How To Prolong The Life Of Your Tyres

Having a tyre unexpectedly fail on you can be a nasty shock, not to mention extremely dangerous. It is a problem which most motorists are forced to face at some point during their lives, but for the most part it is completely avoidable. Here's a look at two of the best practices you can follow in order to keep your tyres in good condition for as long as possible:

Keep Your Tyres Properly Inflated

Your tyres will naturally lose air at a fairly steady rate, just through normal use. This is bad for a number of reasons but can easily be remedied -- you just need to check the air-pressure of your tyres and inflate them back to the optimal level on a regular basis.

It is often recommended that you should check the air-pressure of your tyres at least once a month, being sure to take the reading only when your tyres are cold. The air inside your tyres expands through friction, meaning that even a short drive is enough to give you a false reading when checking tyre pressure.

The reasons why it is important to regularly test tyre air-pressure and keep tyres properly inflated include:

  • Under-inflated tyres result in greater friction and resistance between the tyre and the road, thereby increasing the speed at which the tread of the tyre deteriorates, and also increasing your car's fuel consumption.
  • Over-inflated tyres are stiff and unyielding, meaning that they are much more susceptible to being punctured or otherwise damaged by obstacles in the road (such as potholes). This also means that riding in a car with over-inflated tyres will feel bumpier and less comfortable.

Keep Your Tyres Properly Aligned

Wheel alignment is something which mechanics and auto-service personnel are able to check using state-of-the-art laser equipment barely conceivable to the average car owner. There's good reason why they take the job so seriously. Improper alignment of a wheel is liable to cause a whole host of problems, ranging from damaging your steering system to causing the tread of your tyres to deteriorate at a rapid rate.

Luckily there are less high tech ways available to the average car-owner to check for tyre misalignment. The simplest of these is to stand in front of the car (if checking the front wheels) or behind it (if checking the rear ones) and look for "camber", which is the tilt of the tyre either towards the car or away from it.

If the tyre tilts away from the car, the outside of the tread will deteriorate at an uneven and accelerated rate. If the tyre tilts towards the car, the inside of the tread will likewise deteriorate prematurely. Get your car down to the garage as soon as you notice this issue. For more information, contact a tyre specialist, such as O'Neills Tyres.


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