Your East Alton Illinois Hometown Tire Sales & Service Specialists
Since 1992 Rob’s Discount Mufflers has been your one-stop shop for all your tire services, with our vast knowledge we can help you figure out if you need to repair your tire with a patch or just simply replace it. Our experts will not only help you decide but will also recommend the best options to fit not only your need but the weather condition East Alton Illinois and surrounding areas face.
The most common question we hear is “How do I know if I need a new set of tires?” The way we tell if you need new tires is based on the tread that is left on your tires. There is a simple at-home test that anyone can do. That is to take a penny and set it inside the tread of your tires. If you can see all of Mr. Lincoln’s head, then it is time for new tires.
Other indicators that you need new tires are as follows:
- An unexplained bulging of the tire
- Your indicator bar is the visible meaning most of the tread has been worn off
- There are cuts and cracks in the sidewalls from everyday driving
If you see any of these bring your vehicle into Rob’s Discount Muffles, where we have a wide range of tire services to fit your needs.
Tire Services
At Rob’ Discount Mufflers we provide comprehensive tire services, providing solutions when you need repairs, inspections, and wheel balancing. Based on when the tire comes into the shop, we can determine the best option based on our inspection of your tire. The simple answer to any hole in a tire is a plug. A plug is just as it sounds, a piece of rubber that has epoxy on it that while driving will adhere and vulcanize into your tire. Now if the hole is to big the plug will not work. We will have to use a patch to fix the tire. The patch will take longer to do but is more effective than the plug. It is the same type of material that over time will vulcanize and become part of the tire. The last option is a combine installation of both the plug and the patch.
Wheel Alignment
Just by making and doing your everyday routine can cause your vehicle to become misaligned. This happens by driving over bumps, potholes, or even minor car accidents. The importance of keeping your vehicle aligned is directly related to the life span of your tires. If your vehicle is not balanced, there will be more wear and tear on one or even two different tires. The tread on these tires will disappear at a faster rate than the other two tires.
Tire Pressure
One of the most important components of tires is tire pressure. There are two problems that can happen when it comes to tire pressure. You can either overinflate or underinflate your tires. Both of these situations will cause different problems.
Over-inflated Tires
When you overinflate a tire the tread of the tire will not be evenly distributed. This can cause a higher risk of damaging your tire if you hit a random object in the road or bounce through a pothole. Also, with an overinflated tire, the likelihood of blowing a tire is dramatically increased. This is due to all the pressure that is inside the tire and the restricted diameter of where the random object is hitting. If you blow a tire the risk of losing control of the vehicle and causing an accident increase. Under-inflated tires are just as bad.
Underinflated Tires
With an underinflated tire more of the rubber is going to hit the road. If more rubber hits the road that is not supposed to it can cut the life cycle of your tire by 25 percent. While no one likes to replace their tires, you may also be going to the pump more often. With the increase in rubber hitting the road, your engine is working harder than usual to get your car where you want it to go. You can see a decrease in fuel efficiency as large as 5 percent. Also, with an underinflated tire you will see the control of your car decrease.
Tire Rotation
Tire rotation is a great way to preserve the life of your tires. It is recommended that you get your tire rotated at least twice a year, depending on your driving patterns. The reason to have your tires rotated is to have a more even wear on the tread of the tires. Rotations are an extremely important part of our tire services for front-wheel drive vehicles because it helps balance the handling and traction of the vehicle. If you do not rotate your tires, the life of said tires will decrease with the likelihood of patches or plugs being needed to fix your tires.
Wheel Balancing
Just like anything else in life, your tires can lose their balance. This happens to any make or model of tires. It happens with everyday driving. It is important to see a tire services specialist about the balance of your tires so that you get the full lifecycle of the tire. The more event the tread that better the life cycle of that tire.
How to Pick Your Ideal Tire
There are two questions that you need to be answered to find the right tires for your vehicle. The first is what size tires does your vehicle use? The other is what are the weather conditions in the region the vehicle will be driving through?
There are 3 different ways that a person can find out what size tires they need. The first is to look inside the owner’s manual of the vehicle and find the size of the tire needed. The second is a chart that is located on the inside of the driver side door well. The last and hardest way is to analyze the sidewall of the tire that came from the factory.
The other question that needs to be answered is what kind of driving conditions will I be going through? Knowing the weather is very important. You do not want summer tires during the winter. This is because winter tires will give you more traction on the treads that are meant for snow and ice. Summer tires will have a different tread pattern since there is no snow or ice. Winter tires are designed to keep your vehicle from sliding and skidding when snow and ice occur.
Choose Your Tread
All-Purpose Tires
These tires are your normal everyday factory-installed tires. That will give you a nice ride on the highway and good for spring and summer and fall.
All-Terrain Tires
These tires are meant to go off-road and handle all the mudding you want. Just kick the truck into 4-wheel drive and have some fun on the back roads.
Sport Truck Tires
These tires will give your truck or SUV the control and precision and handling of a sports car. Be precise with that turn and know you will be first.
Winter Tires
Winter is coming. Make sure your tires are ready for all the ice, sleet, snow, and freezing rain.
Passenger Car / Minivan
The most cost-effective tire on the market will be a passenger car or minivan tire. The touring tires are great because of the long-lasting tread, low noise, low maintenance, and the smooth ride you will get. The touring tire will give you a wider tread.
Sport / Luxury Cars
Need for speed? The sport tire is the way to go. These tires are designed to handle the fast acceleration of the driver and the speeds at which they go. Ride in style and in comfort.
SUV / Truck
Where are you driving? This is an important question when it comes to SUV tires. If you are going off-road, you will need a much chunkier tread on your tires to handle all the mud and muck that you may be going through. If you are driving on the highway then that tread will be more rib treated design.
