Honda Mall of Georgia: Tire maintenance tips

You may give them a kick when checking out a new car but your tires need much more attention than a love tap. Keeping your tires in good condition can do more than just keep you on the road, it will improve gas mileage, vehicle handling and reduce the risk of breakdowns or accidents.

Basics

Knowing what tire size and pressure you need is the beginning to keeping your tires in shape. The vehicle manufacturer's recommendations can be found in the glove-box, the trunk lid or on the door edge as well as other places. Tire pressure limits can be found in the owner's manual.

Under Pressure

Tire pressure is important in vehicle handling, gas mileage and load limits. The pressure is the amount of air inside the tire measured in pounds per square inch (psi) or kilopascals (kPa). Keep in mind that an increased load will put more weight on the tires and can affect the pressure limit. Checking the tire pressure is simple with a pressure gauge that can be found at your local auto or hardware store. Some air pumps used to inflate tires may have a pressure gauge as well. The maximum inflation pressure can be found on the tire sidewall or in the vehicle owner's manual.

Important: In order to reach the correct recommended tire pressure, the tires need to be gauged when they are "cold." This does not mean outside temperature, rather that you should check the levels when the tires haven't been driven on for more than three hours. Driving increases the pressure level from heat and friction and will give you an inaccurate reading.

Tread Softly

If you aren't drifting, you'll want to get the most traction possible while driving. Changing your tires when the tread has worn is important in preventing accidents or blowouts. There are indicators on your tires that will let you know when they need to be replaced. You'll see raised pieces of rubber throughout the tire between the grooves. Another way to check is placing a penny upside down between the treads - if you can see Honest Abe's head - it's time to change your tires.

Keeping Your Balance

If you don't want your car doing the shimmy shake, you need to keep your tires balanced. This requires the weights on your tires being placed correctly to counterbalance any heavy spots on the wheel. An alignment will keep the tires correctly positioned with the vehicle's frame and will keep you driving straight. Both a balance and alignment require equipment found in a mechanic shop and should be completed by a certified technician.

Repair and Rotation                                                                                      

If your tires are all the same size, you can prevent uneven wear and tear by having them rotated. Your owner's manual should illustrate how and when to rotate your tires. If you have the correct tools and proper knowledge this is a maintenance technique you can perform at home, but relying on a professional's help is always a good way to go.

Sometimes you may notice low tire pressure even with proper maintenance, which could mean you have a puncture in your tread. A puncture in the tread can be repaired with a tire plug repair kit if the damage isn't too large. Any puncture to the sidewall cannot be repaired. A nice trick to finding the puncture involves removing the tire from the axle and slowly turning the tire in soapy water. If you see bubbles from the tread, that's more than likely the place of the puncture. It takes steady hands and muscle to plug the tread so make sure you're prepared to do the work if you take on the task at home.

Come in today and let the service professionals at Honda Mall of Georgia take care of your tires and your car!

 

Call 877-891-3532 and speak to our friendly staff today! Learn about our latest Honda Specials, set up an informative test drive, get details on any vehicle, request a brochure, schedule a service appointment, discuss your trade-in or even talk financing on your next car. We are here to help you.

Honda Mall of Georgia is your local Honda dealer located in Buford, GA. Your satisfaction is our goal!

Still deciding on which Honda you’d like to be driving? Searching for OEM factory rebates? Are you comparing lease programs or internet specials? Maybe you simply want our best price on a new or used car? For all of this and more, look no further than Honda Mall of Georgia. Our team is made up of professional associates that offer you a no-pressure environment and operate with the quality you'd expect. We look forward to helping you with your next new or used car purchase.

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Sales hours: Monday - Saturday: 9 a.m. - 9 p.m., Sunday: 1 p.m. - 7 p.m.

Service hours: Monday - Friday: 7 a.m. - 7 p.m., Saturday: 7 a.m. - 5 p.m., Closed Sunda

Summer is Here – Getting Your Car Summer Ready?

Summer brings up a lot of memories and many of them have been in your car. Big cross country family trip or an even short drive to the park, lake or ocean for a day of fun with family and friends. It doesn’t matter. Is your car ready for the heat?

You want to keep you memories full of the fun stuff – not being stuck on the side of the road.

