Tips For Looking After Your Car's Tyres
If you don't pay attention to your car's tyres, then you are storing up trouble. Tyres which are not properly maintained could land you in trouble with the police if they are found to be unroadworthy. In fact, even tyres which are legal to drive on may be in a sufficiently bad state that they become dangerous in certain situations. You might find it harder to stop fully when braking, for example. Poorly maintained tyres also often mean that it is harder to swerve around a hazard in the road at short notice.
Follow these tips to make sure you keep your tyres running as long as possible whilst remaining safe behind the wheel.
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Wheel Alignment
If your tyre alignment is out of kilter, then the left side and right side of your car pull in slightly differing directions. Under such circumstances, additional friction on the road surface is generated for every rotation of your wheels. This means tyre wear becomes more rapid, usually in a band around one or more tyres' surfaces. Thankfully, tyre alignment services can straighten them out in minutes, and this saves you money from prematurely ageing tyres.
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Correct Inflation
If you don't pump your tyres up properly, then you generate greater rolling resistance on the road. What this means is that your engine has to work a little harder to accelerate and maintain speed. In the end, you notice this by filling up with fuel more often as your economy rate drops off. What's worse is that partially flattened tyres skew to one side when you corner, which means your car is less agile and more liable to spin out if you corner at high speed. Equally, overly inflated tyres are more susceptible to blowouts if you connect with any debris on the road.
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Side Bulging
Tyres can bugle anywhere. However, the way they are put together from rubber compounds means that they tend to split – and then bulge out from the air within – on their sidewalls. Inspect the inner and outer sidewall of each tyre to check for this. Just exposure to something as commonplace as the sun's rays may degrade rubber which forces them to break up in this manner. Bulging tyres can be dangerous, so exchange them for new ones without delay. To avoid the problem from occurring in the first place, a good idea is to park in a shaded spot or to keep your car in the garage during the day.
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