When should I change my tires?

Published on : 31 October 20193 min reading time

A real link between the road and the vehicle, wheels are undoubtedly one of the most stressed elements when driving. They guarantee both the comfort and safety of the car’s occupants. It is therefore essential to maintain them properly in order to minimize the risk of accidents. Each driver must therefore be able to recognize the condition of his tyres. It will also be interesting to consider tips to optimize their lifespan.

How to identify wear and tear

To check the condition of the tyres, it is necessary to look at the tread side. It is then necessary to observe carefully between the grooves to identify the wear indicators or TWI for “Tread Wear Indicator”. The latter are in the form of a small rubber growth of 1.6mm thick. It should be noted that some recent tire models use another system that is much simpler and more practical. These are digital wear indicators directly integrated into the rubber. The displayed numbers change according to the depth of the groove. Whether for one or the other, the driver now has an element that allows him to make a better decision when to change his tires. If the limit is 1.6 mm, safety experts recommend that the change should be made as soon as the 2 mm, 4 mm limit is reached for winter tires.

Better understand the meaning of wear and tear

The TWI analysis is also used to detect other problems on the vehicle. Therefore, several of them are found throughout the entire tread area. The observation of wear on a specific side of the tire may therefore mean that the parallelism of the car will have to be reviewed. In the case of wear only on the central part, it may be too high a pressure during inflation. If irregular wear is found on one or all of its tires, a visit to the nearest garage is recommended in order to carry out a more thorough check.

Optimize the life of your tires

After installing new tyres, it is recommended to do a small running-in in order to improve performance in the long term. In this case, it is necessary to drive at a moderate speed over about 300 km.

Eco-driving is also an excellent way to maintain your tires. To do this, you must take a few precautions, such as not braking suddenly or accelerating. It will also be necessary to check the tyre pressure from time to time. The same applies to balancing and geometry. Finally, the wheels must be rotated every 5000 to 10000 km.

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