Maintaining your car’s tyres in optimal condition is vital for complying with Australian standards and ensuring road safety. Driving a vehicle with tyres that fail to meet roadworthy criteria violates the law and exposes you to significant risks. Regular tyre maintenance enhances driving safety, performance, and longevity, translating into cost savings over time. It would be best to give prominence to regular tyre upkeep to extend your vehicle’s roadworthiness and prioritise safety during your trips.
This blog will uncover the best practices for maintaining your car tyres in top condition, helping you cruise on roads securely on every ride.
1. Regularly Check Your Car tyres for Damage and Strange Wear
It’s a clever initiative to regularly look at your car tyres to find any signs of strange wear or damage. During this check, carefully look for cuts, bulges, or anything that might have punctured the tyre. If you need more clarification, it’s best to ask a professional mechanic for help and fix any needed repairs quickly. If you get a flat tyre while driving, replace it with a spare tyre. But remember, spare tyres are meant for temporary use only, so you must replace them with a regular tyre as soon as possible.
2. Keep Your Vehicle’s Tyre Pressure in Check
It’s essential to ensure your car’s tyres have the proper air. If the tyres have less or too much air, your vehicle will use more fuel and cost you extra money. Therefore, having the appropriate air in your car tyres is vital to help prevent damage and reasonably control your car while driving. It’s a good practice to check your car’s tyre pressure once a month. And if you’re gearing up for a long trip, check your car’s tyre pressure before you start.
3. Wheel Alignment is Crucial
Maintaining proper wheel alignment is crucial for efficient and safe driving, car handling, and preventing premature tyre wear and tear. Ensure that your car’s wheel alignment is accurate and that you carry out regular checks by a wheel alignment specialist, particularly after extended high-speed journeys or encounters with potholes and uneven road surfaces. This proactive approach enhances driving safety and performance and extends the lifespan of your vehicle’s tyres, ultimately saving you money on replacements in the long term.
4. Refrain from Overloading Your Car
Never load too much stuff in your car to keep your vehicle working well and keep everyone inside safe. Overloading your car isn’t suitable for your car’s tyres, making driving unsafe. Putting too much weight on your vehicle is one of the main reasons’ tyres wear out too fast, making it harder to control the car. Tyre makers put a load index on tyres to reveal how much weight they can handle. Knowing this limit is imperative to keep your vehicle safe and drive it properly.
5. Monitor Your Car’s Tyre’s Tread Depth
It’s crucial to regularly check your car’s tyre’s tread depth to keep them in optimal working condition. Tyre makers place little indicators that show when your tyres are wearing out. When the tread depth falls to 1.6mm, getting new tyres is best. Good tread helps water go away when roads are wet, which makes driving safer. Occasionally, checking your vehicle’s tread depth and ensuring it’s perfect helps keep everyone safe.
6. Occasional Tyre Rotation for Consistent Tread Wear
Regular tyre rotation at specified intervals is recommended to promote even tread wear across all wheel positions, thereby maximising the longevity of your car tyres. Before performing the tyre rotation, it’s imperative to conduct a complete inspection of wheel alignment, balancing, and suspension to address any underlying issues and ensure optimal performance and safety on the road. It enhances the overall driving experience and vehicle handling and extends the life of your car tyres.
7. Drive Responsibly & Increase the Longevity of Your Car Tyres
The way you drive affects how long your tyres last. It’s imperative to drive carefully to take good care of your car and tyres. Avoid sudden braking, speeding, and frequent stopping and starting, as these things can make your car tyres wear out faster.
Good driving habits also include:
- Not driving too fast.
- Driving cautiously on bumpy roads.
- Avoiding big holes.
- Driving carefully over speed bumps.
Buying the right tyres isn’t enough; you must also take care of them to ensure they keep you safe and last a long time.
These tyre maintenance tips will help you keep your vehicle tyres in excellent shape, ensuring safer and more enjoyable rides on the road.