Heat is Public Enemy #1 for Tires

Experts predicted a hotter than average summer for most of the country and boy were they right, especially out West. Unbelievable! Dangerous for humans . . . and for tires!

Heat is a tire’s worst enemy when it comes to removal miles, irregular wear and service life. When ambient temperatures get higher than 100°F, some road temperatures can reach almost twice that level. 

Having a well-synchronized air pressure maintenance program between your drivers and your shop is even more critical during scorching ambient temperatures.

Excessive heat is generated by the increased deflection of an underinflated tire’s sidewall. The lower the inflation pressure, the more a tire will flex, which results in an increase in tire temperature. This causes the rubber compounds throughout the tire, particularly in the shoulder and bead area, to begin breaking down. 

Effective air pressure maintenance 

 

This must include regular air pressure checks with a quality gauge. If you think you have a “well calibrated ear,” thumping the tires could possibly give you an idea of the difference in pressure between one tire and the other, but will never tell you the actual air pressure. Besides, the typical sound of a tire at a particular pressure will be different if the tire is hotter.

Here are the reasons why a thump will never tell you the actual truth:

• A tire running with 80% of the PSI specified for the carrying load is considered flat.
• Just a difference of 10% in air pressure between duals is enough to cause a significant difference in diameter, and subsequent irregular wear in both tires.

Always use a high-quality, accurate tire gauge and check your tires at a minimum of once a week.  And always when they are cold. The days of using a tire club or stick are long gone and were really never an accurate way to tell how much air you have in a tire.

Tires such as the Double Coin RLB400 are highly-advanced products featuring the latest technologies in compounding, tread design and construction. With the correct air inflation, they perform as they were designed with the tread contact patch or footprint (part of tread that touches the pavement) being where the designers intended.  The correct footprint provides optimum traction, and durability is dramatically increased.

Yes, it takes a little time each week to properly check your tires. But the payoff is substantial in terms of increasing the life of your tires, improving fuel economy, ensuring optimum tire performance, and reducing downtime due to tire failures. 

After all, what’s worse than being on the side of the road with a tire failure . . . being there in oppressive heat!

We encourage you to contact your local Double Coin dealer for more information about best practices in tire maintenance.