Tyres are a fairly rare purchase in any car owner’s life, coming along once every five to seven years or so, and they can be pricey when they do need to be replaced. But there are ways that you can maximise the life of your car tyres with the following best tyre care practices.
Replace in Pairs
When you need to replace your tyres, you should always do so in pairs as a minimum. This is because the tyres on each axle should be as close to identical as possible. Having tyres from different batches can cause subtle damage to the tyre, the axle and even other moving parts of the car. If you can afford it, replace all four tyres at the same time for the best results and smoothest driving, but as a bare minimum, remember to purchase them in pairs.
Drive Carefully
The best way to make the most of your tyres’ lifespan is to take care of them from the moment they are fitted. If you are in the Big Smoke for holiday, business or to visit friends and family and find that you need to replace yours, you can visit Elite Direct to get tyres in London. And once your new tyres are in place, beautifully aligned and balanced (see below), you can help to make them stand the test of time by driving within the speed limit at all times, avoiding rough or untreated roads and always parking appropriately – simply bumping up and down to park on the curb can chew your tyres up, weakening and damaging it.
Good Care Routine
To help reinforce your good driving decisions, get yourself into a good car care routine as soon as possible, and include your tyres in this. Visually examine the tyres regularly, looking for cracks and blemishes as well as dents and bulges in the sidewall and any signs of missing chunks of rubber. These are all signs that your tyres are beginning to break down and that they will need to be replaced sooner, rather than later.
Wheel Balancing and Tyre Alignment
Every time you change your tyres, get them aligned and your wheels balanced. Wheel balancing ensures that the car’s weight is evenly spread over all four tyres, and alignment makes sure that the four tyres work smoothly to move the car in precisely the right direction. When your wheels are perfectly balanced and your tyres exactly aligned, you will notice that your drive is smoother, the tyres are less noisy, and even things like your fuel efficiency are improved.
Good Inflation
Keep your tyres at optimal inflation levels at all times to ensure their correct operation. Modern tyres are precision engineered to work best within a narrow range of pressure, and this is so important to your tyres’ safety and longevity that it has been included on the MOT test checklist ever since 2018. You can check your tyre pressure every month or so (more often if you travel long distances frequently, or if you regularly use poor roads) to ensure that you are still legally compliant.
Life is a little complicated in 2024 with pivotal elections expected in a great number of countries in the world, the cost of living relentlessly rising and the global economy seeming poised to do something drastic at any moment – and there is little you can do about any of these things. But what you can do is buy the best tyres you can afford, and then help them to last as long as possible by following the steps above.
