Road Trip Ready: A Quick Maritime Tire Safety Checklist
From cruising the Fundy Trail to exploring the Cabot Trail, late summer is peak road trip season in Atlantic Canada. Before you load up the family and hit the highway, take 10 minutes to run through our essential tire safety checklist. A quick check now can prevent a roadside emergency later.
1. Pressure Check (The "Gold Standard" of Maintenance)
Properly inflated tires keep you safe, improve handling, and save you money on fuel.
- Check all four tires—and don't forget the spare. Finding out your spare tire is flat when you have a roadside puncture is a nightmare.
- Inflate according to the manufacturer specifications (found on the sticker inside the driver’s door doorjamb), not the maximum PSI stamped on the tire sidewall.
2. Tread Depth Verification
Your tires need deep grooves to channel away water and prevent hydroplaning during heavy Maritime downpours.
- The Toonie Test: Insert a toonie into one of the tire tread grooves. If the tread reaches the silver banner on the outer edge, your tires have plenty of tread left (about 4/32" or more). If the tread only covers the gold center, it’s time to start shopping for a replacement.
3. Visual Hazard Audit
Inspect your tread and sidewalls for embedded nails, gravel, or screws that might be causing a slow leak. Look out for uneven wear (which indicates a need for wheel alignment or suspension repair).
4. Wheel Torque Re-Check
If you swapped your wheels recently, remember that wheel nuts should be re-torqued after driving the first 50 to 100 kilometers. Swing by any Atlantic Tire King location, and we’ll torque them for you in under 2 minutes!