Tyres, pressures, allignment and balance
 

For a change I don't have a post about a problem I'm having just some information which is probably common knowledge or common sense.

Yesterday I went to the petrol station to add fuel and check tyre pressures as the car didn't feel 100% in the road feel. There was no air hose at the station, someone had damaged or stolen part or all of it and it was yet to be replaced. I remembered I had a care package from the tyre shop who fitted the tyres last year.

On 06/02/18 (last year) I had 4 new tyres fitted to my X-Type, the original factory fitted tyres called it a day after only 16 years. The construction failed due to age and a nail/screw in the tread heating things up in that area, apparently. The nail/screw was in the tread but it was the sidewall that gave way, it separated around the sidewall parrallel with the circumference. Both rear tyres were the same age and the front ones were cheap and nasty so they all got replaced. Part of the fitting package included a free 3 month/5000km scheduled tyre service (allignment check, balance, pressure adjustment). Yesterday, 09/04/19, some 14 months later the shop agreed to honour the free service after I told them the car had been off the road since not long after the tyres were fitted because of transmission failure. A check of the odometer showed the tyres had moved 2432kms in that time. They told me they needed it for an hour and could do it right then so I left it with them. Within half an hour they had adjujsted the pressures, balanced the wheels/tyres and made a few minor adjustments to the allignment front and rear. And it drives so much better than it was.

The point of all this is that if you get work done and they recommend taking it back for minor adjustments within a short period of time/travel it's probably worth the time and or money to do so. What they called minor adjustments made a world of difference to my enjoyment of the car.

Bob Jane T-Marts in Hervey Bay have secured my future patronage, at least until I find a cheaper price on my next set of tyres elsewhere. They were very competitive and informative last time, I see no reason why they won't be the same in the future. And their allignment was spot-on.