Kain’s Tire Guide: Essential Tips for Las Vegas Drivers

When do I actually need new tires?

You need new tires when the tread is down to 2/32 of an inch, when the wear is uneven, or when the rubber has started to crack — whichever comes first. All three you can check yourself in five minutes.

The penny test. Drop a penny into a tread groove with Lincoln's head upside down. If you can see the top of his head, the tire is done. A quarter is the early warning: if you can see the top of Washington's head, you're around 4/32 and it's time to start shopping.

The tread-wear bars. Every tire has raised bars at the bottom of the grooves. When the tread is flush with those bars, the tire is worn out — no coin required.

Uneven wear. If one edge is bald and the middle looks fine, that's usually alignment. Worn in patches, or scalloped to the touch, points at balance or suspension. New tires bolted on top of that problem just means paying for it twice.

Age and cracking. Look along the sidewall for fine cracks, and find the DOT code: the last four digits are the week and year the tire was built. Past about six years, a tire deserves a close look no matter how much tread is left.

Heat is what makes all of this matter more here: Las Vegas pavement runs past 140°F in summer, and hot asphalt plus a low tire cooks the rubber from the inside. Check your pressure cold. If you're not sure what you're looking at, bring it by Kain's Tires on East Bonanza and we'll give it to you straight.

New or used tires — how do I choose without getting taken?

Buy new if you're keeping the car and running highway miles; buy used if you need one tire to match what's already on the car or you need to get rolling today — but only if that used tire passes a real inspection. A properly inspected used tire is a good buy; an uninspected one is a lottery ticket.

Here's what it has to pass before it's worth mounting:

• Real tread left. Ask for the depth in 32nds. Under 6/32 you're buying the tail end of somebody else's tire.
• No repairs in the sidewall. A repair belongs in the tread area only, never the sidewall or the shoulder. If there's a plug or a patch there, walk away.
• No dry rot. Fine cracks in the sidewall or between the tread blocks mean the rubber is finished, however much tread is left.
• Even wear edge to edge. If one side is worn down, that tire came off a car with an alignment problem and it won't wear right on yours either.

Then ask the shop: was it inspected inside and out, what year is it by the DOT code, and has it been repaired and where? At Kain's Tires we inspect every used tire before installing it and we show you what we found. Stock changes daily, so call (702) 984-9292 with your size — it's on the driver's door, something like 225/55 R17.

What do I do if I get a flat in Las Vegas?

Get off the road safely first; everything else can wait. Don't stand on the brakes — ease off the gas, hold the wheel firm and straight, put your signal on, and coast to the right shoulder. On the 95, the 215 or the 515, take the next exit if you can; if you can't, get as far past the white line as the shoulder allows. Hazards on, get out on the passenger side, and wait behind a barrier, not next to the car.

Spare or donut. A full-size spare drives like any other tire. A compact temporary spare — the donut — does not: read the label stuck to it, most are rated for 50 mph and about 50 miles. That's enough to reach a shop, not enough to run errands on. And don't drive on the flat: a few blocks on a dead tire shreds the casing and can bend the wheel.

The right repair. The tire comes off the rim, gets inspected from the inside, and gets a combination patch-plug that fills the hole and seals the inner liner. A string plug jammed in from the outside without pulling the tire is a roadside fix, not a repair.

When it can't be repaired. Sidewall damage, a puncture bigger than a quarter inch, a puncture in the shoulder outside the tread area, or a tire that was already driven on flat. In those cases it gets replaced, not patched.

Kain's Tires is at 4561 E Bonanza Rd, Unit 150, Las Vegas. Walk in Monday through Saturday, 8 AM to 6 PM, no appointment. Call (702) 984-9292.