Posts Tagged ‘tyre’

2 February

Tips On The Vehicle Tyres Choosing

Though most ATVs include inventory tires, just a few totally different sorts of aftermarket versions are available which are suitable for different situations. Those made specifically for avenue use should not supreme for snow or mud riding. These tires are made for specific terrains and are made by a variety of quality brands. Here are some information on the many ATV tire variations that are provided. An expert from a sourcing agent who also knew much about WOF Auckland and cheap cars from Japan car auctions provided the following information.

Almost each all terrain vehicle comes factory put in with normal purpose ATV tires. They are designed to be used on the whole, all around off roading, however for those who lean in the direction of one form of off roading primarily than a specialized tire like one for mud or snow would be your best bet.In case you’re looking to use your ATV on the sand, then paddle tires are your best option. In case you’ve by no means seen a paddle tire, just imagine very massive balls with paddles. To be sincere, they give the impression of being extra like paddles on old riverboats. Although they’re environment friendly in sand, they don’t seem to be urged for other kinds of riding.

Should you’re planning on off-roading along with your ATV in deep mud situations, you will need an ATV tire that’s designed to handle it. ATV mud tires are made with massive gaps and irregular tread spacing to ensure a superior grip that rids itself of mud as you ride. As well as, the design of mud tires spins as a lot as attainable to rid the mud from the tire.

Essentially the most unique-looking tire of the bunch is probably the snow tire. Each snow tire features horizontal treads that wrap around the it – very similar to a snow chain. This design permits the tires to firmly grip the snow as a substitute of helplessly spinning in it. Trail tires bear a putting resemblance to their mud counterparts. The only distinction is that the treads are barely shorter and could also be nearer together. These tires are additionally product of more durable rubber and are increased priced than most of their counterparts.

14 January

How To Improve The Automotive’s Tyre Performance

Tyre associated troubles are quite common in cars and makes up for more than fifty % of automobile trouble. With the intention to increase the performance of your car tyres you can try avoid the following. Unhealthy driving habits Efficiency car tyres are sensitive to bad driving habits. High speed driving causes the tyres to melt and this might end result to ‘chunking’ or breaking apart of the tyre. That is probably dangerous. In case your car requires to be pushed at excessive speeds ensure that you get the proper of tyres for the job. Fierce accelerating and stopping while driving additionally results in damage. For people who also want to know something about the tyres Auckland repairs, the airport car rental advice or cheap cars from Japan car auctions, you can check online.

Upkeep of your automobile tyres Holding a check in your tyres are very important for optimum performance. Checking stress usually and making sure the right strain is maintained is crucial. Low stress will decelerate the automobile and too much causes put on and tear to the tyres. Strain is finest checked when the tyres are cold and run for less than a mile. Another difficulty is the lack of balance. Badly balanced wheels and breaks will cause wear on the middle of the treads. That is extremely unhealthy for the general car. Check your tyre treads and the depth of your tyres regularly. If the depth is between 1.6 – 3mm then it is about time you get new ones.

Checking the depth of the tyre is finest accomplished by a professional. Sadly the road surfaces at occasions can result in depreciation of even the most effective maintained tyres. They are often abrasive and rough. Incase the roads you employ every day are usually not as nicely maintained as you want to strive switching to a radial with more grip and sturdiness. Even though it’s attainable you’ll keep away from most of those issues, wheels depreciate and require to get replaced inside one to 2 years. Get them frequently checked as well. In the occasion you suppose you’ve the wrong set of tyres, substitute them with kind of efficiency automobile tyres that may fit your state of affairs better.

How have you learnt you could have tyre injury? Verify for cuts and scrapes on the partitions of the tyres. In case you feel excessive vibration, it might mean there is internal damage. For those who see any bulges or blisters on the facet wall exchange the tyres directly as these are indicators of tyre failure. To find out more about the appropriate set of wheels on your automotive, go online and select from a wide range of radials. Search for the speed rankings as well. You can find nice offers which include fitting the wheels after purchase of the tyre of your selection, all at a storage nearest to you.

