When to know the car tires require replacement

The only medium of contact between the vehicle and roads is tires. The grip of the car diminishes as the tires wear and tread depth reduces. Tires play a crucial role in vehicle’s handling, braking and overall safety of the vehicle. Vehicles are used almost daily and are one of the most important parts of one’s life. Thus, necessary and proper care should be done on them. Performing regular checks on the vehicle is quite easy and simple. Above all it provides in general safety of passengers.

Keeping the car tires inflated increases the car’s fuel efficiency. It also improves car’s management, braking ability and driving quality. Tires tolerate incredible amount of pressure and thus proper maintenance is required on them. Every vehicle either new or used vehicle requires maintenance and of which taking care of the car’s tire is one of the most important and simplest maintenance tasks to do. It is important to replace tires after a specific period of time. Regular checking and certain maintenance tips should be followed, in order to enjoy safe driving.

Here are some points that can give you idea when to replace your tires:-

• Age of Tires:- It is important to replace tires of the car after a period of seven and eight years depending upon manufacturer’s recommendation. As a matter of fact, there is no point in placing a date on when a tire expires. The wearing of a tire depends upon factors such as heat, storage and conditions that can reduce the life of the tire. Tires have a chemical compounds built into the rubber called “anti-ozinant”, that slow down the aging process, but there is nothing that could control the effect of time on rubber.

  Tires are designed with treads that provide grip to the vehicle. Because of grip only, vehicles are able to drive on the road-even in harsh weather. That’s why treads on tires is necessary. Even if there are sufficient treads left on the tire, but if the tire has passed the five- year mark; it’s time to examine it. Tires affect a lot on the handling and braking system of the vehicle.

• Exposure to heat:- It is known that exposure of heat and the Sun causes adverse effect on the vehicle. It may even cause structural changes to the vehicle tires. However, these changes are of not much concern in modern climate region.

• Bubbling:- If there are any spots on the sidewall or tread that are swelled then it is important to get the tire of your vehicle replaced. These may occurs due to dip or piece of road debris.

• Wear on one side:- This could happen due to poor alignment, worn ball joint or any other bent suspension part. The vehicle should be checked for proper alignment and testing of suspension components.

• Wear at the edges:- Wear at the outer edge can cause some serious damage to the vehicle. Under inflation occurs as a result of this type of wear. Due to under inflation, much pressure is placed on the edges rather than on the center.

• Wear in the center:- Wear in the center of tread may occur due to over inflation. One should avoid inflating the tires above the maximum rated pressure. Over inflation avoids the required contact of edges with the road, resulting in putting much pressure on the middle section. Tread wear constitute towards safety. When tread of the tire are exhausted, then it becomes difficult for the vehicle to respond in harsh weather conditions. Tread help the vehicle to have a good grip on the road.

Along with above stated points, there are other things that are responsible for tire wear, such as emergency braking, under or over inflation. Proper alignment of tires is important because if tires are not properly aligned, one edge of the tire can wear more rapidly than the other edge. Replacing tires of the vehicle when they are completely worn out is not a smart decision. One should know when to replace the vehicle tire as per the requirement in their region. If one is living in cold-snowy region, then one should replace tires when they 5/32’’ of the remaining tread depth. In these regions, more tread depth is required as tires have to condense the snow and release it as they roll. However, in rain and wet road, tires should be replaced when they reach 4/32’’ of the remaining tread depth. As in these areas, enough tread depth is required to allow the rain to escape through tire’s grooves.

Buying a new tire is quite costly, so sometimes people prefer to buy a used one. Going with a used tire is not a smart decision as one is avoiding the advancement in technology that took place over past few years. Bad and low quality tires affect driving badly. It is important to search the need of right quality tires for the vehicle. There are many tires available in the market, from economy to high performance in different sizes and brands suitable for the customer. One should choose the tire depending upon the requirement of the vehicle.