The Fresno Tire Service Guide

The tires on your vehicle keep you safely connected to the road, which makes them one of the most important parts of your car or truck. If that connection is compromised in any way, the chances of a crash greatly increase.

The easiest and most cost-effective way to prevent that is to schedule a regular tire service. Things like tire rotation, along with proper alignment and balancing, are essential to your car’s health and your safety.

The tire specialists at Goodguys Tires in Fresno CA are ready to help meet all the tire needs you have for your vehicle. We also offer the best deals as you shop for tires, along with exceptional customer service.

Goodguys Tire Services

We not only sell tires representing some of the top tire manufacturers in the world, but we also offer routine tire maintenance and minor tire repair in Fresno, CA. When you drive into Goodguys for tire maintenance, you can expect:

• Tire tread checked for wear
• Tires rotated
• Spare checked
• Tires balanced
• Tire pressure checked
• Wheels aligned if needed
• Wheel bearings inspected
• Tire Pressure Monitor System (TPMS) service checked

Regular care ensures that your tires will last as long as possible. They represent a significant investment on your part, and this kind of maintenance will pay off in the long run. Familiarize yourself with the warranty on your tires, too. Your Goodguys tire specialist can help you with this to make sure you get all the benefits attached to your warranty.

Five Common Tire Problems

Sometimes a tire issue doesn’t seem like a tire issue. There may be a red flag that you know is bad but hadn’t identified it as a tire problem. Others are more obvious. So, here are the top 5 tire problems and what causes each:

1. Bald Tires

Rubber wears out, especially when that rubber is supporting the weight of a car transporting even more weight. And over time, the tread wears away and what is left is a smooth rubber surface. The traction on the road is gone, so the car will be harder to stop. It might slide before it stops and that is obviously not safe. It might simply wear completely through, and the result is a blowout on the road. Deadly.

It’s the owner’s responsibility to prevent the tires from becoming bald by caring for them. Part of caring for the tires means being watchful for tread wear as it happens, and replacing the tire when it is no longer safe.

2. Uneven Tread Wear

As you periodically inspect your tires, you may notice bald spots. The rest of the tire may have tread, but spots are bald. This is a flashing red sign that says, “Alignment needed!” Tires should never wear out unevenly if the wheel alignment is correct. You can ruin a new set of tires quickly if the alignment is off. Tires aren’t cheap, so make sure you are having the alignment on your car checked regularly so you never see a tire with bald spots amidst good tread.

3. Flat Spots and Irregular Wear

Then again, your shocks might be bad. What does that have to do with your tires? Bad shocks cause tires to have irregular wear on the edges. Flat spots on the tread can also be caused by letting your car sit parked for long periods of time without moving it, but very often those flat spots are caused by bad struts or shocks. This is something else you can have checked with regular maintenance appointments at Goodguys.

4. Squealing When Taking Corners

That screaming is not only annoying, it also is surely announcing a problem that involves your tires. Underinflated tires squeal until air is added. The NHTSA reports that underinflation increases the chances of a serious accident by 300%. That’s easy to fix. (Actually, both underinflation and overinflation have an effect on tires. Performance is affected and inflation issues can lead to more serious problems.)

Advanced tread wear also squeals, and by that time, you’ll probably need one or more new tires. Finally, a misaligned front end could be causing the squeal. An alignment should remedy that. In any case, stop the squeal by paying attention to it!

5. Vibrations at Highway Speeds

Maybe you’ve experienced this: you merge onto a highway, speed up as you should, and suddenly your steering wheel goes crazy when you exceed 55 miles an hour. This vibration is probably tires that are out of balance. Take the car to Goodguys as quickly as possible so the tires can be balanced. Problem solved.

These problems, as well as less obvious ones, can generally be caught with a simple inspection of your tires at least once a month. Don’t ignore them. They don’t mysteriously go away. They only get worse.

The Basics of Rotating and Balancing Tires

Many car owners ask how often tires need to be rotated and if balancing tires is necessary at the same time. These are important questions, so let’s find out:

The Importance of Tire Rotation

It’s easy to assume that all 4 tires on your vehicle wear at the same rate. But they don’t. Every tire wears at a different rate and this is especially true between the front and rear tires. The way to tackle this problem is to have the tires on your car rotated on a regular basis so you are making sure the tires are wearing as evenly as possible. Even wear means longer life for each tire, and most importantly, ensures that the vehicle is stable on the road.

But how often? Most general recommendations say that tires should be rotated for the first time at 5,000 miles, since new tires wear more quickly due to their deeper tread. After the first rotation, every 6,000 to 8,000 miles is adequate. You can add this service to your other routine maintenance visits, like for an oil change, which will make it simpler to remember. It doesn’t hurt to have the tires rotated more than necessary, but it will result in uneven wear if you ignore having this done.

Tire Balancing Is Just as Important

Rotating the tires is different from balancing them, but the two actions are related. As tires wear, imbalances can be felt by the driver. If the vibration is in the steering wheel, the front tires are out of balance. If the vibration is felt in the seats, the rear tires are unbalanced.

These vibrations will only get worse if the tires aren’t rotated and balanced as soon as possible. Aside from the annoyance of the inside of the car vibrating, the tires will continue to wear to the point that they can’t be used on the car any longer. That’s an expensive result, especially because it could have been avoided. Another result is higher fuel consumption, which is even more money on top of having to buy one or more new tires.

Balancing tires is done by removing the wheel and tire assembly and using computerized equipment to locate exactly where the imbalances are. Then small weights are attached to the rims of the wheel to correct the imbalance. The wheel and tire assembly are then remounted on the car.

