Car Maintenance VI _ Tyre Maintenance

A slight imbalance on the tires and wheels can cause your vehicle handling problems. If you want to drive safely, then you must prioritise the health of your tires and wheels through the following steps;

A Toyota Corolla Saloon Car, a popular choice for Nigerians

Check Tire Pressures

Most tire-related accidents are caused by under-inflated tires. Not only does it diminish the gas mileage and handling, but an under-inflated tire can trigger a dangerous blowout (tyre burst in street lingo). Don’t wait for the tyre guy to check your tire pressure once in a blue moon but you should do it yourself every month. As per the norm, the owner’s manual, or the placard on the driver's door frame will tell you the appropriate pressure for your tires.

Don’t forget, over-inflated tires can be a problem too.

Checking tyre pressures

Check Tread Depth
Do you see those imprinted patterns on the tires that leave marks on the ground when you drive on dry soil or mud? They’re known as tire treads and they play a big role whenever you want to drive in all weather conditions (help to maintain grip). Suffice to say, always make sure you check the depth of the tread before you drive that car.

Tyre thread comparison between two tyres

Inspect Tires Regularly
Unlike that short trip to the mall, the tires are more strained during a long road trip. A small crack, bulge or stuck object on the tire can cause a lot of trouble when you travel halfway across the state or country. Just pray that stuck glass or metal on your tire doesn’t set off a deflated tire on the highway. Well, you don’t have to leave your safety to chance but you can always inspect your tires regularly.

Rotate Tires And Have The Alignment Checked
Make sure you check the owner’s manual to know when you should rotate and align your tires. Most manuals suggest tire rotation and alignment after 5,000 miles (8000 kilometres) to 8,000 miles(12,000 kilometres). The perks? It keeps your fuel economy in check. Also, the procedure is fairly cheap.

Suggested tyre rotation patterns

Don’t Overload Your Vehicle
One of the worst mistakes you can do is to overload your vehicle. If it doesn’t cause a vehicle imbalance, it will trigger a tire breakdown. To check how much weight your vehicle can support, refer to the owner’s manual or the placard on the door frame.

Don’t Install Mismatched Tires
Admit it, you’ve probably thought about fixing mismatched tires on your car, fixed mismatched tyres or maybe it was your subconscious mind. The problem with installing mismatched tires is that it can upset the handling of your car and even trigger a spin out. In fact, a misfit tire can cause the other tires to wear out at an unusual alarming high rate and force you to buy a new set of tires a few weeks later.
In 4WD systems, it is important to that both tyres on a axle have the same thread pattern. Modern 4WD systems use torque vectoring, braking etc to control the speeds of each wheel. Incorrect trades could lead to different speeds and the subsequent wear of systems.

Check Your Spare Tire
Just because you’re certain there is a spare tire in your trunk, doesn’t mean it will be useful when push comes to shove. Do you check its air pressure once in a while? Have you confirmed it won’t mismatch when you install it? The last thing you want is wasting money on a tow truck or being stuck without a spare tyre in the middle of nowhere because you forgot the check the condition of your spare tire.

A spare tyre

Cheers!!!
Drive safely!!!

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