Problems with Tires in the Winter

Video Transcript

NATHAN MCCULLOUGH: Hi, My name is Nathan McCullough behalf of Expert Village. In these clips, we're going to talk about some of the tips and tricks in order to properly winterize your vehicle. In this clip, we're going to talk about your vehicle's tires and a couple of the hints and tips you're going to want to look for in the winter time. What I have here is the front tire of my Ford Explorer. As you can see, there's no significant wear along any of the outside or inside threads and that it's--appears to be in pretty good shape. What I want to inform you about is what happens if you drive with bald tires. If you drive with bald tires, the surface is going to continually become flatter and flatter. And as the wheel pinches the snow between it, it's got nowhere to go. The tread actually allows relaxation space for that snow to get out of the way so your tire can contact the asphalt and give you traction. One of the things I want to point out to you here, I'll use my tire pressure gauge right here to point at it is called a wearbar. That's this little rubber knob sticking up right there. The wearbar is an indicator of when your tires should be replaced. They engineered that Ford in particular, or whoever manufactured your vehicle, has done the mathematical equations necessary to know how much space is needed for snowing water to fit between the threads in order for you to have the correct amount of traction. First and foremost, you want to make sure that your tires are not on the wearbars. If you don't have a wearbar on your tire or you--just can't happen to find it. Take a penny. Insert it upside down, there's a penny around here somewhere. Insert your penny upside down, Abraham Lincoln's head, stick it in there. If his head is fully visible, that means that your tires are worn to the point that they should be replaced. Once you've ensured that your tire tread is in good shape, one of the things you're going to want to do in the winter time is check the pressure. As temperatures drop in the winter time, your pressure in your tire is going to become less. Now, it's not that you have less air inside there, it's that the air is going to become more dense. It's going to contract just like anything else that gets cold, it gets smaller. So what you're going to want to do is when the temperature is beginning to drop. You're going to want to take and check your tire pressure. It's a good idea to do it, oh approximately, once a month or every other fill-up while you're at the service station. Tire pressure gauge works pretty simply. This is the operating end of it, and this is the end that you read. You're going to take the operating end and press it onto your valve steam. You'll hear a little pssst. Most vehicles operate in the 30 to 35 pound pressure range. If you look on the side of the tire, it will mark it specifically for a maximum load pressure range. Normally, most people don't drive at the maximum load of their vehicle. I would have to have, like, a trailer hitch and several, several, several bags of groceries in the back of it in order for it to add up to the maximum load. What you're going to want to do is shoot for a measurement between 30 and 40 pounds. Anything less than 30 is going to cause your tire to be under inflated. And what it'll do is have more surface area 'cause it's squishy, it's going to sit flatter on the road. You're going to have more surface area and more snow to disperse through the tread wells. The harder your tire, the easier it will cut through the snow and the better traction you'll get. That's the proper way to inspect your tires for the winter time and to check the pressure.

Community Members who...

• Favorited this Video
• Rated This Video

Thumbs up or Thumbs down? Be the first to rate this video!

Top Tags