30 December

Tips On Avoiding A Tire Blow-Out

For people who ever have the unfortunate experience of having a tire blow out while you are driving your vehicle, you need to act fast to avoid having a serious accident. No matter what kind of vehicle you drive, there are some simple steps to follow to make sure you safely come to a stop. There are also some important tips you should follow to lower the risk that you will have tire failure in the first place. For people who want to know more about the tyres Auckland repairs, the car rental advice or the cheap cars from Japanese car auctions, you can check online for more details.

When a tire fails, you will know it. You will hear a loud noise and the car will become harder to steer. As soon as the tire blows, let off the gas pedal as soon as possible, but do not slam on the brakes as this could make you lose control. Be firm but smooth on the steering while guiding your vehicle to the side of the road, away from the traffic lanes. It is extremely important not to jerk on the wheel, as this too can make you lose control and crash.

If it is a front tire that fails, the vehicle will normally want to pull in that direction, but you should still have ample control to stop safely. A rear tire is a bit trickier though. If a rear tire fails, the vehicle can be very difficult to control and can dart unpredictably. Be gentle on the steering, and do not apply the brakes at all until you are going under 25 mph to minimize your risk of an accident.

While some tire failures are simply unavoidable, there are some things you can do to reduce the chance this happens to you. First, make sure your tires are properly inflated by checking them regularly with a tire pressure gauge, which you can buy at an auto parts store. When checking the pressure, make sure you do it before you drive the car and that the air temperature is mild. Checking the pressure on a day which is abnormally hot or cold, as well as checking them after you have driven the vehicle, can lead to an inaccurate reading, making you think that the tires are properly inflated when they actually are not.

Another way to prevent tire failure is to replace your tires every five to six years even if they are not worn out, especially if your car sits out in the sun a lot. The sun will rot and dry out the rubber, making it brittle. If this happens, the tire can fail even if there is plenty of tread left on it. To prevent this, visually inspect your tires once every couple of months. Look at where the tread meets the sidewall of the tire and check the area for cracking. A few tiny cracks are alright and nothing to worry about, but if there are many cracks, or very deep ones, replace the tires as soon as possible.

One final cause of tire failure comes from hitting curbs too hard. This can be especially damaging since the wheel normally gets bent as well. However, this situation is easy to avoid. Simply be careful and drive slowly if you think you might come in contact with a curb, and try to avoid all contact with curbs in general. Note that having cracked tires may increase the chance of a blow out when coming in contact with a curb.As you can see, with a little time and effort now, you can save yourself a big headache later on. Remember, take care of your tires and they will take care of you.

20 March

Are Your Tyres An Accident Risk?

Poorly maintained and checked tyres are an avoidable problem that cause many road accidents. The main areas of concern are tyre wear and incorrect tyre pressures. If you do not have properly maintained tyres, you can receive a fine of up to £2,500 per tyre, and three penalty points on your licence.

The law says…

The Road Traffic Act of 1988 states it is the driver of the car’s responsibility to ensure that its tyres have a safe depth of tread – more than 1.6mm deep across the central 75% of the tyre. The police may also choose to enforce the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations of 1986, which apply not only to tyres, but to brakes, steering, wheels, fuel and emissions. The Motor Vehicles Tyres (Safety) Regulations of 1994, which apply to the supply of tyres, worn tyres and retread tyres may apply to the substandard tyres on your vehicle.

Sadly, the same importance is not attached to tyres by the motorists themselves. A Continental Tyres study found that 40% of British motorists claimed to have never checked their tyre pressures, fewer knew how to check tread depths and 70% weren’t aware of what the minimum legal tread depth was.

Knowledge of the law is not enough

There are factors that can catch you out, even if you know your legal obligations. For example, if you use an air pump at a filling station it may give an incorrect reading as they are often damaged. But even if the pressure gauge at your chosen garage is accurate, just driving there from home warms your tyres up, and this can cause you to underinflate your tyres. Some journalists have urged tyre manufacturers to publish recommended ‘warm’ pressure levels.

