HELPFUL TIPS FOR MAXIMIZING TYRE LIFE

Helpful tips for maximising tyre life

Hi it is Anthony here from Drury Tires, since 1980 our team at Drury tyres have been taking care of wheels and tyres in the South Auckland area. We have picked up some valuable insights during that time on how to maximise your tyre life. Correct air pressure being extremely important as well as having your wheel Alignment set correctly and rotating your tyres regularly are all vital to minimise premature tyre wear.

Air pressure.

Did you know that by keeping your tires at the correct tire pressure you can maximize your tire life drastically?

In fact, if your tires are under inflated by only 10% your tires will wear out by 7% prematurely. If your tires are under inflated by 15% you tyres will wear by 15% prematurely. And if your tyres are under inflated by 20% they will wear out by 25%prematurely. This pattern of under inflation can escalate to the extent that if your tires are under inflated by 50% they will wear out by a whooping 83%prematurely.

Any more than 50% under inflation will cause excessive heat build-up and you will ultimately lose your tyre due to being run under inflated. For example,most performance passenger tyres are running 40 psi or more,so if your tyres were down to 32 psi that would be 20% under inflated, which means your tires are going to wear out 25%prematurely. If a low profile tyre has only 20 psi in it instead of 40 psi it would eventually heat up to the point that the tyre would be destroyed. This would most certainly happen on at long trip on the open roads were the speed limit is 100 km per hour.So why does this happen? it’s all about rolling resistance, imagine trying to push a wheelbarrow full of concrete with a flat tire,you obviously have an increased rolling resistance and would require a lot more strength and energy to move the wheel barrow along.Just as a pushbike requires more energy to ride when the tyres are soft, this principle also applies to a vehicle with soft tyres,it will require slightly more revs to achieve the desired speed and soft tyres run hotter which equals premature wear and possibly the loss of the tyre. The principal is quite simple it is air pressure x distance x speed x the weight of your vehicle and load. Put all these factors together and your tires are going to be working so much harder, low air pressure travelling at high speed over a long distance carrying a heavy load is a recipe for disaster. Not only will your tyres wear out so much faster, but they will ultimately self-destruct.

We at Drury tires recommend and sell nitro fill gas as it is proven to work.Originally Drury Tyres did not buy into the concept of nitrogen gas working.

We were very skeptical as to how nitrogen could assist with a tyres life expectancy.

Yet after many good reports from various customers who had nitrogen gas previously put in their tyres from other tyre outlets. Those same clients insisting that they got increased kilometers out of their tyres convinced us at Drury tires to look into Nitro fill further. Since those early days we have experimented with nitrogen gas ourselves over the years and we have found nitrogen to be absolutely brilliant. In fact, every single staff member at Drury Tyres now has nitrogen gas in their own cars.

So how does this work, right now you are breathing in 78% nitrogen and 22% oxygen. That 22% oxygen will dissipate, gradually out of the tires as tyres are porous even though a tire looks solid.So, when that 22% of pressure leaks out of your tires, your tires will heat up a lot more than normal and wear out 25% more faster.

So, save money on tyres and fuel by keeping your tyres at the correct pressures and fill them with Nitrogen gas.

Don’t hesitate to call into Drury Tyres or your local tyre shop if you are unsure what your correct pressures are, although it is written on the side of the tyre.

In saying that many garages and even some tyre shops do not have their air gauges calibrated regularly which can cause problems, by giving false readings

Correct air pressure is now so important to not only to the consumer but on the environment. It is now such a large problem that since 2014 most car manufactures are now required to equip the new vehicles with tyre pressure monitoring systems.

The reason for doing this is to lower the carbon footprint caused from vehicles, by using less fuel (up to 10% fuel saving) as the vehicles rolling resistance is lowered by having the correct pressures.

Next month we will have Neville Laker from Drury Tires explain the importance of having your wheel alignment set up and how this not only will improve the life expectancy of your tyres but improve the handling of your vehicle.

Neville Laker is a master when it comes to setting up classic, custom and hot-rodded vehicles for Alignments, so make sure you ask for Nevillewhen you require any alignment or suspension work.

Thanks for reading

Anthony Wright

Drury Tires.