Your tires are the only point of contact between your car and the road. It can be easy to forget that sometimes. And getting around to changing your tires, checking the tread, or even making sure they’re properly inflated can fall by the wayside a lot of the time. Because it can be all too easy for you to overlook the importance of your tires.
And overlooking this can lead to some huge problems for you, your car, and other road users. With this in mind, let’s look at some mistakes you might be making with your tires that you need to correct asap.
Driving on Worn Treads
This is really important, the lower the tread of your tires, the less grip you’ll have on the road and the more likely you’ll be to have an accident or not be able to stop when driving at speed or in adverse weather conditions. The legal minimum tread is 2/32 inch. You can use a penny to check this. Put the penny into the tread with Lincoln’s head pointing down. If you can see the top of Lincoln’s head, the tread is worn too low, and you need to replace your tires. Finding an expert tire shop can help you get the right tires, so you don’t have to worry about being pulled over for this or causing an accident due to driving on tires with no tread.
Ignoring Tire Pressure
Underinflated tires are one of the leading causes of blowouts on the road. Most drivers don’t even realize they’re driving on over- or under-inflated tires until something happens.
Low tire pressure increases rolling resistance, not to mention impacts fuel economy, while tyres that are overinflated cause the tire to bubble, reducing your grip on the road, and it feels harder to drive. Both give you a higher chance of a blowout. Know your tire’s ideal pressure for the car and the weight you’re carrying frequently, and check them on a regular basis so you’re not risking road safety.
Mixing Tyre Types
This is directly related to mixing tires for different seasons. You can purchase all-weather tires or summer or winter tires. All have different qualities. But you need to make sure all four tires are the same, ideally the same brand, or, where possible, let them give you consistency. If you change one tire to winter tires, then all need changing, etc. If you don’t, it will impact how the car handles, and it can make it unpredictable in a variety of circumstances, such as making an emergency stop or driving on roads in adverse weather conditions.
Not Rotating Your Tires
Front and rear tires wear at different rates depending on whether your car is front, rear, or All Wheel Drive. You need to be rotating your tires every 5000 to 7000 miles to even out the wear, and this will significantly extend the lifespan of the tires and ensure your car is safer to drive when you hit the road. It’s one of the easiest and cheapest forms of car maintenance you can perform.
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