Here are some helpful tips:

1. Standard check-up: Your car has gotten through the winter and spring. You should be getting a maintenance check every six months to see how your car is humming – oil change, break check, tire pressure, etc. Most major car accidents on highways are caused by a blown tire. Take the time to get all the basics checked before you embark on the road. Honda Mall of Georgia has great offers and discounts for all of you basic maintenance needs. Schedule your appointment online.

2. AC check-ups: Is your AC freon and air flowing at the level you need? The last thing you want to happen is have the AC out when it’s 90 degrees and 90%humidity. Yet, we typically wait until there’s a problem. Get this checked during your maintenance check. There could easily not be a problem, but now you know and have the peace of mind. When you schedule your maintenance check, we can check your AC levels and performance. Request a check when you schedule your appointment.

3. Bugs, bugs, bugs: With the heat, brings the bugs. Have you ever been showered with a cloud of bugs into the windshield? Have you ever waited more than a few days to take off the layer of bug guts of your car and found out some of these guts are now permanent accessory to your paint job? Here are some helpful tips on keeping those buggers off!

• Wax every three months – this helps with all types of bugs and critters from sticking.
• Wash often – You wash once a week. During love bug season, you wash two-three times. Car care experts say drivers should remove love bugs from their car as quickly as possible. The insects are slightly acidic and can burn into car paint if left on too long. If you don’t have time to wash, spray your hood immediately when you get home to get them off immediately.
• Clear wrap protects – Road Wrap is a disposable film that is wrapped around your vehicle to protect it from bugs, rocks, and other items that can harm your vehicle's paint.
• Car bras are not a solution - There is a danger in using car bras as a love bug defense. The bad thing if bugs get on the bra and you don't wash them off, it will restrict flow to your radiator and your car will run hot over time.
• Bug Remover – there are numerous solutions out there that you can get online or at auto supply store that specialize in bug removal. These are great resources if you wash your own car.

4. Keeping you and your car cool. Also, how do you keep your car cooler than a toaster oven. Here are some simple tips on keeping your car cooler during these killer temperatures.

• Get window shade that covers your entire front window – Toyota offers a Heat Shield shade. Check with our parts department. Just make sure you invest in a shade that covers the window completely.
• Park in the shade. Find a nice tree and walk a little farther.
• Get your windows tinted – Having all your windows tinted will alleviate 40-50% of the heat. Check with our service department.
• Crack the windows slightly. Doing this can help to ventilate your car instead of having steam or hot air build up in your car. The windows on your vehicle have the same effects of a green house.
• Tilt your sunroof, but keep the sun blocker almost closed.
• Window visors allow you to keep the windows open a crack. The crack will not leak during a rain storm. Check with our parts department.
• Sunshades are transparent shades that you can attach to your car window by a suction cup. This will block about 75% of the sun.
• Pour a bottle of water on the car just before getting in. It will drop the temperature of the car drastically.
• Invest in a car cover. This also helps with protecting your car other elements dropping onto your car. Check with our parts department.
• Remote start and open your windows and sunroof.
• If you don’t have remote and are going to load the car, get the car started with the AC blowing and get windows rolled down to circulate the air.
• Prevent the sun from ever hitting the sunroof glass directly by applying body color matched vinyl sticker on the exterior of your sunroof. Check with our parts department.
• Travel only early in the morning or later in the evening when the temperatures are cooler.
• When you are not driving your car and if you are at home, you should park your car in a garage. Garage parking is always better than parking on the street or your driveway because it protects your car from sun and other weather elements. Parking in a garage will keep your car cool until you are ready to leave your house.

So where are you going this summer? We want to know! It’s all about having fun!

Your friends at Honda Mall of Georgia

Honda Mall of Georgia is the leading Honda dealer in Buford, GA. Your satisfaction is our goal!

Call our friendly staff today to learn about our latest Honda specials, demo a car, get details on any vehicle, request a brochure, discuss your trade-in or even talk financing on your next car. We are here to help you.

Still deciding on which Honda you’d like to be driving? Are you comparing lease programs or internet specials? Maybe you simply want the best price on a new or used car? For all of this and more, look no further than Honda Mall of Georgia. Our team is professional, offers you a no-pressure environment and operates with the quality you expect from a Penske Automotive dealership. We look forward to helping you with your next new or used car.