Did you realise that the only connection between your car and the road is just 4 small patches, where the round tyre actually meets the flat road. For most cars the total contact area of all the four tyres put together is not even 1 square feet. That is why it’s extremely important to preserve the quality and performance of your tyres to ensure both your safety and your mobility. If tyres are such an important part of the car, then how do we take care of them? Read further to understand more.
Pressure
Check your tyre pressure regularly (once every 15 days or during refuelling) to make sure they are at the optimum pressure for your car. You can find the details of tyre pressure for your car on the inside of the driver’s door frame. Having your tyres at the correct pressure increases performance, saves fuel and helps your tyres last much longer!
Did you know?
- Under inflated tyres can overheat, reduce fuel economy, increase tyre wear & reduce your car’s pick up
- Over inflated tyres can compromise the vehicle’s handling, increase harshness, reduce braking performance and increase tyre wear.
Tread
Check the tread on your tyres at every service. The tread gives you the grip and traction to ensure you can brake and stop effectively and safely. The legal limit is 1.6mm of tread on your tyres. Having tread depth below 1.6mm is ILLEGAL and can land you with a large fine.
Low tread depth can also cause serious accidents when it is raining or if the road is wet.
Aquaplaning, or hydroplaning, occurs when the water between your tyres and the road surface cannot be removed quickly enough. This layer of water builds up in front of the tyres until the pressure of the water exceeds the pressure of the tyre on the road, resulting in the tyres losing contact with the road surface. This loss of traction causes the wheels to slip and prevents the vehicle from responding to steering, braking or accelerating. As a result, your vehicle can go out of control, start to skid or spin. A potentially dangerous situation.
Alignment, Balancing & Rotation
If your wheels are not aligned properly for Caster, Camber and Toe then again it will result in increased tyre wear, Pulling of the car to either side, Harsh ride and reduced fuel economy and pick up. If tyres aren’t balanced properly then you will notice uneven wear on the tread and also feel vibrations through the steering wheel which make driving uncomfortable and hard work! Getting your tyres balanced properly will also reduce wear on the suspension and bearings of your car. Align and balance your wheels every 5000km.
It is a best practice to rotate the tyres of your car every 10,000km. That is moving the back tyres to front and front tyres to back. Normally the front tyres, which also handle the steering, wear out faster compared to the rear wheels and hence rotating the tyres, enables even wear of all the four tyres.
Visible Damage
Check regularly for any exterior damage to the tyre. Check the sidewalls and the main tread for any lumps, bumps, holes or punctures. If you notice any damage get it inspected by a professional. Check the valves on your tyres to make sure they aren’t warped or damaged.
