The tyres of your car must be in real good condition round the year and only then your vehicle can perform at its best. When the tyres become worn or damaged handling of the vehicle itself often turns out to be little problematic. Moreover it affects other factors too that are crucial like fuel consumption, stopping distance of the vehicle and others. In easier words regular monitoring of the health of the tyres of your car is crucial to ensure safer driving and optimal mechanical performance of your vehicle.
This automatically brings the vital questions – how long are your tyres expected to last? How do you know that your existing tyres need replacement?
Let us try exploring these answers in the paragraphs below.
How long are your tyres expected to last?
It is indeed difficult to predict a numerical number in terms of years to express the expected lifespan of the tyres of your vehicle. This is because the life of the tyres of any vehicle actually depends on a number of factors like the following –
- Individual technique of driving
- How often a vehicle is driven
- The type of road condition on which it is mostly driven
- The place where it is parked most often
- How much distance it is driven in a year and
- Last but nevertheless the least, the quality of the tyres installed
Any of the above factors can bring about a significant difference to the life of your tyres and make your tyre last anywhere between 3 and 10 years. It is usually recommended that tyre changing must be done. Every 20,000 miles of driving or every 10 years whichever is earlier.
However if you experience any of the following symptoms then you may have to replace them much earlier.
- A worn down tread
- Development of cracks in the rubber
- Fast loss of air pressure of the tyre
- Wheels get wobbly particularly when you drive at high speed
Wearing down of tread of a tyre fitting in course of time
Highly trained and experienced mechanics who provide 24 hour mobile tyre fitting London explain that brand new tyres usually have a tread depth of about 8 mm. But this measurement is likely to diminish with time. It is obvious for the surface of a tyre to rub against the surface of the road which creates friction and thus the tyre wears down gradually over time. It is important to remember that the legal limit is 1.6 mm and so the depth of your tyre tread should never sink below that level. Tyre mechanics and automobile experts recommend tyre replacement when the tread depth goes below 3 mm. The thinner the tread depth of a tyre the longer a vehicle will take to come to stop. It could even take longer time on wet or icy surface.
The first sign that prompts it is time to replace the existing tyres is the worn down tread. It is important that you keep an eye on it especially if your vehicle travels a lot of distance almost every day.
Development of cracks in a tyre is a tell-tale sign of damage
Cracks in tyres are common if a vehicle is left parked for long periods of time stretching over days and weeks together. Cracks are also common if your vehicle is left parked in direct sunlight frequently for hours at a stretch. Tyres for vehicles are made from rubber that is naturally pliable; this provides tyres with certain level of elasticity. When your vehicle is on the move a specially formulated chemical is automatically released which further lubricates your tyres. Now, if you consider the other way around, when your vehicle is parked for long hours at a stretch, the tyres dry out faster in lack of special lubricant. Cracks appear naturally on dried out tyres. In course of time it is also natural for rubber of the tyres to lose elasticity. Excessive exposure to the UV rays also causes your vehicle tyres to develop cracks.
The question is how you can avoid development of cracks in your tyre. You should drive the vehicle at least a little on regular basis and always try to park. It in a shady place away from direct exposure to sunrays. It may not be possible every time to follow these practices but these can definitely increase the lifespan of your tyres to a considerable extent at the least.
Loss of air pressure in tyre fitting results from cracks and ageing
If you notice your tyres are fast losing air pressure than those should then it could be time to have the tyres replaced. Quick loss of air pressure indicates your tyre is old enough and has developed weakness. The loss of air could either be through the cracks or through the seal around the alloy explains a mechanic who deals with 24 hour tyres in London over the years. Even new tyres lose air pressure but in those circumstances your put air in a tyre once a month.
Unbalanced or wobbly wheels and uneven wearing of tyre fitting
When your wheels become wobbly it could also indicate that you need new tyres for your vehicle. The weight of the wheels of a vehicle is unevenly distributed when the wheels themselves are unbalanced. This also results in excessive wearing of the tyres. If you can resolve the issue faster, you may not have to invest in new tyres immediately. But if you ignore the issue and turn a blind eye to it. The crisis is going to get deeper and the damage more severe.
Ideally how many miles a tyre fitting should last?
The tyres in the front of any vehicle should run for 20,000 miles before a replacement. It is required while the tyres fitted at the rear should last even longer. Let us break it down to even simpler maths for easier understanding.
If your vehicle runs 5,000 miles a year, then you need tyre replacements every four years. It is also important to swap the tyres sooner than the 4 years timeline if you notice any problem cropping up.
When you are running the vehicle on a spare tyre you should not drive it more than a distance of 50 miles suggests a mechanic who provides the service of 24hr mobile tyre fitting in London over the years. While driving you should not go over the speed limit of 50 miles an hour either. Spare tyres are only meant to drive back home or to the nearest repairing outlet.
