In general, tyres last an average of 2 years with daily use. Although you do not have to change them so frequently, it is always good to check your tyres regularly to look out for any early signs of damage and act on them accordingly.
Here’s a list of things you can do to make sure your tyres are always in good shape.
Maintain Correct Tyre Pressure
It is recommended that your tyres get rotated every 10,000 to 12,000km, or every six months. The weight placed on the front and the rear tyres are not equal, causing your tyres to wear out unevenly. Switching the positions of your tyres regularly helps counter this problem, helping them wear out at a constant rate.
Ensuring Your Wheel Alignment is Right
This basically means that your tyres are seated exactly how they’re supposed to be. You can easily identify misaligned tyres with these red flags:
- Your steering wheel vibrates when you drive
- The car seems to be drifting to one side, even if you are driving straight
- You are driving straight but the steering wheel is not centered
- The surface of your tyres are visibly uneven
If you’ve experienced one or more of these signs, it’s highly recommended that you visit your workshop and get it checked out.
Check Your Tyre Treads Regularly
Bumps and cracks in the sidewalls of your tyres are the number 1 signs of damage to look out for. When ignored, these little defects may potentially cause your tyres to explode completely.
One other thing to look out for is the Tread Wear Indicator (TWI) – a good sign that your tyres are due for a change. Not too sure what TWIs are? Read on to find out.
Is It Time To Change My Tyres Yet?
There certainly are signs that can tell you when your tyres are due for a change. For a start, you can look out for the Tread Wear Indicator (TWI).
Essentially, the TWI is a built-in indicator bar that gradually appears as the treads wear down. This means that when they start showing, your tread is getting more shallow, which may cause problems with grip and traction. See them on your tyres? Time to head down to the workshop!
Apart from just the TWI, you may also keep a lookout for general signs of wear and tear. These come in various forms, such as cracks in the sidewall as well as bulges and blisters.
A crack, or also known as crazing, happens over time as the rubber becomes less elastic and more brittle. They may also be caused by prolonged exposure to UV light while in storage – as such, it’s always important to make sure your tyres are kept in a sheltered area with no direct contact with the sun. Apart from this environmental factor, crazing may also happen as a result of the cleaning products you use and as a result of long wear.
Bulges and blisters may also appear on the sidewall of your tyres. They appear as uneven spots that visibly extend outwards. This is caused by the tremendous amount of pressure that is put on your tyres over time. Such damages to the sidewall are a strong indication that your tyres need changing to prevent potential blow-outs.
Maintain proper inflation pressure in your tyres
Proper inflation pressure is necessary for giving you the best tyre performance, safety, and fuel economy. Remember to frequently (at least once a month) check your tyres (when they are cool) with an accurate tyre pressure gauge.
Maintain inflation pressure at the recommended level
The recommended level can be found on the vehicle placard or in your vehicle’s owner’s manual. Maintaining proper inflation pressure is the single most important thing you can do to help your tyres last longer and stay durable.
Under inflation is the leading cause of irreparable tyre damage and may result in severe cracking and subsequent air loss. It reduces load capacity, allows excessive sidewall flexing, and increases rolling resistance, resulting in heat and mechanical damage.
Over inflation increases stiffness that may cause an uncomfortable driving experience and generate unwanted vehicle vibration. It also increases the chances of impact damage.
Don’t spin your tyres excessively
Avoid excessive tyre spinning when your vehicle is stuck in mud or sand. This may cause tyre over-heating and irreparable damage. Use a gentle backward and forward rocking motion to free your vehicle. Never stand near or behind a tyre spinning at high speeds, for example, while attempting to push a vehicle that’s stuck or when an on-car spin balance machine is in use.
Check your tyres for wear
Always remove tyres from service when they reach 1.6mm remaining in tread depth. All new tyres have tread wear indicators that appears as smooth banks in the tread grooves when they wear to 1.6mm level. Wet weather accidents may occur from skidding on bald or nearly bald tyres. Excessively worn tyres are also more likely to suffer punctures.
Tyre pressure monitoring system alert
Refer to your vehicle Owner’s Manual for more information on what to do if the tyre pressure warning system activates.
Don’t attempt to mount your own tyres
Serious injury may result from an explosion of tyre/rim assembly from improper mounting procedures. Remember to follow your tyre manufacturer’s instructions and match tyre diameter to rim diameter. Only specially trained persons should mount tyres.
Don’t mix tyre of different sizes and types on the same axle
for the best handling and control, We recommend fitting four tyres of the same type and size as specified by the vehicle manufacturer.
Warning
before replacing your tyres, always consult the vehicle’s owner’s manual and follow the vehicle manufacturer’s replacement tyre recommendations. Vehicle handling may be significantly affected by a change in tyre size or type. When selecting tyres that are different from the original equipment size, see a professional installer to make sure that proper clearance, load-carrying capacity, and inflation pressure are selected. Never exceed the maximum load capacity and inflation pressure listed on the sidewall of the tyre. When replacing tyres, you must maintain the outside diameter and load-carrying capacity of the original equipment tyre. Inflation pressure may need to be adjusted to avoid overloading the tyre.
Never fit tyres with less load-carrying capacity than required by the vehicle’s original equipment manufacturer
You must make certain that the replacement tyres have a load-carrying capacity equal to or great than what the original equipment manufacturer specifies.
CAUTION: Never substitute a “Standard Load” (SL) tyre for an “Extra Load” (XL) tyre. If the vehicle was originally equipped with “Extra Load” (XL) tyres, replace those with the same sized XL tyres.
Follow these additional guidelines
- When installing two tyres, fit the tyres with the deepest tread depth on the rear axle.
- If radials and non-radials must be fitted to the same vehicle, fit radials on the rear axle.
- Never mix radials and non-radials on the same axle.
- When fitting snow tyres or all-season tyres to performance vehicles, always fit in sets of four.
- It’s not recommended to fit tyres with different speed ratings.
- If tyres with different speed ratings are installed on a vehicle, they should be with like pairs on the same axle.
- The speed capability of the vehicle will become limited to that of the lowest speed-rated tyres.
- When changing tyre sizes, always consult a dealer for optimum rim width and carefully check vehicle/tyre clearances.
Don’t overload your vehicle
Check your vehicle’s owner’s manual to determine the load limits. Overloading your vehicle places stress on your tyres and other critical vehicle components. This can also cause poor handling, increased fuel consumption and may cause tyre damage. Never fit your vehicle with new tyres that have less load capacity than shown on the vehicle tyre placard, and remember that optimum rim width is important for proper tyre load distribution and function.