CARE OF THE TIRES
When a tire buyer is told by the dealer that a tire is guaranteed for
so many miles, the manufacturer expects to make good—he expects if
the tire falls down on performance to replace it, or at least make an
allowance for the mileage short. As a matter of fact they do not have
to do this on thousands of tires which are defective, for the reason
that the auto owner has not kept his part of the bargain. Nine times
out of ten this is because the user of the tire does not know how it
ought to be treated and doctored and cajoled into doing all that it is
expected to do.
Tires are a great deal like human beings; are just as finicky and
contrary; and it takes a great insight into their make-up if one would
get the most out of them.
One of the chief causes of tire deterioration is lack of care—absolute
neglect. Drivers send their machines over all kinds of roads,
regardless of ruts, and stones, and glass or junk in the roadway, and
then cannot understand why the tires are all cut up about it. Worse
than that, they do not seem to understand that a cut tire needs as much
and as prompt attention as a cut finger—perhaps more, for nature will
mend the one; the other has no such luck.
The first thing to do when one discovers a cut is to clean it out and
jiffy in one of the good solutions sold, which will cement the edges
together or press in the putty-like repair material. If the cut is not
too large or too deep it will mend easily and give little trouble, if
care is taken. If it is a large cut the vulcanizer should be visited.
The cement should hold long enough for that. It will keep out water,
which rots the fabric easily, and sand, which makes blisters along the
tread. Only a slight patch is needed if done promptly, but if water and
sand get in it is almost impossible to vulcanize in a patch, and when
it is done it probably will not last.
Tires should be inspected regularly and often and attended to
intelligently. This will save the automobile owner much annoyance and
cut down one of the big items of maintenance.
Some drivers, too, never seem to think of favoring an auto tire at
times of greatest strain. They will whirl around a corner as fast as
their nerve and the traffic policeman will allow and then wonder why it
is that the tread wears away so quickly. They do not seem to understand
that under such circumstances there is a steady grind of tire upon
pavement, and grind means wear.
Another set of drivers will run along for weeks without noticing that
the steering gear is out of true. Perhaps the machine has hit something
and the equalizing rod is bent just a trifle, making the front wheels
far from parallel. It may not be enough to see with the eye, but it is
off true and one or both of the tires grinds with every revolution. The
speed with which the tread will wear away depends upon the character of
the roadway. On gravel or macadam roads it is fast. The manufacturer
will not replace a tire worn out that way if he can detect the cause,
and experience has taught him where to look for it. One man wore a pair
of front tires through to the fabric in a very short run and raised
a fuss because the replacement man disclaimed responsibility after
testing the wheels. The roll and slide motion combined will work havoc
with the best tire and should be corrected.
A harsh clutch does the same thing in a little different way. A
clutch which grips too hard will cause the wheels to slide and wear.
The brake, also, should not be too positive, but be adjusted to work
easily, so that the wheel will stop turning just as the momentum is
spent, to prevent sliding. Both brakes should be adjusted alike, or
one will grip the wheel fast and the other turn. The gripped tire will
scrape along and the pavement cuts the tire like a rasp.
Another set of men forgets that oil and grease and gasoline are the
natural enemies of tires. They allow the machine to stand in the garage
where there are pools of oil or gas. Gasoline will dissolve gum rubber.
It will disintegrate the tire, which is a combination of rubber,
soapstone, and other things, so that it wears out quickly. Lubricating
oil and grease hasten the decay of rubber and shorten the life of the
tire. Besides there is no sense in wasting oil and gas, and if someone
else allows it to spill on the pavement the wise man will keep out of
the mess.
In wet seasons there is especial need for care of the tire. Rubber cuts
easily when the sharp edge of the cutting agent is wet. Tire workers
dip their knives in water to facilitate the work. Go out on a road
where there is glass, or sharp stones dripping from a rain, and the
tire is an easy mark. A wet day on a sharp gravel road will fill the
tires full of small cuts.
Tubes should be kept in the shoes where possible. If folded up they are
likely to harden on the creases and crack on the surface, blowing out
easily. Tubes in excess of shoes carried should be rolled up carefully
and be kept in a bag to prevent chafing on tools or box.
Tires cost the owner about the same as the car if he does much running.
In a general sense the set of four tires used on any car bears a
certain proportion to the selling price of the car. On the cheaper
makes of cars the tires cost new approximately $60 per set. They
increase in price in direct ratio to the price of the car. They are
usually guaranteed for five thousand miles, and as the average owner
makes at least ten thousand miles per year, he uses up two sets of
tires. Taking three years as the average time the owner will keep the
car before trading it in, would mean six sets of tires. Taking the
car which uses the $60 set and we find that six sets of tires would
cost $360, or pretty near the first cost of the car. Few owners give
consideration to this fact.
Another way of figuring the cost of tires is that in upkeep expense
tires figure for one-third of the total, gasoline and oil for another
third, and wear and tear on the car the remainder. Upon this basis the
owner should give one-third of the total care to the tires. But few, if
any, do.
When the car is stored for the winter, or for any length of time at any
other season, the car should be jacked up and the tires deflated until
the pressure is less than half the normal. Where the car cannot be left
jacked up the tires should be removed from the car and hung up high and
dry where there will be neither extremes of heat nor cold, though heat
is more injurious than cold.
It is good practice, if, on coming to the garage, it is found that one
or more tires are deflated below normal and there is no time to pump
them up, to lift the weight off the tire with jack or otherwise, so
that the strain will be removed from the walls of the tire between the
rim and the floor or ground.
Do not put tires where they will be subject to strong sunlight, which
decomposes the rubber. Oil and grease left on the surface do the same
thing. Clean the tires of mud and grease after every trip. Keep the
small cuts healed and the big blisters will not occur.
Make friends with the vulcanizer and take his advice as to repair of
your tires. That’s his business. If too far from a vulcanizer, buy a
small outfit and spoil a few casings and tubes learning how to do the
small jobs, and send the big ones to the shop by express.
Remember in mending tubes and casings that cleanliness is before
godliness. You may be a perfect church member, but if you do not
observe perfect cleanliness the mend will not stick and in the end may
lose you your church membership by provoking you to violent words.
Throw away the valve insides every once in a while on general
principles and put in new ones. Learn how to test the tubes by dipping
them under water when inflated and looking for air bubbles. Test the
valve the same way, at the same time. Bubbles may indicate why the tire
will not keep pumped hard.
Rubber is porous to a slight degree and you must expect loss of air
from that cause both in the tires on the wheels and that held in
reserve. Make sure of the pressure by the tire gauge.