Don’t let yourself go bald – it might just kill you.

The car you are sitting in is the culmination of billions of euro in research and development. It is engineered to phenomenally high safety standards, and through its range of on-board safety systems it will try very hard to keep you alive and well. But the only bit of it that touches the road is a few millimetres of rubber. Bald is definitely not beautiful for tyres – so check them now before Winter sets in.

The tyres are the only part of the car that touches the road. Poor tyre depth will mean less stopping power even on good dry roads. In poor weather this becomes even more evident in longer stopping distances at lower speeds. The current legal limit for car tyres is 1.6mm. That really is a bare minimum and the AA recommends that tyres should be changed when tread depth reaches 2mm.

Tyres are easy to neglect. A recent survey by Advance Pitstop showed that as many as 90% of tyres are not inflated correctly. This is a rather terrifying notion when you think how much depends on it. Many of us wouldn’t dream of driving without a seatbelt or after a drink, but never look at the tyres from one end of the year to another.

Now that the weather is set to change from grim wet and grey to grim wet and dark, signalling the approach of Winter, it’s a good time to take a walk around your car and check the tyres.

Bald Tyres

What to look for:

  • Tread depth. Make sure there is a good depth of thread all the way around on all five tyres (don’t forget the spare)
  • Damage. Irish roads are punishing, especially in rural areas. Kerbs, stones, potholes, nails and glass can all cause damage. Check for tears, cuts or embedded objects.
  • Uneven tyre wear. If there is more sign of wear on one side of the tyre or if the tyres show different wear patterns on each side of the car then it could point to problems with steering or wheel balancing. Does the steering wheel vibrate slightly while travelling at speed? Does the car tend to move off a straight line when cruising? It could be the tyres causing the problem.
  • Inflation. The car’s handbook will tell you what the correct inflation is for your tyres, and you may also find them on a label on the pillar of the driver’s door. Typically it would be in the order of 32psi (pounds per square inch) and may be different for front and rear wheels but should always be the same on both sides of the car.
  • Keep checking! Most of us will only look at the tyres once in a blue moon unless one of them is visibly low. We should check more regularly to spot problems before they become too severe.

Car maintenance has got a little better in Ireland in the last number of years. The changing economy saw the general standard of cars improve and the introduction of the NCT also brought in a culture of checking safety items that wasn’t there before. But it is still very easy to overlook the obvious until a faults becomes bad enough to affect the car’s handling. By that stage it may be too late.

In normal circumstances you would expect to get 45-50,000 kilometres from a set of tyres, although that figure does vary and it could be less if the car spends its time on bad roads or gets heavy-duty use.

The main cause of tyre wear is driver behaviour; the ripping, aggressive driver who accelerates hard and brakes hard will go through them far faster. The other main consideration is use of the car. Be careful if you are regularly carrying heavy loads or towing a caravan or trailer. Your tyres may not be designed for this and will wear out quicker.

Bad tyre care will certainly be expensive and may be dangerous.