It’s not just your legal obligations

Aside from the possibility of breaking the law, are you really confident that you can control your car if you get a tyre blow-out or into a skid at high speed? Weekly checks of the tyre rubber and pressure will reduce the possibilities of anything going wrong and you endangering the lives of you, your passengers, other road users, and even pedestrians. Even if it just causes a minor delay, a breakdown is always a problem, and this type is easily avoided.

Keeping an eye on your tyres and maintaining them correctly helps whenever you use your car. Not just by rewarding you with better handling, but through your bank account. With the correct pressure in them, the tyres will last longer and you’ll use less fuel.

9 February

Safety on the Road: Your Car’s Tyres

The sole contact points between your vehicle and the road are its tyres. For this very fact alone it stands to reason that your car’s tyres should not only be safe, but also hard-wearing, made from high quality materials, be durable and still provide you and your family with a comfortable drive. Together with ancillary insurance products such as their car warranty, motorists should consider buying wheel and tyre insurance if they spend large amounts of time out on the roads.

To meet the above demands, tyres need to be manufactured to exacting standards: sometimes up to 200 separate raw materials are used in their manufacture. The difference between a cheap and expensive tyre is due to factors like the rubber compound being of a better quality, the amount of testing put into tread patterns and rubber stability and the fact that when making tyres at higher temperatures the tyres are of a better quality as a result.

The more testing done by a tyre manufacture the lower the road noise will be, the longer the tyre will perform at its peak rate and the safer your family will be. So it should not come as a surprise that there are many different types of tyres that are manufactured for our vehicles and that their treads actually do matter. Some of these are made for a specific purpose while others are purely used for high performance road driving, the race track, desert driving or more rugged terrain such as woodlands or farms.

Tyre Width and Tread
The tyre grip depends on its rubber compound and the grooves that are present in the tread pattern, as it is the tread that does all the work. The tread helps determine how well the tyre grips on a dry road. Each manufacturer designs its own tread pattern to achieve this.

The tread grooves will disperse water in the wet and thus the tyre will grip the tarmac and stay in contact with the road. If the tyre tread is not able to disperse enough water, then your vehicle will aquaplane. When you aquaplane, there is little or no contact between road and tyre and so you will lose control of the car as the tyre loses grip. The more efficiently the grooves expel the water, the better the tyre will be at maintaining grip in wet weather conditions. If tyre treads wear down, they have diminished ability to expel water and that is where it gets dangerous for you and other road users. Worn tyres are dangerous – do not drive on tyres with less than the legal tread limit.

There are many types of tread pattern, all of which are used for different performance issues including standing up to various driving forces such as cornering, steering and high speed braking, road noise reduction, low wear and traction with the surface you are driving on. Tyre treads are designed to cope with the road surface be it snow, farm tracks (large knobbly tyres for digging in), race tracks (soft tyres with minimal groves) or wet weather tyres (deep groves designed to expel water out and away from your car).

The sidewalls combine with the air in the tyre to carry the weight of the vehicle. The outside of the sidewall should always be where you find the tyre size and specification details. Damaged sidewalls could cause a blow out with deadly consequences.

There are legalities in relation to the tyre specifications. This is because they are the main safety features of a tyre. The manufacturer is responsible for any relevant sidewall markings and an owner is responsible for the condition of tyre including the width and tread depths.

The legal minimum tread depth for car tyres is 1.6mm continuously around the band of the central tread of the tyre, circling at least 75 % of the tyre. The remaining grooves must have a depth of a least 1 mm again circling 75 % of the tyre. It is always advisable to change the tyre before it gets to this level, not only for safety reasons, but legal reasons too. Not performing regular checks could mean that your tyres are illegal and cost you a fine of up to two-and-a-half thousand pounds and potentially three points on your licence.

