Attention

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not represent our advertisers

Saturday, April 05, 2014

I wish I'd thought of this on April 1st

Fresh Air Needed to Extend Tire Life

Car owners, get ready to pony up for just a little more car maintenance, or, for you do-it-yourselfers, to spend an extra hour every few months to change the air in your tires.

Yes, you read it right - change the air in your tires.

Dr. Artex Faleky, a scientist formerly of the American Rubber Tire Institute explains:

"Just as the effects of the sun can take a toll on tire rubber, making it crack and crumble over time from the outside in, so can stale air do the same thing from the inside out. But what's most hazardous is that the average consumer, and even many experienced tire technicians, have no idea what's happening on the inside of their tires. That is, until it's too late. Stale air-induced tire failure is a real hazard, one that can be fatal. Consumers must be warned."

Faleky recommends that at a minimum of every ninety days, air be replaced in every over-the-road tire. He says that this simple task can be accomplished by completely bleeding the air from all of a car or truck's tires, then replacing that air with fresh air from the air pump at a garage, gas station or convenience store.

With this new information in hand, Mercedes Benz, Jaguar and Ford are including an automatic tire refill option on their 2016 premier models. Rolls Royce and Bentley spokesmen say that this has been a standard feature on all of their models since 1987.

Industry analysts warn that while the practice of regular air changing will extend tire life and undoubtedly save countless lives on the highways, consumers will probably pay the price at the pumps.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

This must be a left over April fools joke....

Anonymous said...

Actually tires used on airliners and race cars use a nitrogen mixture. A couple of dealers offer it here, Don't think they change it though!

Anonymous said...

Somebody did think of this April Fools Day.
There has been zero new air since the creation of our planet. Where would we get it?

Anonymous said...

That's a pretty good April Fool's story, but there's a whole religion out there that fills their tires with nitrogen because the molecules are bigger so they can't seep bbetween the rubber molecules and cause low tire pressure; another lifesaver out there.

What they won't tell you is that there's no way to remove all the "air" in the tire before filling it with nitrogen, thereby defeating the whole explanation; they will just sell it to you and gladly take your money!

Me? I keep it aligned and get my 60k miles with the same air. That way the inside rubber that "evaporates" into that air stops evaporating once that air is fully saturated!

-George LeRoy Tirebiter

Anonymous said...

wasn't this supposed to be an april 1 story? I never heard anything so absurd! next you'll want to ban Dihydrogen monoxide especially since the stuff is all around us and is a known killer!

George Leroy Tirebiter said...

I LOVE Dihydrogen Monoxide! It tastes great!

Anonymous said...

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Somebody did think of this April Fools Day.
There has been zero new air since the creation of our planet. Where would we get it?

April 5, 2014 at 6:24 AM

Where would we get 'new' air? Well, when I was in school they taught us that trees absorb carbon dioxide and release the air that we breathe.

I hope that helps.

Anonymous said...

Headline says it was one missed for April Fool's.

Anonymous said...

12:05 PM

Trees and most plants release oxygen, not air. Air is a mix of gases.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous Anonymous said...
12:05 PM

Trees and most plants release oxygen, not air. Air is a mix of gases.

April 5, 2014 at 1:11 PM

OMG. Really? Seriously? You're a mixture of nuts.

Anonymous said...

most plants release oxygen, not air. Air is a mix of gases.

April 5, 2014 at 1:11 PM

what do the other plants release? lol

Anonymous said...

There are about 3,400 species of parasitic or partly parasitic plants and about 20% of those lack chlorophyll so they cannot produce oxygen, which is a byproduct of photosynthesis.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous Anonymous said...
There are about 3,400 species of parasitic or partly parasitic plants and about 20% of those lack chlorophyll so they cannot produce oxygen, which is a byproduct of photosynthesis.

April 5, 2014 at 2:44 PM

So?

Anonymous said...

Not ALL plants produce oxygen. And none produce air.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Not ALL plants produce oxygen. And none produce air.

April 5, 2014 at 6:55 PM

wow. talk about splitting hairs. Let me guess, you're 13yo and you just learned that in class right?

So the AIR we breathe is pure oxygen right? lol geesh

Anonymous said...

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Not ALL plants produce oxygen. And none produce air.

April 5, 2014 at 6:55 PM

your parents did not produce any intelligent children

Anonymous said...

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Not ALL plants produce oxygen. And none produce air.

April 5, 2014 at 6:55 PM

yes, some plants produce electricity.