear.
NOTE: Failure to keep your vehicle's wheels properly aligned can result in excessive tire wear, irreparable tire damage, excessive fuel consumption and unsafe handling. |
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Tire rotation is important for even tread wear and long tread life. As a tire is driven on a road surface, it begins to wear. Tire wear rarely takes place uniformly on tires because each tire is mounted at a different position on a vehicle.
Front and rear, drive and non-drive tires exhibit different wear patterns. Front tires tend to wear more rapidly in the shoulder area, because of steering/cornering forces. Drive tires wear more rapidly in the tread center because of drive traction forces. On front-wheel-drive cars, front tires wear much more rapidly than rear tires. Personal driving habits and vehicle performance characteristics also cause tires to wear differently. Rotating tires at frequent intervals (at 6,000 miles or less) tends to equalize tire wear and minimize the progress of irregular wear.
NOTE: Irregular wear or excessive wear in any area of the tread may indicate tire damage and the need for expert inspection.
When the remaining tread depth measures - 2/32", these tires are considered to be legally worn out and must be replaced.
Tires should be rotated at frequent and regular intervals. Tires can be rotated conveniently during a regular oil change, which for most vehicles occurs every 5,000 to 7,500 miles.
There are many tire rotation patterns. Your Bastian Tire dealer will rotate tires in accordance with the pattern required for your vehicle.
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