Tyre checking tips from Bridgestone

serenemaklong.blogspot.com

Before making a long journey make sure you send your vehicle for a check. Apart from the usual check on the engine and transmission oil levels, hoses, lights and other mechanical parts, make sure the tyres are carefully checked as they are the ones that keep you on the road.

The first thing you should look at is tyre read depth. The tread not only provides the car with a footprint for maximum traction but also help in maintaining grip in wet conditions, by channeling water away from the contact patch. The tread works like drains to channel rain water away. If the drain is too shallow it will not work properly.

Same case with tyres that do not have tread and water stays under the tyre and pushes it up and the driver loses control. This is called aquaplaning.

To avoid this, a tyre has to have a minimum tread depth of 1.6 mm. You can easily check if your tyre has enough tread clearance by looking at the tread indicators on the tyre.

If you are changing your tyres, make sure you buy the right type according to your driving style. Just like shoes, the type of tyre is very important. You can’t wear loafers to go jogging or hiking, so get the right shoe for the vehicle and driving style.

For tyre pressure, make sure you follow the manufacturer’s recommendation, and on bigger vehicles such as MPV and SUV there will be to tyre pressure options, one for no load and another for heavy load.

Always inflate your tyres when it is cold, and it is recommended that you do it in the morning when it will be cooler. It is better to have your own tyre pressure gauge, as not every petrol station will calibrate their air pumps regularly.

Be on the lookout for lumps on the tyre surface, including the sidewalls which is the side of the tyre with numbers and letters on it.

Lump mean that the inner part has developed a leak but instead of going through the tyre it stops and starts to separate the two layers of the inner and outer parts that make the tyre.

Choosing the right tyre shop, which is equipped with proper tools and served by technicians with the right training, is as important as choosing the right tyre itself. If you don’t have your regular tyre shop, you can shop around and try a new place like the Bridgestone Auto Care and Tyre (ACT) centre.

Log on their website and you’ll be able to find a list of locations where the ACT centres are located.

Lastly, don’t forget to check the spare tyre.