1. Driving habits and tyre care are largely responsible for the state of your tyres. Every car has parts
that need to be replaced constantly and the cost of replacing tyres, is more than all these parts.
Proper tyre care can substantially prolong their average life apart from allowing you to enjoy more
comfortable and safe motoring. To take care of your tyres some basic checks should be followed
upon:
One of the most common and important checks is inflation pressure. Always maintain correct
inflation pressure in your tyres. To ensure this get the inflation pressure checked on cold tyres every
few days. Maintaining correct air pressure keeps the tyre healthy and increase the life of tyre.
Under-inflation
When a tyre is under-inflated, the sidewalls flex more, creating a build-up of heat
Heat can destroy a tyre from the inside out, causing the tyre to literally come apart
Over Inflation
Over inflation reduces the ability of the tyre to absorb road shocks resulting in a much harsher
ride
Excessive over inflation may lead to impact fracture or other casing failures
Over inflation will also cause excessive wear of the centre of the tyre. It also results in smaller
footprints and less grip
Wheel Alignment

2. should be done once a year or at 20000 Kms whichever is earlier. Properly aligned wheels will roll
smoothly, eliminate the dangers of dragging and reduce steering effort. This ensures better driving
safety and an even wear of tyres.
When should the alignment be done?
Tyre wear is irregular
Tyre wear is excessive
Car steers hard or keeps pulling to one side
Front suspension or steering linkage components are replaced
Car has suffered a front end collision
Either wheel has an exaggerated tilt
Front tyres are rotated or replaced
Proper mounting
For the proper mounting of tyres and wheels, be sure to observe some basic precautions:
Mounting and balancing should be done by a professional,
using equipment designed for the job
Both tyre beads are securely mounted
The wheel is not bent or damaged
There is no build-up of dirt between the hub and the wheel
All of the lugs have been properly torque
The wheel is securely seated on the hub
Wheel Alignment
Causes vibration, resulting in driver fatigue, premature tyre wear and unnecessary wear to your
vehicle's suspension
Adversely affect ride quality
Shorten the life of your tyres, bearings, shocks and other suspension components

3. A good way of maintaining a uniform tread wear is by rotating the tyres at regular intervals.
Rotation means interchanging the wheels from front to back and vice versa so that all tyres have a
uniform wear rate. Tyre at front and rear wheel have different wear rates and different type of
wear. Tyres are recommended to be rotated every 5000 Kms.
Advantages of rotating tyres at recommended intervals:
Rotation can preserve balanced handling and traction of the tyres
Helps even out wear and maintains uniform wearing
Regular check of tyres
Regular check for small stones and metal pieces that may get lodged in the grooves will keep you in
touch with the condition of tyres, which are normally ignored
Maintaining good driving habits enhances the tyre life and and ensures safety at high speeds. They
certainly do.
Some of common driving mistakes which people unknowingly commit daily are given below :
Driving Habit Consequence/Damage How to avoid it?
Excessive speeding- One of the Excessive heat build up resulting Avoid excessive speeding and
most common habits is to drive to faster wear of tyres thus always comply with the speed
at high speeds sometimes over shortening tyre life ratings
the recommended speed rating
of tyre
Fast turns and curves around Excessive wear can happen from Slow down on turns and enjoy a
corners one side of the tyre smooth and safe turn
Sudden acceleration and braking Excessive heat build up and Avoid panic starts and stops
sudden braking scrubs off a good
amount of tread rubber causing
faster wear of tyres

4. faster wear of tyres
Riding at the edge of pavements Bad for the internal structure of Avoid such tricks
and metal items tyre. Causes damage to tyre plies
inside
Parking on a pointed stone or Long parking of tyres on these Be careful while parking your car
bricks objects could cause internal and avoid any of these objects
damage to tyre to come under the tyre
Speeding over bad roads, pot Extremely bad for the tyre Slow down for speed brakers
holes and speed brakers structure. Can cause severe and bad roads
damage to the ply of tyre
Air pressure should be periodically checked when tyres are cold
Tyres must be replaced when worn to the tread wear indicators, even if only on one part of the
tread
Check wheel alignment setting periodically and/or following impact or irregular wear
Balance the tyres periodically and/or when vibration occurs
Rotate tyres every 5000 Kms
When impact or puncture occurs have a check carried out on the inside of the tyre as well
Never park over the patches of oil, solvents etc as they cause tyre damage
Comply with the speed ratings and load index when replacing tyres
Follow good driving practices. It increases tyre life
Have general tyre condition checked regularly at a reliable tyre dealership