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Often tyres have to be replaced long before their
specified life has been reached principally because of
rapid or uneven tread wear. The most common causes of
avoidable tread wear are:
Damage Limitation
At Ace Tyres we only a special vulcanised plug patch is
used which repairs the tyre to high standard. Don't ever
let anyone else attempt to repair your tyre to a lesser
standard - it could prove fatal in the event of the
repair failing at speed.
Balance
To run true and keep the tread in constant contact with
the road, the wheel and tyre have to be correctly
balanced. If the vehicle was to be raised on a jack and
the wheel spun by hand, an unbalanced wheel would always
stop at the same point - with the heavier imbalance
being of course at the bottom of the wheel.
On the road, wheel imbalance can actually lift the tyre
from contact with the road creating vibration through
the steering wheel and causing dangerous problems with
steering and braking. Damage to the suspension, wheel
bearings and steering components is unavoidable if the
imbalance is left unattended.
Your safety is at stake, yet the remedy is quick and
simple - your Ace Tyres Falkirk technician will always
check and adjust the balance when a new tyre is fitted.
However, If you are having other work done - ask the
technician to check all road wheels for balance - it
could save you pounds - and it could save your life.
Valves
The tyre valve is the most neglected and overlooked
component within the wheel and tyre assembly, yet an
efficient valve is crucial to the safe operation of the
tyre.
Wear on the valve seal, damaged screw threads, dirt and
grit in the valve itself can all lead to a dangerous
failure of the tyre at speed. Even a poorly sealed valve
can cause fairly constant under inflation of the tyre
which will reduce the life of your tyre by 25%. As it is
impossible, to replace the valve without renewing the
tyre casing from the wheel - Ace Tyres Falkirk recommend
that the valves are replaced EVERY time a tyre is
replaced.
Tyre-Tread
The purpose of the tread on tyres is to allow the tyre
to grip in the wet. Huge volumes of water on the surface
of the road have to be squeezed out by the tread
grooves. For example, at 60mph, with a water depth of
only 3mm, the tyre has to clear over 2 gallons of water
per second!
And 3mm of water on a rainy day is not unusual. In rain
puddles, you will often find as much as 8 to 10mm. If
this water is not rapidly dispersed, the tyre will begin
to "aquaplane" - a sheet of water builds up between the
tyre and the road - and the tyre loses all contact with
the surface of the road.
This is exceedingly dangerous. The capacity to disperse
water is drastically reduced with low and worn tread
depth - so carefully monitor the depth of tread on your
tyres - YOUR LIFE could depend on it.
The law demands that tyres have a tread depth of 1.6mm
in a continuous band around the centre three quarters of
the tyre. These levels represent the absolute minimum
and tyres as worn as this should be replaced
immediately. To help you judge how much tread you have
on your tyres, manufacturers often mould tread bars at
roughly 1.6mm. If you can see these bars your tyres are
about to become illegal and unsafe.
Tyre Inflating
Check your handbook or our inflation chart and keep your
tyres at the correct pressure.
Wrongly inflated tyres will greatly shorten your tyres'
life, and could make your car dangerous to drive. Check
every two weeks - including the spare - and only check
when the tyres are cold, as the pressures increase after
the car has been run due to the air inside warming up.
If you have a heavy load - for example before going on
holiday - check your handbook and increase tyre
pressures as per manufacturers' recommendations.
Remember to reduce the pressures after removing the
heavy load
Sidewall codes for regular and low profile tyres
Every tyre shows information pertaining to its
manufacturer, size, model etc. The following is an
explanation of all the terminology used.
165R13T
You should always replace a tyre with the same or a
higher speed rating. In general, the higher the speed
rating, the better the quality of the tyres and the more
advanced the technology. This is especially true in
areas such as steering response, wet grip, cornering
power and braking adhesion.
Low profile tyres have a slightly different marking for
instance:
185/60R 14H
A standard tyre has a sidewall height which is 82% of
tyre nominal section width.
Reducing the % of sidewall height to tread nominal
section width (the 'aspect ratio') enables tyres to be
wider and put more tread on the road.
Trouble Shooting
Puncture repairs
Puncture repairs are carried out in accordance with NTDA
and BSAUl59 regulations.
The main points are:
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