Are..You ..Tyred – Out?
Tyres and How to look after
them
Tyres are the one aspect of a Car that are often
overlooked until disaster strikes and in this article we are
going to examine all the aspects of tyre care and maintenance so
that you will stay safe and arrive alive.
1. Tyres wear
out… Just like any other component in a car, only more so. You
need to keep a constant eye on your tyres since they are the one
thing that keeps you on the road, apart of course, from your
observation!
2. Legal limit 1.6mm… At this point your
tread is over 80% worn….So they should be replaced before this
tread depth is reached!
3. Tyre Pressures….. The
Manufacturers recommended pressures you will find in your manual
and also printed inside your fuel filler cap. These are for
Factory –Fitted tyres…..other makes or sizes of tyre may require
different pressures, so check with your Tyre Shop for advice.
The manufacturers will always give you two settings of Tyre
pressure…one for the car with Driver and one passenger….one for
the car with a full load. Its important to further inflate the
tyres when you have a full load, particularly if you are going
on a long journey that involves high –speed carriageway or
Motorway driving. Underinflated tyres are unsafe; don’t give you
good road holding ;wear out much more quickly; create extra drag
which means higher fuel consumption; and give your passengers
and uncomfortable ride. If you have young children in the rear
seat be prepared for car sickness!
4. Cuts –Splits –
Bulges…These are easy to acquire, if you play footsie with kerbs
and potholes. Mounting the Kerb can damage the sidewall of the
tyre either invisibly or very visibly. Tyre sidewalls are much
thinner than the tyre tread and so are easily damaged. .A bulge
indicates severe damage to the side wall and this will require
the immediate replacement of the tyre. There is a danger of a
blow-out occurring at high speed with a damaged tyre. Pot-holes,
by their very nature have sharp edges and going over one at any
kind of speed, will often lead to a puncture, or worse, the
complete destruction of the tyre ,not to mention your beautiful
,newly acquired Alloy wheels.
5. The Spare Wheel… This is
often forgotten about and should be included in your weekly tyre
pressure check. The tyre will lose its pressure over time and
it’s a real nuisance and a danger, to get a puncture, miles from
anywhere, and then find that your spare tyre is flat! You are
then side-lined with the obvious delays in getting hold of a
mobile tyre service, but perhaps worse is the possibility of
creating a major obstruction on the road with your stranded car.
A car that cannot be moved off the road creates a serious
accident hazard.
6. Punctures…What to do when you get
one? It’s very important to know how to change a wheel,
following a puncture, whether you are a Guy or a Girl! Changing
a wheel is relatively simple, providing you have the correct
equipment and utilise the correct technique. However it is not
always easy or safe. In the next section we will discuss this in
more detail but in the meantime if you are a Lady drive and some
difficulty with this exercise; providing you get all your tools
out and look as if you know what you are doing, then it is very
likely that a passing motorist will stop and assist you and get
you motoring again in a few minutes.
7. Equipment…….The
wheel brace that comes with your car when it is new, we have
found to be sometimes ineffective when trying to release the
wheel nuts if your wheel has either not been removed for a very
long time, or has been over tightened by the gun in use in a
garage or tyre shop. We have got through numerous wheel braces
over the years which have had to be discarded in favour of the
professional criss-cross, cast iron brace, which will last you a
life time and which you can take with you when you change cars
.This type of wheel brace has four different size sockets and
will, because of it’s tremendous leverage, enable you to loosen
the most stubborn of nuts. An added bonus of carrying one of
these is that you will be able to help any other Motorist who is
having trouble with his wheel. Final tip here is to mask the
socket which fits your wheels with some red insulating tape so
that you can easily identify this in the dark. A lot of
punctures happen at night or in a snow storm so you can do a lot
to make things easier and safer for you. The jack should be in
the boot with the rest of the kit but do check if you are buying
an older second hand car, that you have one…you might need it
around the next corner!
8. Plank of Wood … Many years
ago, in the teeth of a howling gale, I suffered a puncture on a
country road late at night and due to the non- stop rain that
had been pouring down for several days, the grass verge and edge
of the road were so soft, that no matter how hard I tried, I
couldn’t raise the car sufficiently to get the spare wheel on!
It was too dangerous and too narrow to move the car into the
middle of the road to get a better support for the Jack .The
close proximity of a bend made it even more hazardous .In
desperation, and soaking wet, I searched around and eventually
borrowed a large flat stone from a nearby wall, to spread the
weight and support the jack while the wheel was changed. Ever
since then I have carried a short plank,12 inches long and 1
inch thick and have never had a problem since .This is the
origin of the phrase as thick as two short planks! We have them
on special offer this month @ €29.99 for the pair! Another
observation for those of you who might have a new tarmac
driveway at your home, don’t attempt to jack your car up without
using your plank or you will create a nice hole in your Drive!
9. Spare wheel nuts … If you have bought a new set of alloy
wheels then it is likely that they will be held on with longer
than average wheel nuts .Since it is unusual to buy five alloy
wheels then following a puncture you will be using the standard
spare wheel to replace the punctured one. You will need to
ensure that you have in your emergency kit the standard nuts to
fix this in place while you get the puncture repaired and the
Alloy wheel back on the car.
10. Small Penknife…If you
are using standard factory - issue steel wheels with Plastic Hub
Caps, they will be fastened to the rim with cable ties, to keep
them from disappearing into the hedge after hitting a bump or
pothole. . These are a little difficult to remove without a
blade so a penknife or Stanley knife is very useful in cutting
the cable tie before getting access to the wheel nuts. Its
useful also to use two ties since they sometimes break if
scraped, leaving you with a missing hub cap. Original hub caps
are expensive to replace so it is worth this little effort.
11. Towel… An old towel and some hand cleanser are very useful
to enable you to clean up after changing a wheel, particularly
if you are miles from anywhere and heading for an Interview or
lunch date. Punctures rarely happen at home where you have all
your mod.cons. at your disposal. Apart from this, mucky or
greasy hands will make your steering wheel slippery and
dangerous! Some kitchen roll and spare valve caps are a useful
addition also to your in-boot-kit.
© Astral School of
Motoring 2000-2005
About the Author:
Robin Piggott is the owner of Astral School of Motoring which is
based in Limerick, Ireland .He has thirty five years of Driving
Experience and has driven Professionally for most of this time,
including teaching in – house, before setting up his own Driving
School .The aim of the Astral Driving School is to provide the
skills that will enable a dr young Drivers to stay safe, first
and foremost, and in doing this, help them achieve a standard
that they can build on for the future. Skills for Life is the
mission and to this end a new Blog has been set up to aid and
assist all new Drivers and those from overseas driving in
Ireland for the first time. ARRIVE ALIVE contains a mix of
Driving Tips and Driving Test hints as well as articles of
Motoring interest, including Motor Sport News.
http://astralmotoring.blogspot.com
http://www.astralmotoring.ie
