Driving habits and tyre care are largely responsible for the state of your tyres. Every car has parts

that need to be replaced constantly and the cost of replacing tyres, is more than all these parts.

Proper tyre care can substantially prolong their average life apart from allowing you to enjoy more

comfortable and safe motoring. To take care of your tyres some basic checks should be followed

upon:

One of the most common and important checks is inflation pressure. Always maintain correct

inflation pressure in your tyres. To ensure this get the inflation pressure checked on cold tyres every

few days. Maintaining correct air pressure keeps the tyre healthy and increase the life of tyre.

Under-inflation

When a tyre is under-inflated, the sidewalls flex more, creating a build-up of heat

Heat can destroy a tyre from the inside out, causing the tyre to literally come apart

Over Inflation

Over inflation reduces the ability of the tyre to absorb road shocks resulting in a much harsher

ride

Excessive over inflation may lead to impact fracture or other casing failures

Over inflation will also cause excessive wear of the centre of the tyre. It also results in smaller

footprints and less grip

Wheel Alignment

should be done once a year or at 20000 Kms whichever is earlier. Properly aligned wheels will roll

smoothly, eliminate the dangers of dragging and reduce steering effort. This ensures better driving

safety and an even wear of tyres.

When should the alignment be done?

Tyre wear is irregular

Tyre wear is excessive

Car steers hard or keeps pulling to one side

Front suspension or steering linkage components are replaced

Car has suffered a front end collision

Either wheel has an exaggerated tilt

Front tyres are rotated or replaced

Proper mounting

For the proper mounting of tyres and wheels, be sure to observe some basic precautions:

Mounting and balancing should be done by a professional,

using equipment designed for the job

Both tyre beads are securely mounted

The wheel is not bent or damaged

There is no build-up of dirt between the hub and the wheel

All of the lugs have been properly torque

The wheel is securely seated on the hub

Wheel Alignment

Causes vibration, resulting in driver fatigue, premature tyre wear and unnecessary wear to your

vehicle's suspension

Adversely affect ride quality

Shorten the life of your tyres, bearings, shocks and other suspension components

A good way of maintaining a uniform tread wear is by rotating the tyres at regular intervals.

Rotation means interchanging the wheels from front to back and vice versa so that all tyres have a

uniform wear rate. Tyre at front and rear wheel have different wear rates and different type of

wear. Tyres are recommended to be rotated every 5000 Kms.

Advantages of rotating tyres at recommended intervals:

Rotation can preserve balanced handling and traction of the tyres

Helps even out wear and maintains uniform wearing

Regular check of tyres

Regular check for small stones and metal pieces that may get lodged in the grooves will keep you in

touch with the condition of tyres, which are normally ignored

Maintaining good driving habits enhances the tyre life and and ensures safety at high speeds. They

certainly do.

Some of common driving mistakes which people unknowingly commit daily are given below :

Driving Habit Consequence/Damage How to avoid it?

Excessive speeding- One of the most common habits is to drive at high speeds sometimes over the recommended speed rating of tyre

Excessive heat build up resulting to faster wear of tyres thus shortening tyre life

Avoid excessive speeding and always comply with the speed ratings

Fast turns and curves around corners

Excessive wear can happen from one side of the tyre

Slow down on turns and enjoy a smooth and safe turn

Sudden acceleration and braking Excessive heat build up and sudden braking scrubs off a good amount of tread rubber causing faster wear of tyres

Avoid panic starts and stops

faster wear of tyres

Riding at the edge of pavements and metal items

Bad for the internal structure of tyre. Causes damage to tyre plies inside

Avoid such tricks

Parking on a pointed stone or bricks

Long parking of tyres on these objects could cause internal damage to tyre

Be careful while parking your car and avoid any of these objects to come under the tyre

Speeding over bad roads, pot holes and speed brakers

Extremely bad for the tyre structure. Can cause severe damage to the ply of tyre

Slow down for speed brakers and bad roads

Air pressure should be periodically checked when tyres are cold

Tyres must be replaced when worn to the tread wear indicators, even if only on one part of the

tread

Check wheel alignment setting periodically and/or following impact or irregular wear

Balance the tyres periodically and/or when vibration occurs

Rotate tyres every 5000 Kms

When impact or puncture occurs have a check carried out on the inside of the tyre as well

Never park over the patches of oil, solvents etc as they cause tyre damage

Comply with the speed ratings and load index when replacing tyres

Follow good driving practices. It increases tyre life

Have general tyre condition checked regularly at a reliable tyre dealership