Everything You Need to Know About Tyre Maintenance

Carrying the weight of your car and taking the brunt of the road during travelling – your tyres are an essential part of every car. They are important in providing traction, braking and absorbing impact with obstacles, so it is important we take good care of them.

Neglecting your tyres can lead to an increased chance of a dangerous accident occurring as old, and badly maintained tyres lead to low grip, especially on a wet road.

Ways to maintain your tyres:

Keep Them Well Inflated

Irregular wear occurs if your tyres are over or under-inflated. Proper inflation is vitally important for driving safety; over-inflating will cause wear around the centre and can lead to blowouts, whilst under-inflating will cause tyres to wear at the shoulders and stress the carcass, causing side rupturing and tread separation.

Alignment and Rotation

The tyres position in relation to the car will determine how quickly it wears. Front tyres wear around the shoulders faster because of turns whilst rear tyres wear around the centre. Knowing about the proper rotation cycle order will have your tyres wearing at a balanced rate.

Check Tyre Wear

Your tyre tread is important for providing essential grip, ensuring you maintain control of your vehicle, even on wet surfaces. Checking the tread is a quick and easy safety check that you can perform without specialised tools. Treadwear indicators on main tread grooves at 1.6mm make it easy to see by eye if any tread wear is evident.

Valves and Caps

Although they are such a small part of the tyre, the caps and valves are also essential parts of the tyre. As the valves are made from rubber they are prone to tearing and cracking, check them regularly to ensure their integrity is intact. Never drive before ensuring that tyre caps are tightly fitted to avoid unnoticeable leaks which can lead to under-inflation.