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eTyres care about our customers. The
following article may be of interest.
Tyres and How to look after them
TYRES ARE COOL!
Tyres are the one aspect of a Car that are often
overlooked until disaster strikes and in this section we
are going to examine all the aspects of tyre care and
maintenance so that you will stay safe and arrive alive.
"ARRIVE ALIVE" Astral School of Motoring,s new Blog at:-
http://astralmotoring.blogspot.com
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……….but at this point you are over
80% gone….Soooh 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……….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……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 wheelbrace 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 overtightened 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 … WHAT?? ….. 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 @ €29.99for 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.
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.
http://www.astralmotoring.ie |
