Cars these days are built far better than they were 30 years ago. Throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s it was all too likely that you would leave for work in the morning only to be thwarted by a flat battery. Having a car that would get you from A to B without incident could never be taken for granted. Over the last 20 years, however, the automotive industry has spent incalculable billions on perfecting their products, and these days breakdowns are very much a relative rarity.
Arguably this has made us all complacent; we now expect our cars to work all the time, every day. We know that if we let a car run 1000-2000km over its suggested service time, it’s not the end of the world. But be warned, complacency can have drastic consequences.
While your car may always start and travel thousands of kilometers without skipping a beat, your tyres are still going to be losing life with every revolution.
A lot of people underestimate the importance of tyres, and believe that so long as one isn’t totally flat, that they will be fine; this is not always so.
Now that the hot UAE summer is fast approaching, your tyres are going to be put through a tremendous amount of stress, and unless you check them regularly, you risk a blow-out, which on the motorway could be catastrophic. Not only will worn tyres offer less grip and longer braking distances, but they will affect your cars handling and performance. This though, is merely the tip of the iceberg.
The most important factor about tyres is, of course, buying the right ones. You should never just buy the cheapest tyres you find, always stretch your budget and get the best that you can afford, making sure that they are the right size for your car, and ideally made by a reputable manufacturer. Never buy second hand tyres!
Generally, the depth of the tread on new tyres (for a normal road-going car) will roughly be between 10mm and 20mm. Tyres obviously wear faster in hotter temperatures and you should never let the depth of the tread wear lower than 2mm, at this point they become effectively useless and dangerous. But even before they reach this level, you should always check for potential faults.
Look for dry cracks, particularly in the grooves between the tread patterns and around the walls of the tyres. If there are many visible cracks, it’s time to change them!
You should also check your tyre pressures every week, which will only take a minute. Consult your car’s user manual for correct pressure settings, but a general rule of thumb is 30PSI for small to medium cars, and closer to 40PSI to large cars and SUV’s. Don’t forget to check the spare tyre, too! If you’re carrying a heavy load, even a car full of people, then you should increase the tyre pressures by about 5PSI. You can buy small tyre pressure gauges from most hardware shops in the UAE, so it’s always handy to keep one in the glove box.
So to recap on the major points to help maintain your tyres:
Buy the best that you can afford
Don’t buy second-hand tyres
Never let the tread wear below 2mm
Check for cracks in the grooves and along the walls
Add pressure if carrying heavy loads
Check tyre pressures weekly
Make sure the spare is always inflated and in good condition
If you happen to notice that the tread on one or all of your tyres is not wearing evenly, for example perhaps the inner part is wearing down faster than the rest; you should get your wheel tracking alignment checked at a professional tyre centre. This too can cause performance and safety issues.
Remember, just because your car may be mechanically perfect, that doesn’t mean that your tyres are too. Check them regularly!
Martin Fullard