When driving the only point of your vehicle touching the road is your tyres. This is how it’s supposed to be but it does emphasize the importance of looking after your tyres.

The first thing you should do when purchasing a pre-owned car is check the tyres, they are the difference between getting safely home and a visit to the hospital. Driver error is the number one cause of accidents in Australia, but poor maintenance is a close runner up.

Of course, it’s not just when you buy a car you need to look at the tyres; this is something that should be part of your weekly maintenance checklist. If you have an issue with any of your tyres it’s time to take a look at the Tyres in Melbourne and find the ones best suited to your needs. They can literally save your life.

Your New Tyres

When the tread depth of your tyre falls below 3mm its time to book your car in for a tyre change. Of course the minimum legal depth is 1.5mm, but preparing at 3mm will ensure you never fall foul of the law.

It is always recommended to replace both tyres on the same axle at the same time. There is a good reason for this; balance and stability during cornering and braking will be affected by unevenly worn tyres.

In the past you may have heard that engines need to be worn in and tyres need to be treated specially for the first so many miles.
This is not the case.

A tyre, once fitted is ready to go and should give you several years of service. The exact amount of time it will last depends on your style of driving and how much driving you do; as well as the level of attention you pay to your tyres.

There is no special treatment required although you may feel a difference to the handling and braking performance of the car; it will be an improvement!

You might also be interested to note that new tyres should be fitted to the rear of your vehicle, even on a front wheel drive car. This is because they will give the best improvement in steering and braking from the rear.

Maintaining Your Tyres

Although they don’t need special treatment it’s important to look after your tyres and regularly check these bits:

Pressure
Over and underinflated tyres can seriously affect your fuel economy but they can also affect your handling and prematurely age your tyres, wearing them out faster than you would like.

Tread Depth
Tread depth checkers are very cheap to acquire in any auto shop, you will then be able to accurately measure the depth of your car tyres and take the appropriate replacement measures when needed.

Inspect
You should inspect your tyres regularly, at least once a week. This will ensure there is no damage to the side walls or that you have not picked up a nail and have a slow puncture.
All of these things can cause accidents when driving, but can be so easily avoided. Take care of your tyres and they’ll take care of you!