Car Care Tips

Car & Tire Tips for Ensuring a Long-Running Vehicle

Throughout the life of your car, it's expected you'll follow the recommended service intervals identified in your owner's manual. This includes tire services like rotation and balancing. Your manual may also provide the expected life for parts like the brake pads and rotors.

We specialize in tire service, brake repair, and wheel alignments in Dumas, Texas at Coffey Tire & Brake, Inc. Over time and from regular use, your car or truck will need these services. However, there are ways to maximize tire and brake life as well as reduce the chance of misalignment.

Car and tire care saves you money over time and reduces the likelihood of unexpected problems in the future, or surprises like discovering it's time to replace your brake rotors.

If you find yourself in need of a Dumas tire shop and service center, contact the team at Coffey Tire & Brake, Inc. You can reach us at (806) 935-7166 to schedule an appointment.

Our tire and brake shop serves Dalhart, Channing, Cactus, Etter, Stratford, Guymon, and Sunray, TX.

Tire Maintenance and Care

Taking care of your tires can help you maximize tire life, improve gas mileage, and get the best overall performance from your set.

• Rotate your tires every 5,000 miles or every 6 months.
• Check your tire pressures approximately once a week. Low tire pressures can affect fuel economy, handling and comfort. To accurately measure your tire pressure, check tires when they are cold. Wait at least three hours after driving. Modern vehicle have a Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) to alert motorists when air pressure is low, but it's best to not get to that point if possible.
• Always make sure that your wheels are properly aligned. Badly aligned wheels will again lead to dragging of the car on the road.
• Check your spare tire each month and keep it properly inflated so it¹s ready to go when you need it most.
• Use the penny trick to determine if the tread on your tires is worn to low. Take a penny and put Abraham Lincoln's head into one of the grooves of the tread. If part of his head is covered by the tread, you're okay. If you can see all of his head, it's time to replace the tire. When the tread is worn down to 1/16 of an inch, tires must be replaced.

Brake Tips

• Brake pads and rotors need to be replaced during the life of your vehicle. The timing for this depends on several factors, including how often you stop while driving and how thin or thick the rotors and pads are initially.
• Short trips waste fuel and add unnecessary wear and to automotive components like your brakes. When possible, take longer routes.If you live in town and do a lot of stop-and-go driving, your brakes will wear faster than someone who drives mostly on highway or back roads with few stops. Brake pads should be replaced when the pad has 1/4" or less remaining.
• It's important to make sure you don't brake hard. Come to a slow stop instead of an immediate one to preserve your brake parts longer.

And most important of all……

• Always check for potential problems before they happen.