A Few Tips For Proper Maintenance of Tyres
Published On 05-Mar-2020
Paying attention to the appropriate maintenance can determine the life of your car tyre. Read on to find out pro tips.
Unsafe tyres can affect everything from handling to stability, grip and steering, and the only way to ensure that all boxes tick right is to properly maintain them. It must be a priority of every responsible driver to adopt possible safety standards. Abiding by regular maintenance will also help save your hard-earned money, as buying tyres frequently can be an expensive affair.
So, without any further ado, let’s get into the essential maintenance tips for getting ideal performance from your car tyres and enhancing their lifespan.
Drive smoothly and avoid potholes
This is the easiest way to maintain your car tyre. We all know how ‘perfect’ the road conditions are there in this country. So, we have to be extra careful as imperfect roads filled with potholes and bumps can severely damage the integrity of your tyre. It’s tough to avoid potholes completely, but you should at least try to drive slowly and evade them as much as possible.
Stick to the Rotation policy
Timely rotation of tyres ensures uniform wear across all four tyres and improves the overall lifespan. Ignore this important aspect, and you will lose the integrity of not one but all the four tyres of your car. Tyre rotation is typically performed in between 6000-8000 kms. In this process, the front tyres are swapped by rear tyres and done typically for the same size, and those with a non-directional tread design.
Appropriate tyre rotation ensures not only enhanced lifespan but also return better fuel economy, and improve the overall performance of the car be it handling, stability, braking or grip.
Keep Correct Tyre Pressure
In the busy life of today, many people neglect this important aspect. Keeping adequate tyre pressure is extremely crucial from not only performance and durability point of view, but also, underinflated tyres can be dangerous for the driver and the passengers. Tyre blowouts, reduction in fuel efficiency, early tyre wear, and uncomfortable ride quality are some of the drawbacks of incorrect inflation.
Therefore, make it a habit of examining the tyre pressure every 2-4 weeks. Even if you are driving under ideal weather conditions, the tyres are bound to lose 1PSI of pressure every month. The rate will increase according to the rise in temperature. Check your car’s user manual for the correct tyre pressure or on the tyre’s sidewall.
Wheel Alignment and balancing
This car practice is a part of the regular service maintenance and is typically performed at the car service or repair centre. Wheel alignment is the adjustment of the front and rear wheel suspensions. It corrects the faulty angles after your car has hit the potholes, bumps or met with an accident. It helps in correct steering and prevents vibrations during the drive.
On the other hand, wheel balancing sets the perfect balance between the tyre and the rim for equal weight distribution so that they travel uniformly at high speeds. Failing to keep the right balance can result in incorrect wheel spin and uneven tyre wear. There is no definite timeline for wheel alignment and balancing, it depends on several factors such as daily commuting, road conditions and the quality of the tyres. But in typical driving conditions, wheel alignment and balancing must be done at least once in six months.
Regularly check the tyre wear
Almost every tyre comes with a tread indicator that shows how much depth is remaining between the grooves. Appropriate tread depth ensures comfortable ride quality and safety, especially during the rainy seasons, as it disperses water from beneath and maintains proper traction. Typically, one should buy a new tyre before the tread wear reaches 1.6mm. Once it goes beyond this range, the tyre is no longer safe to drive, particularly, when the journey is long, and on highways that require more traction.
Simultaneously, you should also check the tyre’s age even if you drive less frequently and the tread depth seems to be in decent shape. If the tyre is more than five years old, it must be replaced without delay.
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Always drive the car with the specified tyre speed limit
Every tyre has a speed limit set by its manufacturer as different vehicles demand different speeds. If you follow the speed limit as set by the tyre’s manufacturer, you can prevent premature tyre wear.
Apart from the above-mentioned tips, regular visual inspection for air leaks, cuts, cracks, and bulges will save you from getting stranded in the middle of the road. Also, do not buy low profile tyres as smaller sidewalls will fail to offer adequate grip and absorb shocks from the roads.
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