The importance of tyres…

Tyres give you the grip you need – through corners, under braking, under acceleration, everywhere.

But they will only put up with a certain amount of wear and tear before they get tired (no pun intended) and emotional.

Look after your tyres!
If you mistreat them with actions like going sideways everywhere, not letting them cool down properly, or just hammering around a circuit for lap after lap, that’s when they will give up.

Check out the handy hints below to ensure your wheels have happy healthy tyres.

Basic legal requirements

Tyres must be compatible with others on the car and generally in good physical condition.
Tyres must be correctly inflated to the vehicle manufacturer’s recommended pressure.
Tread depth must be above the legal minimum which for passenger cars is 1.6mm throughout a continuous band in the centre 3/4 of the tread and around the entire circumference.

Tyre Problems

The main problems are incorrect tyre pressure and wheel alignment.
Air pressure needs to be checked, even on recently fitted tyres and don’t assume that when you’ve had your alignment checked, that it will be correct.
Keep an eye on your tyre wear.

Driving habits have an impact on your tyre wear.
High speed driving can overheat tyres and resulting in degradation of the rubber, resulting in the breakdown of the tyre.
Your car should be fitted with tyres with speed ratings above the maximum speed of the car itself.
The heat build-up usually only occurs when the tyre is under-inflated.
High speed driving alone is not usually the sole reason for tyre failure, or our motorways would be littered with cars needing tyres replaced.
The heavy footed, hard cornering driver, both on the accelerator and brake is likely to see higher tyre wear.

Harsh braking wears down tread quicker, and it can lead to unsafe flat spots.

Inflation is a key to keeping tyres in a good and safe condition. The air in the tyres warms up very quickly, when the tyre starts rolling it generates some heat, heating up the air in the tyre, which expands thus creating a higher air pressure. Use a compressor running from the car cigarette lighter will allow you to check and adjust your tyres from cold.

Tyre pressures should always be checked at cold before you move the car.
Too low a pressure can result in uneven wear on the shoulders (edges) of the tyre. It makes the suspension feel softer, and can make the car’s handling sluggish and slow to react to steering input.
Too high a pressure results in uneven, excessive wear around the centre (middle) of the tread. With less contact on the road it makes wheelspin and skidding more likely.
The car will have very light steering, it will probably be over-responsive to steering input and have a propensity to slide or skid.
If towing, or running a heavily laden vehicle it may be a required to inflate tyres to a higher pressure – see your vehicle owners’ handbook for details.

Balancing your wheels is important for several reasons.
Front unbalanced wheels may be felt as a vibration through the steering at some or all speeds. It can increase noise levels and make the car uncomfortable to drive. Unbalanced wheels can have a short and long term damaging effect on the components of steering, suspension and running parts of the car due to the excessive vibrations.
Be wary of any detrimental changes to your car’s “feel”, it may need the wheels re-balancing.

Punctures can sometimes be avoided by removing objects just stuck in the tyre. Be aware however, you may be able to drive to a tyre depot with a nail in the tyre. This is because radial tyres have a soft liner that seals around small penetrations to prevent sudden air loss. This minimises the risk of sudden loss of pressure at high speed, this allows a ‘get to safety‘ opportunity that would otherwise have been unavailable.
If you remove a screw or nail, the tyre will deflate quickly and you will need a roadside tyre change – not always the best place to do the job.

Your tyres are one of the most important components of the car.
Keeping an eye on them can minimise risk and potential injury.

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