Caring for your tyres

It’s somewhat of a tradition these days, fuelled by the car dealers who naturally want to shine a little bit of the spotlight on themselves as well, how that perfect social media shot is inevitably uploaded following the purchase of your car. You know exactly what we’re talking about – the #blessed, #blessings, #lookatGOD posts featuring the handing over of a ribbon wrapped four-wheeled baby...

Whether you bought it brand new or pre-loved and whether you bought it cash or through financing, the reality that often hits new car owners is that of just how expensive its maintenance and running costs can be. Beyond having found a Convenient Deal 4 U, upkeep elements such as having to change your tyres along with many others can become a bit of a financial nightmare if kept unchecked. Fortunately though, with the right care, the running costs associated with components such as your tyres can be kept to a minimum if your approach to their upkeep and maintenance is something you put a little effort into.

Your tyres are indeed a set of some of the most important elements which go into the running of a car so they should definitely be looked after. Try driving without a set of tyres and you will inevitably realise just how important they are, but chances are it never has to get that far for you to realise. Hopefully you never have to experience what has been known to be the increasingly common occurrence of some thugs stealing cars’ wheels overnight and leaving the body on a pile of bricks...

Anyway, back to the meat of the matter – taking proper care of your tyres can prolong their lifespan, but the first and foremost reason you want to practice proper tyre care is that of your safety.

As a rule of thumb, tyres should be inspected at least once a month or prior to embarking on a long road trip. Heaven knows how challenging some of the pothole riddled roads can be in some of the longer stretches of rural roads, this of course in between the annoying, intentionally visible construction going on ahead of the national elections.

The periodic checks you’d be conducting would fall in line with the proper care of your tyres, such as checking if they’re inflated to the proper pressure as well as checking for tread-wear and other types of damage, like bulges, bumps, sidewall perforations and even uneven tread-wear. You would also want to check for foreign objects lodged which could create problems, such as nails, rocks, etc, in addition to checking if the valve caps are still in good order and aren’t damaged.

Take note of the following tips:

• Ensure Wheel Alignment And Balancing is done
• Ensure the correct tyre pressure is Maintained
• Avoind reckless driving behaviour on the road
• Inspect tyre treads
• Rotate tyres when necessary