Tire Alignment Matters Too

Your car’s wheel and tire assembly can become misaligned due to normal driving. Things like hitting potholes and curbs can knock the wheel assembly out of alignment with the other tires. Suspension that has worn parts can cause poor alignment too. When this happens, your tires will again begin to show excessive wear with uneven and unusual wear patterns. Flat spots and even tire blowouts can happen due to the added tension placed on your tires. Wheel rims can also be damaged, and replacement is expensive. An even greater consequence of misalignment is poor handling of the car, with the vehicle pulling in one direction or the other. None of this is safe.

Your Goodguys mechanic can tell you the type of alignment that is best for the suspension system on your car or truck. Much of it depends on how the suspension sends power to the wheel. An all-wheel-drive or a four-wheel-drive vehicle will need a four-wheel alignment. If your car is a front-wheel-drive or rear-wheel-drive system, it will need a front end alignment or thrust angle alignment.

More About Tire Pressure

Tire pressure is important, which is why newer cars have an icon on the dash that lights up when a tire needs attention. Here are some things to remember about pressure in your tires:

• Normal tire pressure is usually between 32–40 psi (pounds per square inch) when the tires are cold. But to be sure about your specific tires, check the sticker inside the driver’s door or in the owner’s manual.
• Once you have the specific psi, check the tire pressure often. Or ask someone at your auto shop or a full-service gas station to help you.
• The outside temperature affects the tire pressure. For most passenger vehicles, the tire pressure will drop by one psi for each 10°F (5.6 °C) decrease in temperature.
• A tire that is overinflated radically decreases the contact patch with the road, while an underinflated tire does the opposite. And the size of the patch is critical to the car’s connection to the road.

Other Signs That Indicate Your Tires Need to Be Checked

Aside from vibrations and poor gas mileage, here are other signs that your tires need to be checked:

• You’ve had a flat tire repaired.
• You’ve noticed uneven tire wear.
• A weight that used to be on the rim has fallen off.
• You have new tire(s) fitted.
• You haven’t had the tires balanced and/or rotated in a while.

You should have your tires checked every two years at a minimum, even if you don’t notice anything unusual. Driving on unpaved or rough roads, gravel roads, or roads that are in poor repair, requires you to get your tires checked more often. Driving habits can also affect tires, especially sudden stops and starts. Protect your tires by avoiding these actions as much as possible.

Choosing New Tires

If it’s time to pick out new tires, here are some things to consider before buying:

• Cost.
• Recommended types for your car.
• Mileage expected from the tires.
• Replacing with the same tire?

The tire experts at Goodguys will provide invaluable advice based first on the make and model of your vehicle. Then they will determine what is best for your driving habits and geographic area.

All-Season, Snow, Summer, or High-Performance?

Many cars are equipped with an all-season tire when the car is shipped from the manufacturer. An all-season tire provides basic capability for all seasons in all weather. These tires give a quiet, smooth ride, and offer the traction necessary under ordinary conditions. If your driving needs include getting the kids to school, going shopping and to work, and one long trip a year, an all-season tire would most likely be a good choice.

All-season tires come in high-performance or grand touring models:

• High-performance tires provide better handling than standard all-season tires:
  • They grip the road better.
  • They feel more “sporty” to drive.
  • They’re intended for more aggressive drivers in high-performance cars.
• Grand touring tires are often called all-weather tires:
  • They look more like regular all-season tires.
  • They ride better.
  • They feature adequate-to-good snow traction.
  • Same good performance as an all-season tire.

But, if you live in a snowy, icy climate for large parts of the year, the all-season tire might not be safest for you. You will probably need the extra traction that you can get from a snow or winter tire. Winter tires are manufactured to bite snow and ice, giving you more traction. They are made with different rubber, tread depth, patterns, and edges.

A set of summer tires may be best when you live in an area that has some snow and icy conditions, as well as more temperate climates during the year. The depth of the tread is the main difference between the all-season tires and summer tires. The tread depth of summer tires is less than all-season tires, which can also mean they may have less tread life. However, they are more responsive at high speeds.

As you pick out tires, depending on what you want and where you live, you may need to invest in two sets of tires. It is true that buying two sets will cost more initially, but each set will last longer because they will only be used for part of each year.

Understanding Size

Those numbers and letters on the outside of your tires do mean something! Here is an example with a tire labelled P205/55 R15:

• The letter P is the type of tire, in this case a passenger tire.
• The 205 expresses the width of the tire in millimeters.
• The second number (55) references the aspect ratio: the tire’s height as a percentage of its width.
• The letter R tells us that the tire is a radial.
• The final number (15) is the diameter of the rim the tire gets mounted on.

Once you understand the sizing system of tires, the number/letter sequence becomes more understandable. But your owner’s manual may be even more helpful.

The owner’s manual will tell you the factory-installed size along with some alternative sizes that will also work. You may have to purchase different rims if you switch sizes, but at least you’ll know which tire sizes to work with.

When to Replace Your Tires

The short answer is that tires must be replaced before they are dangerous. And the best way to tell that is by tread depth. Walk around your car or truck about once a month and visually inspect the tires. Most states require a tread depth of 2/32” or more. Once it reaches below that depth, the tire is considered worn beyond use.

Many drivers don’t know that tires have an alert system to help. It warns drivers when the depth of tread is too low. This alert is molded into the tire across the tread pattern. Pay attention! Book an appointment and head to your local Goodguys to start picking out replacement tires.

Keeping your tires in good condition is essential and it is easy to do. In general, many car problems are caused by driver neglect and tires are no different. It isn’t logical to ignore your tires and then expect them to serve you well for years.