How Does Tyre Pressure Affect The Handling Of The Vehicle
Published On 16-Jan-2020
The handling of the car pretty much depends on the tyre pressure. Even a drop of single psi can lead to a massive change in the handling of the car, especially on wet roads. Most of the drivers understand that tyre load capacity is defined by inflation pressure and tyre size. Higher inflation pressures and larger tyres produce more load capacity, while lower tyre pressures and smaller tyres provide less. A precisely inflated tyre acquires proper support from the contained air pressure to produce an even spread of load across the footprint. Whereas, an under-inflated tyre will lead to wear the shoulder areas of the tread quicker than the centre. This happens because there is inadequate air pressure to support the centre of the tread to hold its fair portion of the weight.
The tyres effortlessly push air around and through the tread designs as they roll. Moreover, when the tyres come in contact with the wet roads during rainstorms, the tyre treads, vehicle’s speed, weight and tread dept determines if the tyres will be forced to hydroplane. An accurately inflated tyre will have sufficient pressure in the centre of its tread to avoid collapsing. While driving at the end of a tyre's ability in wet conditions is dangerous, the car with the correctly inflated tyres will provide predictable handling. Driving the vehicle with the under-inflated rear tyres confirms to be much more challenging to drive and will force the driver to slow down to gain control over the wheels.
While tyre makers can design tyres with excellent hydroplaning resistance and wet traction, the inadequate maintenance of tyre inflation pressures will make a good tyre awful. You should always adjust your tyre pressures as shown on the vehicle tyre placard or in the user’s manual. You should examine your inflation pressures at least once a month and before any highway trips to avoid troubles. Wet roads can make your car hydroplane, which makes the tyres move quickly across the wet road. This will lead to loss of traction because the water will reduce the friction between the tyres and the roads. If such a thing happens, you should never brake hard. You should slowly take your foot off the gas pedal until your steering returns to a normal state.
Inaccurate tyre pressure not only affects the handling but also leads to many other unfavourable conditions such as excess wear of tyre in a severe central zone. It can also lead to the damage of the tyre sidewalls , which can cause bursting of tyres. It is prescribed to keep equal tyre pressure on both sides i.e. on rear and front but it is also created according to load distribution. Over inflating the tyres can also be troublesome. tyres that are too full will not be able to deviate as much, which will make them less adaptable when they confront obstacles like potholes on the road.