If you own a car, regular car servicing is one way to ensure effective maintenance. A lot is involved in car servicing. For instance, you may need to change your car tyres. Knowing when to replace your car tyres is usually easy. Some of the signs you will watch out for include reduced depth of the tyre treads, cracks, slits, blisters on the sidewalls and the age of the tyres. Unfortunately, many homeowners are likely to have a challenge in knowing the number of tyres they have to replace or finding the correct size replacement. Here are solutions to the challenge.
How Many Tyres Should You Replace?
Deciding on the number of tyres to replace can be overwhelming. This is especially the case when some of the tyres seem to be in a good condition. Your solution to this problem depends on the type of the car you have. Front-wheel-drive, rear-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive cars each have unique demands when it comes to replacing the tyres. For front-wheel-drive and rear-wheel-drive cars, it is recommended to change all tyres even when only one is damaged. However, if you are buying only two tyres, always have them placed on the rear wheels. The rear tyres usually offer more stability, which is essential when you are driving on wet or damp surfaces.
For an all-wheel-drive vehicle, you simply have to replace all the sets of tyres even when only one is damaged. While this might be costly, it is beneficial for your driving experience as well as the condition of your car. That is, the computer and differential system of your car often work to send the correct amount of torque to every wheel to maximise control by minimising slippage. Therefore, if you replace only one tyre, incorrect readings will be taken, which means the system will have to work harder. With time, you may end up burning out your vehicle's drivetrain.
How Do You Tell the Correct Size Replacement Tyres?
For effective results, you must always go for the exact size of replacement tyres. Therefore, look inside your owner's manual for the sizes. If you don't have the manual, look for hints from the markings on the sidewalls of the existing car tyres. You want to get information on the tyre type, tyre width, the aspect ratio, the construction of the tyre layers, the rim diameter, the load index and the speed rating. Most manufacturers usually arrange the information in this order on the sidewalls.
For some vehicles, you can find this information on tyre size on the door jab of the driver's door, within the hatch of the fuel tank and inside the door of the glove box.
Share1 December 2016
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