Tires are the most essential part of a car. Thus, regularly maintaining the tires can extend the tires’ longevity and increase your safety on the road. An essential part of making sure that the tires have good health is to rotate the tires while marking the tires. So, how to mark tires and why mark the tires?
RoadWeekly says that marking tires is essential to creating a mechanism to learn if your tires have been rotated and allow you to know the orientation of the tires. It is not complicated to mark tires because all you need is a few supplies, and the rest will take care of itself.
Come along and learn what rotation is and its importance, along with understanding the importance of marking tires!
What Is a Tire Rotation?
Tire rotation is when you dismantle your car’s wheels and change their orientation. This can either be done by replacing the front tires with the back to front (forward cross), diagonally (X-pattern) or from side to side.
Ideally, rotate your tires after you have traveled 5000-6000 miles. Although this is a general rule, the period may depend on the vehicle you are using.
All vehicles and tires are unique; whether you are the one rotating the tires or a mechanic, make sure to consult your car manual. Why? Because car tires are heavy, high-priced and a crucial part of your driving safety, take no risks!
Why is it Important to Mark your Tires While Rotating?
Tires have seen it all and have experienced it all smooth roads, rough roads, uphill, downhill, and the list goes on. Having excellent and healthy tires, hence, is of the utmost importance. That can quickly be done when you rotate your tires.
Importance of Rotating Tires
To ensure safety and longevity, rotate your tires every once in a while. That is because the tires bear the weight of you and your safety. Besides, when rotating, you or your mechanic can inspect the tires for wear and tear and determine if you need to get a new pair of tires completely. Consequently, rotate your spare tires for added caution.
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Keeping balance
When you drive, your vehicle will have some wear, but balancing the amount of damage the tires hold from the front and backside is essential for having control while driving. If one side has more damage than the others, you will lose the balance of the tires. On the other hand, if the tires have equal damage on all four-wheel quadrants, the balance will be better.
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Ability to change the tires at the same time
If there is equal damage on all tires, you can change four tires simultaneously instead of replacing the ones that wear out quickly. That will ensure better balance and productivity of your car. Additionally, technology is advancing at an increasing rate so that you can upgrade all the tires simultaneously.
Importance of Marking Tires
Mechanical shops have an unpleasant reputation, as they are notorious for missing or flunking in their assigned tasks while charging a hefty amount for their services which are never up to the mark.
Often clients who have assigned mechanical shops to rotate their tires are shocked to find that their tires have not been rotated. As a result, owners often mark their tires as a monitoring criterion. If the mechanics rotate the tire, the orientation of the tires will be different.
Additionally, tires are rotated in a number of ways, and you have to remember the orientation of the tires. Hence, cleverly marking the front tires FL, FR or rear tires RL RR can serve you and your mechanic. Therefore, you will know which tire goes were.
Finally, you can always check if the mechanics kept their word if the orientation does not match after receiving your car.
How to Mark Tires
Marking your tires will help you determine if you rotate the tires, and you can wholeheartedly trust your mechanic. In addition, it is reasonably simple to mark your tires.
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Marking Pens
You can mark the wires by either of the supplies mentioned below.
- Tire chalk
- Sharpie
- Sidewalk chalk
- Masking tapes
- White tire markers
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Parts of the tire that are safe to mark
You can mark the inside of the tire, the rim of the tire and the sidewalls of the tire. Make Sure that the markings are clear, but do not use any chemical that can harm the exterior of the tire.
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Removing the markings
The markings do not have to be permanent if you don’t want them to be permanent. Simply take rubbing alcohol to remove any marking from the tires.
Why Do Police Mark Tires With Chalk
Police and other law enforcement officials often mark the tires of vehicles they are investigating with chalk. This is done in order to track the vehicle’s movement and help identify it if it is used in a crime.
The intention behind this is so that they can track how long you’ve been parked for and if anything else happens during those times like theft, etcetera
Also, cars often have different colors used so that every time an individual officer works shift, they can easily identify which spaces were occupied by another person before themselves starting work today.
When a woman argued that it was trespass for an officer to enter her vehicle, the Supreme Court agreed. The court said it’s a breach of privacy when marking one’s tire. So, police officers should refrain from marking people’s tires. But personally, I think it’s okay as it’s not harming you in any way.
Conclusion
As we review what rotation is and its importance in elongating a car’s health, we understand how important it is to mark your tires. There are several ways how to mark tires, and the methods are relatively simple. So, buy the necessary supplies and do the needful to mark the tires when you are taking them to the mechanics.