Belted/Radial Tyres
These have replaced the formerly popular cross-ply tyre. The materials of the radial tyres inner casing runs perpendicular to the direction of tyre travel. If viewed side on, the materials run radially, hence their name. The only problem associated with the composition of this type of tyre is that the materials cannot absorb the lateral force when cornering or accelerating. To correct this, the materials are supported by another structural material, for example steel belts.

The steel belts are rubber encircled ropes of steel wire. They give structural rigidity and maintain the tread flat in contact with the road. With bead-wires, the ultra-strong steel wires hold an extreme resistance to stretching, therefore holding the tyre to the rim, even during very high performance driving.

Run Flat Tyres
Manufacturer have now developed tyres and systems that allow a vehicle to continue moving despite there being a loss of pressure in the tyres. Two systems are available. The reinforced tyre sidewall brands on the market include Bridgestone, Continental, Dunlop, Goodyear, and Pirelli. The other uses a rubber clip attached to the rim; brands using this system include Michelin. Run flat tyres should be fitted only in conjunction with your car’s tyre pressure warning system, if applicable. Although new cars will automatically be provided with the appropriate tyre choice, if car buyers are replacing run flat tyres with aftermarket upgrades, due care must be taken to ensure that they are compatible with your car.

Little Known Fact: Rubber car tyres actually deteriorate with age, this is even the case when those tyres have simply sat on a warehouse shelf and not been used. This aging means that the tyre will be more prone to sudden and unexpected structural failure. Similarly, spare tyres sitting either in your care or perhaps in your garage, are subject to deterioration! Never risk causing an accident just to save a little money. It’s false economy to buy tyres in bulk if you end up replacing them prematurely due to deterioration. Always ask your tyre supplier how long the tyres they are selling you have been on the self.

Summer Tyres
These particular tyres provide excellent driving and braking performance, both on dry and wet roads, during temperatures above freezing in the spring, summer, autumn and winter. Summer tyres typically perform well in warm weather and are not suitable for cold driving conditions. The simple block shaped tread on the tyre ensures that the tyre’s contact with the road is as firm as possible, giving maximum grip at all times.

Winter Tyres/Cold Weather Condition Tyres
These tyres are for use when the weather turns cold or there is snow and ice on the roads. The tread has a blocked design with deep, wide blades or grooves. These ensure that there is superior traction and braking performance on winter road surfaces. The tread rubber gives excellent friction and allows flexibility at low temperatures. Most of the current designs are centred towards the braking performance and driving control on icy roads. Sports such as World Rally and track motor sports have helped by providing invaluable information regarding performance so that tyre designs and technology are continuously being improved.

All-Season Tyres
As their name suggests, these are designed for use all-year round, and are more complex than other tyres. This is because of the longer block-edge that is used for winter. More blades or grooves are apparent in these tyres to ensure improved braking and driving performance, produced by maximising the effect of its edge. All-season tyre tread designs provide superb all-around traction for various road conditions, whilst still providing even wear and low noise.

Snow tyres
Snow tyres are especially designed to perform better when driving in the snow. They have been designed to replace the standard tyre for the winter months to ensure driving on the snow and ice is safer. They have much deeper treads that increase the traction and the rubber used maintains its elasticity in the cold temperatures. Higher volumes of snow, sleet and ice are displaced by using a tyre with deeper treads. They will perform well in such conditions as road flooding, ice and mud.

4WD Tyres
4wd tyres are produced for high performance on 4×4 vehicles, they will often be made for driving off-road too. Today many vehicles are built with four wheel drive capability; 4WD (4 wheel drive) is no longer the sole domain of Land Rover Discovery and Toyota Land Cruiser. Modern saloon cars like the Mitsubishi Evo and Subaru’s WRX also have four wheel drive systems which can be engaged either permanently or – as in the case of the Subaru Forester 4WD for example – can be engaged and disengaged as dictated by driving conditions. Gone are the days where 4WDs were only used by the military and emergency services. In fact as a group Future45 Ltd has found a steady increase in sales of gap insurance to buyers of 4WD Sports Utility Vehicles over the past 36 months and expect this market segment to continue it’s growth.

