Thursday 4 February 2021

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Your car tyres are one of the most vital parts of your vehicle. They’re where the vehicle makes contact with the road, and how well they work will determine your grip, your effectiveness at braking, your acceleration, and much more. Of course, tyres do wear over time. They’re going to need a replacement at some point. But when should you change your car tyres?

When any part of the tyre tread reaches any of the tread depth indicators

Your safety is, of course, the number one reason to make sure that you’re changing your car tyres in time. However, the tread depth indicators are the actual measurement used by insurance companies. If you want to make sure you’re not at risk of not being covered in an incident, you should change your tyres as soon as the reach of these indicators. These are spaced evenly through the main grooves and, if they are level with the tread, that means it’s time to change them.

Shoulders are balding from a misalignment

The shoulders of your tyre are the sections on the very sides and, like all parts of the tyre, they can begin to experience wear and tear. This usually presents as what is called balding, when the tread is worn down and the car tyres start to look smoother. However, if the shoulders are balding more quickly than the treads in the middle of the tyre, it’s a sign that your wheels are misaligned. As such, not only should you have your tyres changed, you should consider asking to have your vehicles alignment corrected, too. Misalignment can cause your tyres to wear more quickly and can lead to faster fuel consumption thanks to increased tyre drag. A misalignment can be cause by; 

  • General wear & tear
  • Hitting a curb or pot hole
  • A minor traffic accident
  • Off road driving  

We technicians recommend a wheel alignment when new tyres are fitted, then every 10,000km of the tyres life. We often see 20% more tyre life out of a set of tyres that have been maintained through regular rotations and wheel alignments.

When your tyres are over 8 years old

There is no definitive tyre age limit as to when you should replace your tyres but if your tyres are older than 8 years, you should keep a close eye on their condition and consider replacing them depending on your vehicles application. You can check the age of most tyres by looking at the manufacture date, which should be on the sidewall. It reads as a four-digit number, the first two digits representing the week of the year it was manufactured, and the latter two digits representing the year.  Over time rubber ages and can become brittle allowing the formation of cracks which can allow loss of tyre pressure, Steel belts used in the tyre’s construction maybe exposed to water penetration through formed cracks, back up with exposure to heat build-up whilst travelling can stress the affected components and can result in tyre separation or a tyre blowout. 

When the tyre has a belt separation

If you’re starting to feel a vibration through the steering wheel or feel like a bumpy ride, then one of the major causes (and a sign that you should change your car tyres) is the issue of the belts of the tire starting to separate or shift. This isn’t something that you can check visibly with your own eyes looking at the car from the side. However, if you bring it into our workshop, we can mount the tyre and wheel componet it on a balancing machine that will soon make it very clear that you’re dealing with a belt separation and that you should be using new tires instead. 

When the tyre is showing signs of severe uneven wearing such as scalloping

Signs of uneven wearing are an indication that your tyre is not aligned with the wheels properly or suspension issues. One of the most common and visible forms of this is what’s called scalloping, also known as tire cupping. Effectively, this means that divots or little scoops are being scalloped or carved out of the tire’s tread at different intervals. Tyres should wear evenly, or else they’re likely to get to the point of replacement, soon. Usually, scalloping is caused by tyres that aren’t inflated to the right degree, whether they’re under-inflated or over-inflated. We can help you check the pressure of your tyres at any moment to make sure that you’re not causing them to wear down faster than they should.

Aside from providing the tyre changes you need, when you need them, All Coast Tyre Solutions is here to help keep you on top of all the maintenance and care your car needs. Not only can we text you when your next service is due, but we can also provide a service reminder sticker to the top of your windscreen, too.

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