Heat: Your tires’ No. 1 enemy

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Updated Jul 30, 2012

Tire ChartThe folks at GITI Tire reminded us of this in their most recent newsletter, citing an article from the Saturday Evening Post that estimated 80 percent of tire failures were due to underinflation — the article appeared in 1928, and “nothing has changed,” the company said.

It’s a no-brainer, really, but how many times have you neglected to hit that inside tire in a dual pair with a needed dose of air because you were in a hurry or just didn’t feel like it? Running just sligtly underinflated, of course, builds excess heat, which equates to accelerated wear which equates to — cash lost off the bottom line, up to $1,100 a year for a one-truck fleet running with tires underinflated by 20 percent, according to GITI estimates.

Overdrive DecemberClick through the image above to examine their cost analysis for a 100-truck fleet.

Keep tabs on your cold pressure as frequently as possible. “Truck tires,” GITI notes, can “lose up to 2 psi/month,” and change 1 psi for “every 10 degrees F temperature change” and “every 2,000 feet of altitude.”

Check out our December 2011 feature for more about tires and maintenance — never more important that it is in the CSA era.

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