It is common for people to underestimate the importance of good tyres and reach straight for the cheapest or easiest option. However, many fantastic tyres are available for all budgets, it’s just knowing what to look for and what to get. Tyres are the glue that grips your vehicle to the road, so ensuring these are up to scratch is vital not only for performance but for your safety out on the roads.
This blog post will involve the most important aspects that you should look for when purchasing tyres, as well as providing up to date information and tips on how to keep your rubber in the best possible condition.
Tyre Tread
The tyre tread designs are specially developed to ensure that water is dispersed after gathering it from wet surfaces. This enhances the grip on wet and slippery surfaces during rainy conditions. Other benefits of a well designed tyre tread include improving braking distances and overall fuel efficiency. Tyres with “bald tyres” or inadequate tread means the tyre will not have any efficient grip, and increased risk of aquaplaning, risking accidents and skidding.
The majority of tyres have markers that indicate when the tread is too low, however, you can always carry out the 20p test to see if it is time for a tyre change. These wear indicators are situated between the main channels of the tread and normally stand at the legal limit of 1.6mm. Drivers can face prosecution if their tyre treads are lower than 1.6mm, however, at Asda Tyres, we recommend changing your tyres at 3mm.
Tyre Pressure
If your tyre pressure is not correct or inadequate, this can affect your grip on the roads, whilst worsening your fuel economy and increasing driving noise. Although there is no set tyre pressure as these will vary from tyre to tyre and vehicle to vehicle, you can find your specific cars tyre pressure recommendations can be found on the inside of your vehicle’s door jamb or fuel cap. Although tyre pressure needs to be kept in mind always, it needs to be adequate especially when driving with a fully loaded car at high speeds.
Wheel Alignment and Rotation
Misaligned wheels can reduce your tyres lifespan significantly. This is because misaligned tyres means more uneven wear and therefore, a shorter time that your tyres are suitable. If you are noticing steering vibrations or your vehicle tracking to the side of the road, it means your tyres have worn unevenly and will need changing to ensure ultimate grip, control and handling. This could also mean that your vehicle has tyre rotation and balancing issues.
Here at Asda tyres, we recommend that your tyres are realigned every 10,000km or when you replace your tyres with new ones. In addition to this, we recommend that your tyres should be rotated every 5000-10,000km.
View our website for a range of tyres suitable for every budget, with multiple manufacturers to choose from whether you are looking for brand new tyres, or replacement tyres for your vehicle.