Wheels - Where The Rubber Hits The Road

Healthy, happy wheels are essential for keeping you safe on the road. Not only that, proper care of your tyres will improve your car's handling and reduce the amount of fuel it uses.

Here are a few things to keep an eye on:

• Tyre Pressure: make sure your tyres are inflated to the correct pressure, which is usually written on the sidewall of the tyre itself. Under-inflated tyres will result in poor handling, higher fuel use and greater tyre wear. Over-inflated tyres increase the risk of blowout and could reduce their grip on the road. Tyre pressure indicators are cheap devices available at all autoparts stores that will tell you the current pressure of your tyres. You can inflate your tyres at any service station for free.
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  Can you see the minimum tread depth indicator?

  Tyre Tread: Tyres wear out over time and just because they passed the last warrant of fitness doesn't mean they're safe now. Check to make sure you have at least 1.5mm of tread depth. Most tyres have "minimum tread depth indicators", slightly raised bumps inside the widest grooves of the tyre. If the tread is down to the level of these bumps, it's time to replace the tyre.
• Spare Wheel: make sure it's inflated properly, you never know if you might need it and the middle of the desert road is not the best place to discover it's flat!
• Wheel Damage: Most modern cars have alloy wheels rather than steel wheels with wheel covers (aka hub caps). Alloy wheels look much nicer but are often not as strong as steel wheels, so keep an eye on them for cracks or other signs of damage, especially if you hit a curb at speed. If in doubt, get a professional to check them. (Alloys are also prone to "curb rash", ugly scratches caused by rubbing against a curb, but this is just cosmetic.)

Regular wheel balancing and alignment will increase the life of your tyres by ensuring the tread wears evenly, and can also improve handling and reduce fuel consumption.

We're happy to arrange a balance and alignment as part of your regular service, or recommend a great tyre company you can take your vehicle to.

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