admin Tyres are one of the most important parts of your vehicle. That fact that they are the only contact points between your vehicle and the road makes them an extremely important factor when it comes to safety, fuel consumption and general performance. Weather you run on budget tyres or some of the high-end brands, you need to check them regularly and have maintenance works carried out on them. This does not only improve safety, but also increases their lifespan saving you money in the long run.
Some of the tyre maintenance works include;Wheel Balancing: This ensures your tyres and wheels are properly balanced and spin with all weights distributed equally. When your tyres are unbalanced, they wobble at high speeds and wear out much faster forcing you to replace them more frequently.
Wheel Alignment: Aligning your wheels ensures that they all point in the best direction in respect to the road and each other. This also increases tread life by reducing uneven tyre wear.
Rotation: regularly rotating your car’s tyres also helps achieve a uniform tyre wear. Unless specified in your car owner’s manual, this should be carried out every 12,000 km. Here is a list of some of the most crucial parts of a car’s tyre. These parts require most attention.
The Contact Patch
This is the area along the tread that is always instantaneously in contact with the road. Although It is very small area, it carries the entire weight of the vehicle and responds to the driver’s inputs such as acceleration, steering and braking. It is also the part responsible for absorbing any obstacles along the road surface. The health of the contact patch therefore has huge effects on a vehicles safety and fuel economy.
Tread Wear and Groove Depth
You can tell the health of a tyre’s tread by how deep the grooves are. Worn out tread can cause a great reduction in traction and grip making your car harder to control. Grooves in the tread help disperse water from the tyres improving grip on damp and muddy surfaces. It is advisable to change tyres before groove depth drops below 1.6mm. Some budget tyres even have tread wear indicators to help you tell when it is time to buy new ones.
Tyre Pressure
All tyres sizes have a recommended tyre pressure. Under inflated tyres negatively affect highway performance and fuel efficiency, over inflating them on the other hand damages their internal construction. Check pressure every month as pressure tends to drop as a result of natural air escape through perforations in the tyres, components or low ambient temperatures. The best time to check tyre pressure is when the tyres are still cold. Always check pressure before a long journey. Any information you need on your car’s tyres is usually found on the vehicle’s user manual, the label found in your car’s door frame or on the inside of the fuel flap.
The tyre pressure indicated on the tire is usually the maximum tyre pressure and NOT the recommended pressure. Do not take chances with your car’s tyres. If you are not too sure about the health of your tyres, visit a tyre centre and have a professional have a look at them