Ensuring the safety of the tires of your car goes a long way in not just protecting the car against wear and tear and engine failure but also in protecting your life. Before embarking on a road trip, especially, check your tires for wear and tear, bumps, cracks or any other damages. Make sure the tread depth and inflation pressure is as per the recommended measure. If necessary, replace the tires. In fact, make it a point to change all four tires, as well as the spare one, every 10,000 miles, no matter how good the tires look.

Tires are basically meant to support the weight of the vehicle, to allow the car to exert acceleration and braking forces on the ground, to change direction or to maintain a particular direction, and to absorb shock from the surface of the road. Based on this, you can choose tires for your vehicle depending on the area you live in and the weather you are most likely to face. Herein, we provide the essentials one must keep in mind when it comes to making a car tire safety checklist for all weather conditions.

Winter Tires
These tires are manufactured purely to handle winter roads covered with slush, snow or ice. The rubber used in the manufacturing of these tires is especially suited to maneuver easily on cold road surfaces. The technology employed in some of the winter tires enables the removal of water from the ice covering the roads in order to ensure that the tires have more traction. Naturally, these are the go-to tires if you are living in places that face cold, harsh winter weather for most of the year. However, come summer, if you have to replace them with other tires, you can always store them in a cool and dry location, each one in a tire storage bag, all four piled one on top of the other in order to maintain the quality, longevity and the functionality when you have to use them again. The storage bags, especially, protect the tires from the influence of the atmosphere and prevent them from cracking.

Summer Tires
Summer tires are designed with a special tread that gives plenty of traction and maneuverability for roads during summer. They ensure that the driving experience is enhanced in more ways than one. However, they might be noisier than your average tire and probably less comfortable. A tire gauge is extremely useful in this season. It’s important to choose the right tires for the summer and because the wear and tear on the tread might be more than those of other tires. You must check the tire’s sidewalls for irregular shapes and cuts.

All Season Tires
All season tires are, naturally, the most popular and most widely used tires. As the name suggests, all-season tires are designed to handle various weather conditions. Their tread is made suitable for winter roads and they can handle a moderate amount of snow, slush or ice. They can handle wet roads during rains. And they certainly can roll with ease on dry, summer roads. These are the easiest tires to deal with unless you live in areas that face extreme weather conditions. You can check and measure tire tread by inserting a penny in the groove. It’s time to replace the tire if Lincoln’s head can be seen.

The information provided will help you make a car tire safety checklist for the next road trip you embark on.