Little Known Fact: Heat can cause tyre fatigue resulting in catastrophic failure. The main causes of such failure are due to frequent overloading of the vehicle which overheats the tyres though friction; the other is simply by living in a country with a hot climate. Since the tyres are prone to failure far sooner in these conditions more frequent tyre condition checks should be made under these circumstances. Many tyre manufacturers recommend that a vehicle’s tyres are changed every 5 to 7 years on average even if they still have plenty of legal tread on them.

Car Tyre’s sidewall markings
Markings are apparent on all tyres; if your tyre doesn’t have any, then it is not an acceptable tyre. The markings hold all sorts of information and will help you choose the right tyre for your car. For example:

If your tyre has 175/65 R14 T imprinted on it then:
• 175 is the tyre width in mm
• 65 is the tyre sidewall profile or the sidewall height as a percentage of its width
• R means radial (rather than a cross ply)
• 14 is the diameter of the wheel rim, in inches
• T is the speed rating which must match, or exceed the maximum speed of your car.

Speed ratings are as follows:
S 180 km/h or 112 mph
T 190 km/h or 118 mph
U 200 km/h or 125 mph
H 210 km/h or 130 mph
V 240 km/h or 149 mph
W(ZR) 270 km/h or 168 mph
Y(ZR) 300 km/h or 186 mph
ZR Above 240 km/h or 149 mph

Big Brand Tyres & Their Reputations

It used to be the case that there were only 3 or 4 brands that were available, but due to mergers and the increasing demands and needs of the consumer, more budget brands have entered the marketplace. The main ones are:

Michelin(France) -This is the world’s number one tyre manufacturer. They own Michelin, BF Goodrich, Kleber, Uniroyal and Riken.
Bridgestone(Japan) -One of the top 3 manufacturers. Back in 2003 Bridgestone (Japan) recently announced that they would be investing heavily in new research and development to produce tyres in the high performance sector, and also intended to raise their stakes in Europe’s share of global Bridgestone business. This initiative was a success and has put Bridgestone firmly in amongst the worlds top tyre manufacturers. Today they own Bridgestone, Firestone, Daytona and Europa.
Goodyear Dunlop(USA) -Goodyear Chemical provides both standard and high-performance polymers, antioxidants, latex and adhesive resin products to its customers on a global scale. The business has annual revenues of more than $750 million. Recently merged to form one of the largest tyre manufacturers in the world, they own Dunlop, Goodyear, Fulda, Falken and Kelly.
Yokohama (Japan) -In the top 10 list of manufacturers. Their 4WD tyres are world renowned, Their name embossed on the tyre sidewall painted white ensures instant brand recognition.
Pirelli(Italy) -In the top 5 of manufacturers. Pirelli are one of the worlds premier premium tyre brands. High performance car and motorcycle tyres are synonymous with the Pirelli brand name. They have recently developed the Ceat and Courier brands.
Cooper Tyre(USA) -They own Cooper, Avon and Mastercraft.
Continental (Germany) -They own Continental, Uniroyal, General Tyre, Gislaved and Semperit.
Toyo (Japan) – They are one of the newest budget firms.
Kumho (Korea) – They are a budget range with an emphasis on sporting tyres.
Vredestein (Netherlands) – They have an enormously wide range of tyres and are constantly working on innovative solutions, which they prove in practice by regularly introducing new tyres.

Tyre Terms You May Have Heard Before

Rolling Resistance
The rolling resistance of your tyres can affect your fuel economy. Correctly pumped tyres are essential to the tyres performance and your fuel economy. Therefore some tyres are described as “fuel savers”, “eco” or “energy” tyres. These tyres may have low rolling resistance. A general rule is that the narrower a tyre the more fuel you will save and they often, though not always, are less likely to aqua plane on road surface water at higher speeds! Interesting and completely logical when you think about it!

