It is hard to overestimate the importance of tires when talking about vehicle safety. Tires provide contact with the road surface and must ensure proper performance in any road conditions. But sometimes car owners can worsen the excellent performance of their tires by making mistakes.
One can distinguish the following types of mistakes:
• wrong choice of tires,
• wrong mounting,
• wrong pressure level,
• wrong balancing,
• wrong mounting angles,
• untimely changing.
Let’s examine the mistakes in detail.
Choice of tires
It is very important to remember that summer tires cannot be operated in the winter just like winter tires are inefficient in the summer. The driver doesn’t need to know the rubber compound and the design of the tire. It is necessary to remember that both winter and summer tires are intended for the operation in certain conditions. Otherwise the performance of the tires will worsen and it will inevitably affect Your safety. Summer tires are to be operated in the summer. Winter tires – in the winter. That’s the only option.
Mounting of tires
Now we will talk about wrong mounting. First of all it concerns tires with a directional tread pattern. Tread grooves of these tires are made in a way that enables efficient withdrawal of water from the contact patch. But such effective withdrawal is possible only in case the tire rotates in a certain direction that is indicated on the tire’s sidewall. When rotating in the reverse direction the water is dispersed considerably worse what leads to the emergence of hydroplaning effect or “floating” of the vehicle on the puddles even at low speed. The most unpleasant thing that may happen to You is loss of steering. So be attentive when mounting such tires.
Tire pressure
Monitoring and maintenance of proper pressure in the tires is also extremely important. As a rule it is indicated by the vehicle manufacturer for different load levels. Increased pressure level decreases contact patch area and makes the tire itself more rigid. It leads to the increase of braking distance and decreases damping properties of the tire. In case the pressure level is insufficient the steering of the vehicle will worsen and fuel consumption level will rise due to the increased rolling resistance. The danger of inward flanging when cornering also rises.
Right balancing
Right wheel balancing also contributes to the riding safety. Unfortunately, many people underestimate the importance of this procedure. Wobble of unbalanced wheel is accompanied by cyclic pressure alterations in the contact patch area what constantly changes traction performance. Besides this, constant vibrations caused by the unbalanced wheel pass on to the vehicle body and suspension components what leads to breakdowns and road accidents.
Mounting angles
Is the right wheel mounting angle that necessary? Of course, many drivers will agree that this indicator seriously affects the service life of a tire. But at the same time it is also an important safety factor. Firstly, wrong mounting angle can break the geometry of contact patch what worsens traction performance of the tire. Secondly, it contributes to the danger of lateral skid. All this badly affects the stability and steering control of a vehicle.
Timely tire changing
It is recommended that summer tires are to be changed when the tread depth is equivalent to 0,07 inches, for winter tires the tread depth should not be less than 1,5 inches.
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