The joy and excitement of buying your first car ever is something out of the world and hard to explain in words. But as soon as the excitement wears off and the reality sinks in, you realize that buying a car was not that difficult after all but maintaining it can be a headache if you don’t know what to do. The first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word maintenance is the car’s engine. The truth is, your car tyres often get overlooked but they require just as much attention as the engine and the exterior.
Maintaining your car’s tyres is quite simple but it can save you a lot of money since the tyre prices in Oman can be quite high. Think of it as a base that has to carry an entire building’s weight on it, if it’s not strong enough to hold the building’s weight it could seriously endanger the entire structure. Similarly, a weak set of tyres would do you more harm than good. They may cause a significant damage to your sweet ride including the suspension and the fancy wheels that uplift your car’s appearance. So, here is a comprehensive guide for the new car owners about how they can maintain their car tyres and make the most of them.
Tyre Rotation
Tyre rotation is one of the best things that you can do to prolong your tires’ life. For those of you who don’t know, your front tyres are likely to wear out a lot faster as compared to your rear tyres as they have the massive engine’s weight directly above them. Instead of waiting for the front tyres to fully wear out, it’s better to replace them with the rear ones once they have been driven for about 8000 kilometers. This way, all four tyres would wear out evenly which would ultimately allow you to get the maximum miles out of your tyres. Furthermore, when it’s time to change, you would be able to change all four tyres together.
Air Pressure
The last thing you want is to run on flat tyres and damage both your tyre and wheel beyond repair. Flat tyre is one thing, but a tyre with low air pressure is just as bad. It’s not the tyres that hold your car’s weight, it’s the air pressure. Low air pressure would not just ruin your fuel economy but would also shorten the tires’ life. Did you know that even the new and perfectly shaped tyres could lose up to 2 LBS pressure per month? Regardless if your tyres are good as new, it’s critical to check their air pressure every once in a while.
Now before you check the pressure, there are a few things that you need to be aware of. Firstly, it’s a good idea to check the air pressure when the tyres are cold. That’s because when you drive a car it would cause your tyres to heat up and build pressure inside. Meaning, you would never get the correct value when they are hot. You could either check the pressure in the morning before you leave for work, or wait three to four hours after parking till they cool off.
Once you have checked the pressure, make sure that they are sealed off properly with metal valve stem cap or a flow through valve stem cap to avoid a leakage.
Tread Depth
Your tyre tread is exactly what is keeping your vehicle from spinning out of control on wet and slippery roads. The tread wear does not only tell you about your tyre’s condition and when to change, but it also tells you a lot about your vehicle and what might be wrong with it.
If you notice that your tread is wearing down the center only then it could be a result of over inflation while if the tyres are worn on the sides then it’s due to the under inflation. Similarly, if there are signs of cupping on the tyre then you may want to get your shocks or suspension checked. Poor shocks make the tyres bounce up and down putting more pressure on some parts than the others hence leaving consistent patches of worn tread. You can get a lot more valuable insights about your vehicle and driving from the tread pattern but that’s for another blog.
It’s always wise to check your tread not from one but two different places before you decide to change them. Continental tires Oman always encourages new drivers to get their car tyres inspected by the professionals or check them on their own every once in a while to not just ensure the tires’ longer lifespan but also for the safety and better performance of your vehicle.