Featuring On-Car Wheel Balancing

During 2006, Paul has played host to two local car clubs, demonstrating the services he provides and the how’s and why’s of what RNJ Tire Sales is all about. Not to mention his philosophy on the tire business and life in general!

 

For information on the Rouge Valley Region of The Antique and Classic Car Club of Canada, contact Ivan Elford at (416)894-0368 (cell) or email to accccrvr@hotmail.com. Visit the website at http://www.accccrougevalley.com.

 

For information on the Early Ford V8 Club of America (Southern Ontario Regional Group #149),  contact Mike McLean at bmclea0206@rogers.com or by phone at (905)686-0513.

Click here for the original ‘Wizard of Wheels’ article written by writer Dan Proudfoot!

This article appeared in the May, 2007, issue of World of Wheels magazine.

 

Keep Heat out of your Tires

 

Tires don’t like heat.

 

The most poignant illustration of this concept was that unfortunate situation a few years back, when tires were exploding on Ford Explorer models in the US. The problem was traced to under-inflated tires on heavily loaded vehicles operating in hot temperatures. The excessive heat caused the tires to deteriorate to the point that their top casings separated from their carcasses.

 

This didn’t totally surprise Paul Ross (aka “The Wizard of Wheels”), who runs RNJ Tire Sales in Pickering, Ontario. At that time, the recommended tire pressure for Explorer tires was 28 pounds per square inch – a figure Ross would never abide by. His experience and background told him 28 psi was “way too low”.

 

“You can always run higher pressures than what is recommended,” notes Ross. “You can put 50 pounds in each corner if you want. It won’t hurt anything because the higher the pressure, the cooler the tire. The lower the pressure, the hotter.”

 

The amazingly simple cure for keeping heat out of your tires is making sure they are never under-inflated.

 

But that is proving to be more difficult than one would think. Ross said even new-age onboard tire sensors, which light up an icon on the dash when tire pressures go below a certain threshold, hasn’t helped matters much. People just love to ignore their tires.

 

He calls those on-board systems “overkill” and “needlessly complex.” Better off, he figures, if the automakers just supplied new owners with a simple tire gauge. You have to keep it simple, says Ross, if you want people to adopt a new habit.

 

He proposes that motorists simply do a visual check of all four tires, at least once a month. That’s it. That will be enough to uncover if a tire has gone soft. You can get more “technical” if you want, and actually bend down and use a tire gauge, but that’s up to you, says Ross. He just wants drivers to keep an eye on their tires, and do it on a consistent basis.

 

Ross gets his “Wizard of Wheels” nickname due to his deep thinking on all things tires. But when it comes to tires and air pressure, the situation is so simple it hurts. “Air pressure is the lifeblood of tires,” he says. So watch the bleeding!