When you think about it there are only four things that separate your car from the road, and that is your tyres yet alarmingly in a survey conducted in North America that was recently taken most people don’t know how to maintain their tyres let alone know what to do in case of an emergency. The same can be said for many Pakistani auto consumers as well.
Watch: PakWheels Video Tutorial: How To Change Your Car Tyres Safely
According to the Michelin’s tyres survey carried out in North America for National Tyre Safety Week only 12% of Americans have had formal tyre education. When quizzed how to check tyre pressure more than one-third, 36% of respondents said they check your tyre pressure by merely looking to see if the tyres looked flat. While 6% said, they kick them to see if they were soft. Proper tyre inflation is necessary for the longevity and performance of a tyre. Also keeping your tyre pressure at the recommended level can boost fuel efficiency by half a kilometer per liter. The US Department of Transportation estimated 18.9 million liters of fuel per day are wasted due to low tyre pressure. Also, it was reported a couple of months ago that Rs400 billion worth of fuel is wasted in traffic jams annually in Karachi city only. Combine all the factors and wastage goes through the roof.
RELATED: PKR 400 Billion Worth Of Fuel Gets Wasted Annually In Karachi Due To Traffic Jams
We should properly check all four tyres once a month and before a long trip. Do not inflate tyres to the maximum tyre pressure which is the number that’s molded on the sidewall. The optimum tyre pressure for your vehicle is inside the driver’s door, inside the glove box or in the owner’s manual.
Rotate tyres regularly. Regular rotation helps to extend the life of your tyres saving time and money in the long run. Tyres should be rotated every ten to thirteen thousand kilometers, and if you have a full-size spare tyre, it should be included into in the rotation.
Keep proper vehicle alignment. Alignment generally refers to the adjustment of the vehicle’s front and rear suspension parts. Proper alignment helps ensure that vehicles are handling properly, and you get better fuel economy and life of your tyres.
Almost everywhere in the world, the legal limit of minimum tyre tread depth is same. In the US, the minimum legal tread depth is 2/32 of an inch. Whereas in Europe, its 2mm or less. A new tyre has tread depth of 8mm or 8/32 of an inch. The simplest way to find the depth of the tread on your tyre is to use a Rs5 coin. Place the coin with the bottom of crescent facing down into the shallowest groove. For more details about measuring tread depth with this method, visit the blog mentioned below.
Follow This Simple Coin Test To See If You Need To Replace Your Car Tyres
Tyres account for nearly 20% of the energy consumed to move your car forward. So finding a quality brand car tyres is crucial not just to get best fuel efficiency but the tyre’s longevity as well. Find a tyre with less rolling resistance to achieve maximum mileage per liter.
We hope this has helped you. Stay tuned for information.
Rotation is a joke for people. You can routinely see ads for cars “50000 driven, spare wheel never used”. I would call these people and ask them, did you read in the owner’s manual that you have to include spare wheel in the rotation?
To which they would ask, what rotation? And more importantly they would ask, what owner’s handbook?
To which I would smirk a little and say, you also wrote, immaculately maintained! How do you know whether you maintained immaculately or not when you don’t even know what is the owner’s manual?
When does one change the car tires?? I have a bridge stone tire on my city since 2007 and it is working fine, front i changed with dunlop 4 to 5 yrs ago which are ok, but loose traction occasionally when the road is wet or has moisture on it.
Ever seen a rubber band after you forgot it somewhere for a few weeks? It converts into a slimy mush.
Tyre is also rubber, and wears out whether being used or not. Once the rubber dries out and hardens, it develops microcracks most visible near the bead and on the sidewall. At that time it will lose grip, become susceptible to burst and bead separation types of failures.
Usually a tyre has a useful life of 7 years starting from the date of manufacture. If the tyre has been in a godown for 3 years when you bought it, its remaining useful life is only 4 years. If it has been for 7 or even 10 years in godowns, you are buying death.
Regardless of much tread is remaining, tyre life is dependent on its age, not wear level.