Table of contents: Tread depth: visual inspection 🠇 Tread depth: manual inspection 🠇 Checking tire pressure 🠇
It is very important to keep your tires in good condition and properly inflated - a tire blowout at any speed is very dangerous. Tire wear depends on driving style: sharp braking and acceleration, cornering at speed - all this leads to rapid tire wear. As a rule, the front tires wear out faster than the rear ones. Swapping tires from front to rear and vice versa can result in more even wear. But keep in mind that at some point you will have to replace all your tires with new ones!
When inspecting your tires, remove any nails or stones that are lodged in the tread before they penetrate the tire and cause a puncture. If, when removing a nail, it turns out that it has already punctured the tire, leave it alone and mark the puncture site. Replace the wheel with a spare one and have the punctured tire repaired at a specialized workshop.
Inspect your tires regularly for cracks and bulges, especially on the sidewalls. Periodically remove the wheels and clean them from dirt on both sides. Inspect the wheel rims for rust or other damage. Alloy wheels are often damaged when parking due to impacts with curbs; steel wheels can bend too. If there is serious damage, the wheel will have to be replaced. When installing new tires, they must be balanced. Balancing must be repeated as the tires wear out, and also in the event of loss of balancing weights. Unbalanced wheels wear out quickly and contribute to wear of suspension and steering components. Wheel unbalance manifests itself as vibration at certain speeds, usually around 80 km/h. If the vibration is only felt on the steering wheel, it means that only the front wheels need balancing. If the entire car vibrates, it means that the rear wheels are also unbalanced. Wheel balancing is performed by many stations and workshops.
Tread depth: visual inspection
Branded tires feature indicator stripes (B) that become visible when the tread depth decreases to approximately 1.6 mm. The position of the indicator stripes is indicated by triangular marks on the tire sidewall (A).
Tread depth: manual inspection
Alternatively, the tread depth can be measured with a simple and inexpensive device known as a tread depth indicator.
Checking tire pressure
Check your tire pressure regularly. When checking, the tires must be cold. Do not check the pressure immediately after a long ride, otherwise you will get an incorrect result.