Ensuring your tyres are maintained properly

Tyre Safety

With tyres, the tread area making contact with the road is relatively small in comparison to the size and weight of the vehicle. Therefore, if tyres are worn or damaged it can seriously affect a vehicles safety and handling. Your tyres must also comply with legal requirements, or your could face a fine levied per tyres and points on your license.

Important regular checks of tyre tread depth, general condition and tyre pressure should be undertaken. This will make sure your vehicle is safe to be used on roads.

Tread depth must be at least the legal minimum of 1.6mm throughout a continuous strip in the centre three quarters of the tread and around the entire tyre circumference.

Tyres must be inflated according to the manufacturer’s published specification, normally outlined in the owners manual. Over-inflated tyres can cause excess wear on tyres. Under-inflated tyres result in increased fuel consumption and faster wear of the tread.

Tyres will also need to be checked for signs of bumps, bulges or cuts which could cause a blow out when driving.Uneven Tread Wear

Maintenance

Sometimes tyres need to be replaced before they are fully worn because of rapid or uneven tread wear. This can be caused by a variety of reasons such as

• Under-Inflation that causes faster wear along the edges of the tread.
• Over-Inflating that leads to faster wear along the centre of the tread.
• Faulty brakes or shock absorbers that can lead to flat spots around the tread of the tyre.
• Wheel alignment or tracking not correct leads to over-wear along the inside or outside edges of front tyres.

Hitting a kerb or pot hole can cause this

Tyre Damage

Be vigilant for cuts, splits, breaks and abrasions on the surface or wall of tyres. Ensure that the inner walls on the inside of vehicle are checksed. Also be wary of foreign objects such as nails, glass etc. on the tyres that can lead to further damage. If you have any doubts or are unsure then contact Alastair Reid Garages for advice.

Wheel Balancing

To ensure the tread in in contact with the road and wears evenly then the wheel should be correctly balanced. Incorrect balance can lead to vibration through the steering wheel, or even steering and braking problems. Incorrect wheel balance is easily corrected, bring your vehicle along to Alastair Reid Garages for balancing.