With our busy life styles, rushing around, shuttling kids from activity to activity it can be easy to neglect basic maintenance on your vehicle. The condition of your tyres would be the most important thing in keeping yourself and your family safe on our roads. In todays vehicles with all the new technology and safety upgrades, a set of worn out tyres means all this technology becomes trivial and your performance and expectations on your car drastically changes. Tyres are the easiest things to monitor and maintain and by far are the most important thing between the road and your family. We have listed tips on tyre safety that are easy to follow to ensure your family’s safety whenever you are on the road.
Our number one tyre safety tip is to regularly check the tread on your tyre. Tread that’s worn down or unevenly worn won’t grip the road, making braking and turning inefficient, especially in wet conditions.
Try to make it a habit to check your tyres every time you fill up for fuel or when it gets a wash.
Where should you check you may ask? Look for an area that appears the lowest. Checking several spots is a good idea too. All tyres have wear indictors or bars that indicate how much tread you have left before they become illegal and unsafe. Checking your tread only takes a few moments but it can save you in the hip pocket by identifying problems with your car and it could save you and your families life.
Look for cracks or cuts, especially in the sidewall of the tyre. These could signal a future leak or blow-out. If the wheels and tyres appear to be tilted and not upright, your wheels could be misaligned or have suspension problems. Also keep an eye out for abnormal bulges in the sidewall. This may indicate a structural issue with the tyre which could lead to a blowout and loosing control of your car, which usually doesn't end well.
Maintaining tyre ideal pressure will keep you safe on the road and help your tyres last longer. Always know your tyre pressures which can be found on the tyre placard on your vehicle. For an accurate reading, always check pressure when your tyres are cold or get to your local tyre store for a accurate test and check, don’t forget to check the spare tyre. Tyres that are under inflated are just as bad as having bald tyres or suspension problems with your vehicle. The performance and driving characteristics will change and in a emergency situation it could make you loose control and again this usually doesn't end well.
Just a 1 or 2% difference in pressure changes the way the car handles and the faster you go the more dramatic it is, so be careful. Most modern cars are equip with TPMS (Tyre Pressure Monitoring Systems). This system detects pressure changes and make you aware of a possible issue with your tyre before its too late, so respond immediately.
Rotating your tyres can save you in the long term, you will get more kilometres out of your set of tyres, which are not cheap these days, most people use this time to inspect wheels alignments, suspension components and air pressures at a Tyre Dealer. Some Vehicles wear tyres faster than others so its very important to rotate your tyres for even tyre wear.