Spring is upon us, which means warm sunshine, squirrels and birds, soccer games, and PoT HoLES. Yay! and yay.
If your vehicle has all-season tires, drive on until late spring when we recommend our tire balancing and alignment services—more about both in a moment. If you need your winter tires swapped for your summer tires we recommend doing so anytime beginning in April.
What is tire balancing, exactly, and is it necessary? Tire balancing is the distribution of mass within a tire or wheel including the rim on which it is mounted. Tires lose balance over time, so balancing is necessary to restore that. Common symptoms of tires that are out of balance are uneven tread wear, vibration in the steering wheel, the floorboard, or the seats, all of which gets worse at higher speeds. Another symptom of unbalanced tires is noticeably poor fuel economy. We recommend getting your tires balanced twice a year: late spring, along with an alignment, and in the fall.
When balancing your tires we check the tires for damage and wear, clean the rims to check for leaks, and we always torque all wheels properly for ease of removal when necessary.
Following the spring tire balancing service, we recommend getting your vehicle aligned. This service is recommended once a year and there is no better time than late spring post road-crew-pot-hole-repair. You will be surprised just how far out of alignment your vehicle can become over the course of the year, and the noticeably wonderful difference in drive-ability that aligning your vehicle offers.
Finally, when your vehicle is in for the seasonal tire swap, tire balancing service, and alignment service, it's a great time to check that the air conditioner is working properly. Basic air condition maintenance service includes checking the level of Freon charge, checking that the air temperature coming out of the vents is cold enough, and checking the cabin air filter for blockages.
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