The safety of your business fleet is hugely dependent on your tyres. Tyres are the main contact points between the car and the road which is why a car’s grip on the road is dependent on the condition of your tyres. Therefore, it is important to constantly keep an eye on your fleet’s tyres and to regularly follow some basic tips to keep them in proper form.
1. Keeping an optimum tyre pressure
The optimum tyre pressure can be known from the manufacturer’s handbook. It is always safe to keep your tyres properly inflated to ensure a smooth drive and to avoid the risk of blow-outs.
Over-inflated tyres can be a nuisance. They not only get less traction on the road, because the tread tends to bow out leaving less rubber in contact with the road, but you will wear them down much more quickly. This happens because the section of tread that is gripping the road does all of the hard work. Basically, your tyres will wear down radially if they are pumped up too hard.
Flat tyres are no mercy either. Flat tyres cause the rubber to splay out on the tarmac which means that it takes more energy to turn the wheel because there is more than normal friction between the tyre and the road. You will spend more petrol accelerating and maintaining cruising speed when your tyres are only a little bit flat. Therefore, you should make sure that each of your four tyres is inflated to the correct level every time you refuel. Not only will this mean you are safer when driving about but you will spend less on replacement of tyres and fuel.
2. Keeping an eye on the tread depth of your tyres
The tread depth of your tyres is extremely important to keep in mind. The minimum acceptable tread depth in UK is 1.6mm, below which a tyre is considered unsafe to be on the road. A bald tyre can be very dangerous as the lesser the tread depth, the more distance the tyre will take in stopping the car when the brakes are applied. To know the tread depth of your tyre, one can simply take a 20p coin and insert it into the groove of the tyre. If the outer rim of the coin is visible then it qualifies for a minimum tread depth. If not, then the tyre needs to be replaced immediately from a trusted tyre dealer. You can get good quality tyres in Essex at Elite Direct. They offer the best local rates in town.
3. Avoid over-speeding
Whenever you over-speed and then suddenly apply brakes, your tyres face severe wearing out due to the heat produced during the process. So, avoiding over speeding as much as possible is a good tip to avoid excessive wear and tear of tyres.
4. Abstain from excessive spinning of tyres
Avoid excessive spinning of tyres whenever your car gets stuck in snow, sand or mud. Instead use gentle to and fro motion to free your tyres to avoid any wearing out.
5. Adjusting your driving style
There is something that every driver can do to maintain the health of their tyres without the need to get out from behind the wheel. It is to drive the car with greater care so that your tyres come under less strain. Also, by braking less, your tyre tread will last longer so consider hanging back from the vehicle in front and maintaining a safe gap.
So, if you keep these very basic and easy tips in mind, they will help you greatly in enhancing the longevity of your tyres.
