When is a good time to change your tyres?
A common thought is that it is only necessary to change your tyres when they become worn out over time due to the friction caused from everyday driving. Lesser known are the dangers that a tyre that has become aged, endured fluctuating weather conditions or has been stored incorrectly can pose.
Just like our skin becomes dry as we age, a tyre will face the same demise, losing the essential oils and moisture required to keep the rubber supple therefore rendering the tyre unroadworthy. Over time if a tyre has been sitting around cracks can occur both on the surface and also inside the tyre causing it to become structurally unsafe. Having unsafe tyres has a flow on effect that can hinder other safety systems in cars such as your ABS.
What is the time frame of average tyre life?
There is a lot of mixed thought on this as you can imagine with the many manufacturers out there but on average across the board it can be between 6 to 10 years depending on manufacturer. A number of other factors need also to be taken into account as they contribute to ageing of tyre these include heat, storage and also condition of use.
Heat
Vehicles that are located or stored in warmer areas or in direct sun light can find that the ageing process is speed up so this should be taken into account when retiring a tyre. Coastal areas can also come under this banner so given geographic location of majority of Australian cities this is particularly important.
Storage
This can be important when you take into account your spare tyre as in effect this has been put on and inflated and in effect put into service at the time the car is manufactured so in a sense it is exposed to the elements from that point in time so subject to the same aging issues as a tyre in service. The same can be said for tyre on a car sitting around in workshop but not actually been driven on the road.
Condition of use
This encompasses the treatment of a tyre i.e. has it been inflated properly, hit to many curbs or had a puncture repaired. All these things have a direct impact on the life of a tyre, for example if a car has only been driven on weekends then its ageing process will be significantly different to one that has been driven daily on a highway to and from work. So proper care and maintenance is something that needs to be ensured to get the optimum life out of the tyre.
Just as you should keep a regular check on the condition of your tyres, you should also keep up to date on how your car finance schedule is progressing.
If you wish to find out where your loan is at, feel free to call the team at 360 Finance on 1300 361 360. Our car finance consultants will always be happy to help.