Tyre Pressures
Always check that your car has the correct tyre pressure. You will find the recommended pressure for your car either in the handbook, the glove box or the inside of the driver door panel. Check the tyre pressure every couple of weeks. Always check your tyre pressure when your tyres are cold, as the further you drive the hotter the air inside them will be: air expands as it warms up and you will therefore get a false reading.

It’s interesting to note how Formula One racing has employed this principle. Cold Formula One tyres are actually almost flat! They need to be brought up to temperature very quickly for optimal performance. Optimal performance is when the tyres are blisteringly hot and that makes them sticky as the rubber compound melts. This melting rubber is then used for holding the car to the race track at high speed when taking corners. A Formula One car relies on the hot tyres as this expands the air in them, which in turn inflates the tyres. However in a road going car you must not drive with under or over inflated tyres as this will hinder the handling of the vehicle and their structural safety is also dependent on their inflation pressure. Uneven tyre pressure will increase both tyre wear and your fuel consumption.

Wheel Alignment
If you find that your tyres are evenly worn across the surfaces, this is a sign of good wheel alignment. If the tyre wear is uneven, this could be a result of over or under inflation. If your tyres are badly worn on one edge this could signal that the wheel alignment has been knocked off of track. It is then essential that you have your wheel checked by a reputable garage or wheel and tyre centre as soon as possible. They will check your wheel alignment, camber and toe settings for you to ensure a safer drive, lower fuel consumption and longer tyre life.

Wheel Balancing
Wheels are balanced using tiny leads weights placed on the outside of your rims after the tyre has been fitted to the wheel. Each wheel is done individually. If your wheels are unbalanced, not only will you feel a vibration in your steering wheel, but the vibrations become more violent as the balancing gets worse. These vibrations can cause mechanical damage to your car and the distraction to the driver is dangerous. Always seek professional help as soon as you feel that there is anything at all that may be wrong with your vehicle’s tyres. Not only your life, but those of your family and other motorists are also at stake. Again, it is essential that you have your checked by a reputable garage or wheel and tyre centre.

Spare Tyre
Always ensure that your spare wheel is in good condition. Check the spare tyre’s pressure and tread every few months, so avoiding any problems should you need to use it. Your spares tread should be within legal limits if you have elected to use a tyre which you previously had on your car. Best practice is to always have a brand new tyre for your spare. You can use either a full-sized spare, or buy a temporary “mini-spare” to save space. These are designed to take up less room in your vehicle and to get you home in an emergency. They are not meant to be driven on for long periods of time and they are usually not suitable for speeds in excess of forty to fifty miles per hour. If in doubt consult the manufacturer.

Directional Tyres
Directional Tyres guarantee the best possible sound reduction and water dispersion. For these reasons the tyres must be fitted correctly. Directional tyres are fitted with the arrow point and the words “ROTATION” pointing towards the forward driving direction of the vehicle.

Asymmetrical Tyres
Tyres with an asymmetrical tread also exist. These have a more open tread on the inner section and less open tread on the outer section. The less open tread is intended for high traction on a dry road and road adherence in corners while the inner section has a more open tread that results in an improved dispersion of water.

Tyre Care Reminder

It is essential that you maintain the tyre pressure, for safety, economy and for the sake of the environment. So check that all your tyres are at the correct pressures, every couple of weeks. Don’t forget to check your spare.

When you do this, also check for any tyre damage at the same time. Tyre failure could occur as a result of any cuts, lumps or scrapes which you notice on your tyres which go unchecked. Noticing uneven wear could mean that the wheel alignment is incorrect, or if you have braked suddenly, there may be a flat area. So again, always have them professionally checked if you have been involved in any situation involving emergency or heavy braking.

Remember that not only is it illegal to have tyres below the legal limit of 1.6mm, but you may well also void your car insurance. There will also be a greater risk of skidding and aquaplaning. It’s important to inspect the tread regularly.

This article was supplied by the Gap Insurance division at Future45 Ltd group of companies for informational purposes only and should not be construed as advice. In the interests of your safety please consult your local tyre replacement centre if you are in any doubt about the condition of your car tyres.