Not Everyone Can Afford A Monster Truck
Instead of being bothered with boring numbers and scientific studies that deal in statistics, why not try to use common sense when it comes to figuring out what the best way to protect your vehicle is? Apart from mechanical failures, crashes and a disregard for maintaining your car, one of the easiest ways of trashing it is – to drive it like a maniac across terrains it’s not intended for, especially in California, which has a ton of off-road and other types of trails that four-wheelers can use. But, the aforementioned does sound a bit extreme, you’ll probably say. So, let’s focus on something much more familiar to anyone who owns a car or other type of transport vehicle – tires.
Better To Be Safe Than Sorry
California really is a paradise on earth any way you look at it, and that especially goes for those lucky enough to have a car. Why? Because driving through breathtaking landscapes and scenery is the whole point of driving pleasure. But, tires are one of the things that most often need to be replaced, especially if you use your vehicle on a daily basis. In light of preserving your car and its tires for as long as possible, here are a few tips on using the correct set of tires for different roads.
- Always plan ahead – if you own a sedan or hatchback and you’re planning on going to the countryside or are even interested in an off-road adventure, there’s really no point in leaving your standard tires for asphalt on your car, is there? It’s certainly an option, but when you think about it – it might be wise to spend some money on off-road tires once, than to keep buying asphalt tires every time you feel like testing your vehicle.
- Have a backup plan – if you live in an urban area with good, asphalt roads, you can rest easy with the standard asphalt tires without any problems. However, if you’re situated in a more desolate, country-like area that typically features dirt and desert roads, you know that you’ll need tougher tires. Now comes the hard part – what if you move a lot between the two aforementioned areas? Which tires should you use? You can go with either option, but it makes sense to keep a spare set at home just in case.
- Know your vehicle – depending on the type of your vehicle and its characteristics, you’ll be able to save gas money and increase driving ease and performances just by picking out the right set of tires and inflating them to the right pressure, especially in California, which typically has good roads. This goes especially for people living in areas with different road surfaces – high pressure in your tires while you’re driving on tarmac can be easily decreased (deflated) once you reach a different type of road. You just pull up to the side and slightly deflate your tires, in order to prevent them from blowing out because of the sharp rocks on the road or to improve traction if you’re driving on dirt or sand.
- Pay close attention to the weather – the last thing you want to do is drive your sports car with its slick tires on a rainy day. In fact, some sports cars (like several versions of the BMW M3, for example) are not supposed to be driven on wet weather at all, according to the manufacturers. So, if heavy rains are predicted and you need to use your car often, it might be wise to try to get a hold of a tire set designed to cope with wet roads. After all, safety first.
- The same goes for seasons of the year – again, don’t play around by driving with in the snow with asphalt tires! Although it snows extremely rarely in California, you still don’t want to get caught sliding all over the slippery road just because you failed to change your tires in time.
Keep in mind that these are just a few general tips about using the correct set of tires for different roads. You should definitely look into this and get as much information as you can on the topic; The Motor Buzz is a great place to do it and will definitely have tons of useful advice for your safety.
