Vacation Checklist No.2

Even if your have good tires and even if they are nearly new, you should check for possible needed wheel alignment correction. You can do a check yourself by driving the vehicle on a relatively smooth highway and while not meeting other vehicles, turn loose of the steering wheel just for a second. Should the car drift or dart to the left, you should take your car to a shop that does wheel alignment. Without appreciable wind, your car should drift, ever so slowly, toward the right. It is set that way in case you go to sleep or lose control for any reason of the car. It is safer for the car to drift toward the ditch than into oncoming traffic.

Also, at your regular diving speed, pay attention to the steering wheel. Does it visibly shake? Can you feel a vibration coming from the wheel? I so you also should take the car in for a wheel balance.

In your drive way, you can check the air pressure in your tires. This should be done monthly whether you are going on vacation or not. If you don't have a tire gauge, you need to get one. They are inexpensive and can save you hundreds of dollars.

The above three problems can wear out a set of tires in no time. Improper wheel alignment is much like dragging the front tires sideways across the pavement. That is an exaggeration, of course, but you can see that the tire needs to roll straight down the road 90 degrees of the car. Any variation of this causes excessive tire wear.

Same thing with the wheel balance. If wheels, (tires) are vibrating, they are jumping up and down on the pavement and wearing dished spots on the tire.

The tire pressure is also important. An over inflated tire wears the center of the tread faster than the outer because the over inflation causes a rounding effect and the outer tread does not carry it's part of the weight. Under inflating does just the opposite. The outer tread wears first because the low pressure causes a concave configuration of the tire and the center does wear evenly with the outer tread.

If you want to be extra careful, have your repairman put your car on a lift and inspect the exhaust system for leaks (Can be very dangerous), pull a wheel and inspect brake pads, disk brake rotors, as well as the brake hydraulic system, which includes the master cylinder, wheel cylinders and hoses, for leaks.

Have a nice, safe vacation.

Harold