When To Change Tires

Welcome to whentochangetires.com! Learn when and how to change a tire, replace flat tire, mount spare tire and more.

How to change a flat tire

Every vehicle nowadays comes with a spare tire, a tool kit consisting of a car jack, jack rod, lugnut wrench and an emergency warning triangle. When a puncture occurs while driving, it is advisable to slow down and drive the car off the road as far as possible to an even level. Use utmost safety measures while doing a roadside change.

Put the hazard lights on and pull the hand brake of the car. Take out the emergency warning triangle and place it on the punctured side of the car to alert other motorists coming your way.

Then get the tool kit and spare tire from the trunk of the car. Remove the hubcap and slightly loosen the lugnuts anti-clockwise with the lugnut wrench. Do not remove them completely just yet.

After that fit the jack under the car body at the designated place which one can see from the car manual or from a diagram pasted on the jack itself. Jack the car up from the ground till the wheel turns easily enough. Now is the time to remove the half opened lugnuts completely and place them in the hubcap (so they don’t get lost) and remove the flat tire.

Position the spare tire as per the holes for placement and refit the lugnuts clockwise back on with the lugnut wrench. Slightly tighten the opposite lugnuts first to get an even balance in fitting, then the rest of them. Keep in mind that the air valve should be facing towards you while refitting the spare tire.

Now jack the car down and then finish tightening the lugnuts as best as possible. Fit back the hubcap on the spare tire.

Put away the tool kit, emergency triangle and the punctured tire back in the trunk of your vehicle. Remember to stop at the nearest service station and get the punctured tire repaired for other possible tire issues in the future.

Importance of Oil Change and Tire Rotation

Every car needs to be maintained through oil change and tire rotation. Both are necessary things to do in order to have our car in good shape.

Having your car’s oil changed on a regular basis is vital to keep the vehicle in a proper running condition. Most of the time, car manufacturers and even garages recommend having your car’s oil changed so that you can have your car in top performance. By doing this kind of maintenance, you cannot only improve the life of your car’s engine, but you can also drive your car in the fastest speed you want. There is no reason that you can’t change your car’s oil because oil change cost is just affordable.

Oil is very necessary to keep all parts of your car lubricated. So when you don’t change it often, it can cause a significant damage to your engine which in turn will trigger other parts to damage as well. Changing oil is easy and you can do it by yourself but to be more sure, it is better to consult a professional in changing oil. It is much better to seek help from an expert when it comes to this kind of thing so that you can be guaranteed that everything’s alright.

On the other hand, another important thing to do to safeguard your car is by rotating your car tires. Rotating the wheels can help maximize their lives thereby saving money instead of buying new ones frequently. There is an appropriate and suggested way of rotating tires which you should follow in order to minimize wheel problems like noise and immediate damage. Keeping your tires rotated frequently will give your car stronger and durable wheels.

These are just some of the reasons why changing oil and rotating tires are very important.

Points to note while selecting the right summer tires

Tires are the actual performers and controllers on the road, at the outer end of the vehicle while the driver is the controller from inside. Since tires interact with the road and are directly affected by its condition and the weather condition too, it is essential that we choose the right kind of tire.

While in severe cold climates tires with better grip and less traction are preferred and are called as winter tires similarly during summer one should go for summer tires.

Though there are many types of summer tires it is very important that you choose the right kind of summer tires for your vehicle. This is because, these tires are comparatively expensive and thus they should be worth it.

First of all you need to decide upon whether you need a good performance based tire or are more cost effective that would give last for about a standard mileage.

Secondly, check for the frequency and load that your vehicle would be handling. If it is a basic passenger driven vehicle then normal tires would do. But if it is used for handling heavy loads or is used for commercial purpose where the amount of mileage driven is high, going for tougher ones is highly recommended.

Thirdly, whether it is dry weather or would your driving include rainy / watery conditions.

Based on the above two main aspect you need to check and decide upon the following factors

Check for the treading and speeding rates. Treads and designs – orbital grooves for normal driving and complex patterns that come for heavy duty performance are recommended. Remember, broader the treads higher the grip. If it is more of a dry condition that you will be driving then choosing broader Summer Tires are ideal whereas, if it is wet road that you are going to hit frequently then choosing a narrower one would suit best.