Tyre Maintenance

Tyres are the only part of your car in contact with the road so maintaining them is vital to safe acceleration, braking, steering and cornering.

Preventative maintenance

Here are a few simple steps you can take to get the best performance from your tyres:

• Comply with the speed rating and load index.
• Driving style and speed directly affect tyre life so stick to speed limits and safe maneuvers.
• Pressures should be regularly checked on cold tyres - including your spare.
• Replace tyres when worn to the tread wear indicators, even if it’s only on part of the tread.
• If an impact or a puncture occurs make sure the inside of the tyre is checked as well.
• Never park over patches of oil, solvents, etc as this can cause tyre damage.
• Radial tyres must always be fitted on the rear axle ad winter or tyres must fitted in complete sets.
• Get regular tyre checks carried out by a reliable dealer.

Tyre age

Premature tyre ageing affects the safety of the tyre and increase the risk of failure.

All tyres display a coded date of manufacture and these codes are usually located in a “window” on the tyre sidewall. The first two digits represent the week and the second two the year of manufacture.

Anti-oxidising chemicals in tyres can slow down the rate of ageing but tyres need to be in use to slow down this process. Infrequent use and poor storage can actually accelerate the process. Low mileage, older cars are at risk from premature ageing - as motorists assume if they can see plenty of tread they are roadworthy. This type of tyre ageing can be identified by small cracks in the sidewall.

In most circumstances tread depth is the best indication of when tyres should be replaced – as treads generally wear out before the ageing effect becomes a problem.

If you’re not sure how old your tyre is or you have a tyre six years or older - this includes spare tyres – you should get them checked out by a reliable dealer.