Tire pressure

Having the proper tire pressure is a crucial issue to maintain to ensure safety, driving performance, tire life and fuel cost.

How to check your tire pressure

  • Check your tires when they are cold or your vehicle has been parked for at least three hours.
  • You can find the correct air pressure for your tires by looking at the sticker that is commonly located on the door of the driver’s side on many vehicles or looking in your owner’s manual.
  • Keep in mind that you can’t always tell if a tire is underinflated with a visual inspection and be sure to use a tire pressure gauge.

Tire wear

The depth of tread on each of your tires is important for vehicle stability, especially on wet or icy roads. Irregular tire wear is a frustrating little gremlin that can steal your tires’ performance and tread life if you let it. You can prevent unexpected accidents by checking for tire wear regularly.

How to check your tire tread wear levels

  • Check the depth of the treadby observing the Tread Wear Indicator (as the symbol of “△” or the letters of “TWI”) on the bottom of major groovesin several places across.To ensure optimum safety and performance, tires should be replaced when groove depth remains less than 2mm.
  • When the tread surface is worn to the same level as these indicators, the tire is at the legal limit and should be replaced.
  • WESTLAKE Tire recommends you to check for tire wear once in a month. Also, make sure to do a check once more after long distance travel.

Wheel alignment

Wheel alignmentis part of standard automobile maintenance that consists of adjusting the angles of the wheels so that they are set to the car maker’s specification. The purpose of these adjustments is to reduce tire wear, and to ensure that vehicle travel is straight and true (without “pulling” to one side).

When to perform the alignment

  • your car seems to be drifting to one side, even when you think you’re driving straight.
  • your steering wheel vibrates.
  • you are driving straight, but your steering wheel isn’t centered.
  • If none of these indicators occurs but it’s been a while since your last alignment, check your owner’s manual to see how often the manufacturer recommends having this service.