How Often Should I Change My Car Tyres?

How Often Should I Change My Car Tyres?

Tyres are important. Tyres are what help your car stay on the road. Tyres are what help your car head in the right direction. Ultimately, if your tyres are worn or faulty, you shouldn’t be driving the car.

Some car owners refuse to acknowledge that their tyres are worn. This can lead to a lot of driving issues, especially if the road is wet, your cars tyres may lose grip and begin to slide. This is incredibly unsafe and of course, can result in car accidents.

With this in mind, we are going to be taking a look at car tyres and the importance of maintaining them properly.

When to Check Your Tyre Inflation

Your tyre pressure is important. If your tyres aren’t inflated properly then they will wear out a lot faster and therefore, will need to be replaced sooner. Additionally, if your tyre pressure is too low then you are more prone to being involved in an accident.

With that in mind, it’s important to check your tyre inflation on a regular basis. By checking your tyre inflation, you will be able to keep an eye on the pressure and will notice if the pressure is slowly dropping, dropping fast, or is maintained at a steady level.

If the tyre pressure is in fact dropping at a fast rate within the space of a few days, it’s great to have caught this early on. By catching it early on, you are able to determine whether or not new tyres are the next step.

Dealing with a Worn Tyre

If your tyres are worn you have to get them replaced. Before we get into that, let’s discuss tyres themselves.

If you don’t know a lot about cars, chances are you won’t be aware of why tyres are designed the way that they are. The “patterns” which are on the surface of tyres are to create traction between the tyre and the road. This prevents your car from skidding off the road as well as provides traction to your car when you put your foot on the brake. Different tyre treads are designed for different conditions.

Now with that in mind, if your tyres are worn, this traction cannot be created and because of that, you must have your tyres replaced. We recommend replacing your tyres when your tread depth is below 2mm.

Spare Tyres

Another short note to keep in mind is that just as you would check your other tyres regularly, do the same with your spare tyre. Again, it’s not as important to check them regularly given that spare tyres aren’t frequently used and they don’t need to be replaced as often as your other tyres, however, after time you will have to replace them.

Take your spare tyre out from your car boot and provide it with the same attention that you do your regular tyres. Check the air pressure, make sure that the tyre and wheel are intact, and make sure that it is suitable for use.

If you don’t have a spare tyre, then go out and get one now. You can never know when you’re going to be driving and your tyre will blow or fully deflate and if you don’t have a spare tyre, you’re putting yourself at risk of being stranded on the side of the road.

First off, when replacing your spare tyre look out for the same criteria that you do when purchasing tyres for your car. Remember, spare tyres are just the same, what’s different is their purpose. Your spare doesn’t have to be identical to your other tyres, it just has to have the same specifications. Read this article HERE to help understand how to know your tyre size.

Now, something to keep in mind is that while the tyre will sit in your boot the majority of the time, rubber will degrade overtime which will cause your spare tyre to be unusable. We recommend you replace your spare tyre between every 6 and 8 years and Supercheap Auto can help out with a great deal.

The last thing to mention is that you shouldn’t be afraid of using your spare tyre. If you think that something is wrong with one of your tyres and you aren’t comfortable driving while it’s in place, go ahead and replace it until a tyre specialist has taken a look at it.

Tyre Rotation

Although a lot of people don’t take this into account, tyre rotation is important. Tyre rotation is simply rotating your tyres to different locations of the car.

By doing this, you are allowing for tyre wear to become more even, thus the tyres will last longer and one tyre will not need to be replaced sooner than the others causing a lot of inconvenience.

Maintaining Your Tyres

Below are some of the best ways out there to keep your tyres in decent condition without having to go too much out of your way.

• Rotating Your Tyres. As we mentioned above, by rotating your tyres you are providing an even distribution of wear.
• Clean Your Wheels. It’s best to keep your car looking it’s best both inside and out.
• Load Capacity. If you intend on frequently having heavy loads in your car, then it’s a good idea to purchase tyres which are designed to comply with that. Regular tyres will wear a lot faster with heavy loads.
• High Speeds. Driving fast can damage your tyres. High temperatures which are caused due to friction and causes the rubber to heat up and will ultimately wear down your tyres.
• Check the Pressure. Take a few minutes to check the pressure of each tyre. If you notice any sudden changes in your tyres pressure, contact your local tyre shop and see what they can do for you.

As you can see, when it comes to maintaining your car tyres it is probably one of the easier car parts to maintain and provided that you put in some effort, your tyres will be perfect for a while. By taking care of your car by any means, you can minimize your costs, enjoy your reasonably stress free car and enjoy your ride.