Whilst wear and tear naturally occurs on your tyres when you drive, certain driving styles accelerate that deterioration. And we’re not talking about drag racing (though that certainly tears up those tyres quickly)! Less extreme driving styles can lead to your tyres wearing thin, and it’s these second-rate driving styles that we’re going to focus on today.
Whilst some of these seem obvious, it’s worth reading over this list, as these driving practices not only wear out your tyres before their time, but damage other parts of your vehicle too. Vehicle and tyre repair is costly, so it’s always worth changing bad driving habits if you care about your bottom line (not to mention, your safety).
#1 Driving on uneven surfaces
Driving on uneven surfaces risks your tyres. If you drive over potholes, speed humps, gravel, dirt, or fields where you can’t see what’s beneath the grass (rocks etc.), then your tyres are at risk of rapid deflation and puncture.
It’s ideal to avoid such surfaces entirely. If you can’t avoid them, lower your speed while you get a sense of the terrain under the car (the slower the better). If your car is vibrating, or wobbling, go even slower.
Another thing to be aware of is where you live or work. If you work in an industrial zone, or you’re doing home renovations, be mindful of what materials are lying around your car. Things like nails and screws can easily become embedded in your tyre, and over time, lead to a puncture, which will require a tyre repair or tyre replacement. So make sure you do a check around your car to ensure you’re not about to drive over something sharp.
#2 Hard braking
If you brake hard, you can wear a flat spot onto your tyre or tyres, reducing tyre traction and potentially damaging your drive shaft. Other parts of your car can be impacted by harsh braking too. Your ABS may be triggered unnecessarily, placing stress on the system, and your brake pads and fuel supply are also impacted.
Obviously you need to brake sometimes, especially in emergency situations, but if you’re braking harshly on a regular basis, you may want to address your driving. Are you paying attention? Are you letting distractions like your phone or other people in the car get the better of you? Are you driving too fast for the conditions, and needing to brake harder than is necessary in order to stop in time?
Removing distractions and driving at a slower pace so you’re aware of your surroundings is vital for both your safety and the safety of others on the road. It’s also vital for your car’s health—in particular, those tyres!
The other practice that can damage tyres when braking is when you tow a load, like a trailer or caravan. Towing heaving trailers places extra stress on your car, as the weight of the trailer means it takes your vehicle longer to stop when you brake. This means that if you don’t allow enough time to brake gently, your tyres are under considerable strain, and will wear out faster.
#3 Hard acceleration
There’s rarely a need in everyday driving for rapid acceleration, but it seems many people still do this, and their tyres bear the brunt. Rapid acceleration, or burning out, prematurely wears out your tyres.
When you accelerate, the amount of friction your tyre surface is subject to increases. The tyre tries to do its job by gripping the road, and at the same time, the engine is applying a strong rotational force to the wheel. It’s too much for the tyre, and it wears out.
There’s really no need to accelerate too quickly when you’re at traffic lights. If you take your time and accelerate at an even pace, your tyres will thank you.
#4 Aggressive driving
Driving aggressively includes driving faster than is safe for road conditions, turning corners too fast, driving over speed bumps too fast, and as mentioned above, hard braking and hard acceleration.
All of these practices damage tyres by wearing the tyre surface down too quickly, and/or increasing the chance of deflation and puncture. Higher driving speeds also causes increased heat build-up in the rubber, and this breaks the tyre down more quickly than it otherwise would.
Driving aggressively is also unsafe for the driver, passengers, other drivers, and pedestrians or cyclists.
If you’re guilty of driving aggressively, it’s worth thinking about why.
- Are you over-tired? Should you be behind the wheel?
- Are you running late and rushing to get somewhere?
- Do you have distractions in the car that are causing you irritation?
- Do you just need a bit of a driving attitude reboot?
Whatever the cause or causes, aggressive driving is dangerous, and bad for your car as a whole, and your tyres.
Try to address whatever the reasons for your aggressive driving are.
- Ensure you aren’t driving tired
- Remove distractions (put your mobile out of arm’s reach, ideally, in the back seat when you drive)
- Plan for traffic congestion and leave early
- Check your attitude to driving in general, but especially before you drive. You could look at ways to create some healthy driving habits, like taking a moment to think about what kind of mood you’re in before you get behind the wheel, and reframing your attitude. You could even stick a little checklist on your dashboard, reminding you to ensure distractions are out of the way, to take your time on the road, to be alert, and to not rush
- It’s also worth becoming more proactive rather than reactive when you drive. That means looking out for potential hazards on the road, and being extra aware of what the traffic ahead of you (and behind you) is doing. This way you can make better driving judgments a little earlier.
Finally, if ‘the wheels fall off’ on a particular day and you don’t think you can drive non-aggressively, consider calling a taxi or taking public transport.
#5 Negligent care of your car
Whilst it’s not an actual driving style, this is one of the most important points. To maintain a set of healthy tyres, you can’t ignore them!
Tyres should be checked monthly to ensure they are correctly inflated. Tyre pressure is usually posted on a sticker inside your driver side door, but if it’s not there, you can check your car’s manual, or take your car to a tyre shop so a tyre specialist can check the pressure. (You probably won’t take your car for specialist tyre pressure checks monthly, so it’s a good idea to learn how to do it yourself.)
If your tyres aren’t inflated according to recommendations, pump them up, or deflate them, as needed.
Over-inflated tyres will wear out in the centre of the tyre, as since they’re over-pumped, only the smaller rounded surface in the centre of the tyre is connecting with the road, rather than the full surface area of the tyre. By design, the full surface area of the tyre is meant to contact the road, so reducing this contact is not ideal. Also, over-pumped tyres may be more prone to blowouts or punctures.
Under-inflated tyres can stress the sidewalls of the tyre, and you may see cracks or bulges in the tyre as a result. This can also be hazardous, and is why tyre pressure checks are vital.
In addition, wheel alignment can impact the wear on your tyres. If your wheels are incorrectly aligned, tyres will wear more on one side of the car, or on one wheel, rather than evenly on all.
How do you know if your wheels are out of alignment? Aside from noticing your car is a bit wobbly, your tyres can indicate poor wheel alignment. Look for excessive wear on the inner or outer edge of the tire, or feathered edge wear. (This is when a tyre wears down at an angle, so that one side of the tyre rib or tread block wears lower than the other side.)
Your car has a tyre rotation schedule. If you don’t follow this schedule, you may see feathering running around the circumference of the tyre, as opposed to the inside to outside feathering resulting from bad alignment. Another indication is that the leading edge of the tread blocks will be low and the trailing edge, high.
Jim’s Mobile Tyres normally recommends car tyre rotations around every 10,000 km, however, the frequency depends on your individual driving circumstances and on whether or not you see uneven wear patterns, often drive long journeys at high speeds, and/or carry large loads. In these situations, you may need to take your vehicle to a tyre shop for more regular rotations.
In summary…
Be mindful of the above driving styles that will accelerate wear and tear on your tyres. Try to change any bad driving habits, and check those tyres regularly! Make sure the tyre pressure is correct, and ensure you get your tyres rotated at appropriate intervals. If you feel anything odd with your car, such as wobbling or vibrating, get your car checked ahead of its service. It’s never a good idea to leave car problems to fester.
For help with tyre pressure checks, tyre puncture repair, tyre replacement, and tyre rotations, contact Jim’s Mobile Tyres today on 13 15 46.
