Ageing in tyres: What should you consider?

High-grade tyres are available in the market to keep your cars safe on the roads. However, you cannot use these tyres forever. The strength of tyres goes down gradually due to several factors. Therefore, manufacturers make car tyres with an expiry date. According to expert guidelines, you should not use your old tyres due to multiple risk factors. Change your tyres when they are near the expiry date.

Tyres are made up of various substances, such as textile, metal, and rubber. These materials degrade over time naturally. Mainly the rubber material becomes hard and brittle over time and loses its strength to make bonds with other materials. As a result, you may observe cracks in your old tyres.

You can observe cracks on the surface of your tyres. Moreover, cracks may appear inner surface of the rubber and you cannot recognize these cracks easily. Driving on such tyres is dangerous. Therefore, experts do not favor using these tyres.

Checking the age of a tyre

Checking the age of a tyre is mandatory to make an important decision. You should change your old tyres after 6 to 10 years according to the advice of experts. If you look at the tyre sidewall, you may find a 10 to 12-digit number that indicates the age of car tyres Reading.

If your tyres are manufactured after 2000, you can determine the age of your tyre by looking at the last four digits of the number. These four digits represent the month and year of manufacture. If your tyres are made before 2000, you can find the age by looking at the last three digits.

Why should you consider tyre age?

You should consider tyre age because you should change your old tyres. As mentioned above, you replace your tyres after 6 to 10 years. However, driving conditions, driving style and quality of maintenance are some factors that you should also consider to make a good decision. Moreover, you should look at the appearance and strength of car tyres. A mechanical can tell you about the internal strength of your tyres.

Influence of ageing

Effects of ageing in tyres are observed in two forms. The first form or sign is tread wear and the second is sidewall cracking.

The tread depth of ageing tyres goes down steadily. Even they have a legal tread limit in the UK. Your tyres become illegal after reaching this legal limit...

Visible cracks in on the sidewall make it clear that your tyres are ageing. These cracks weaken tyre rubber and increase the risk of tyre failure.

Risks of old tyres

Driving on old tyres is risky. Old and ageing tyres increase the risk of road accidents. Both drivers and road users may face the negative influence of worn tyres.

You may face the following results if you ignore the warning signs and use your ageing tyres:

Risk of tread separation:

Ageing tyres are more prone to this obvious risk. In this condition, tyre tread may separate from the carcass due to its lost strength. Tread separation is an extremely dangerous condition due to the risk of road accidents.

Risk of blowouts:

Old and ageing tyres may explode at any time. Since the rubber of such tyres degrades and faces structural issues, your tyres may not be able to hold the air pressure for a long time. As a result, they may face a serious blowout.

Poor grip and traction:

Ageing tyres lose their grip and traction due to hard and brittle rubber material. This risk is increased on wet and slippery roads. Your tyres may face an increased issue called hydroplaning due to their inefficiency and poor strength.

Longer braking distance:

Tyres lose their gripping power after their rubber becomes hard and brittle due to ageing. In this condition, they need longer distances to stop a vehicle. The inefficiency of tyres in urgent situations can lead to dangerous collisions.

As you see, several risk factors are associated with ageing tyres. Ageing is an irreparable process. So, should repair your ageing tyres as soon as possible.

You can slow down the process of ageing with some useful maintenance tips. These tips train you to change your driving style and adopt some tips that improve health condition of your car tyres.

You can decrease the speed of ageing with the following steps:

Save your tyres from the factors that trigger ageing. These factors include heat, friction, chemicals, and UV rays.

Slow down your vehicle on rough and hot surfaces to minimize the negative effects of friction.

Do not overload your vehicle because the extra load will increase strain on your tyres. As a result, they will rub their body harshly with the road surface to promote tread wear and ageing.

Store your tyres effectively. Bad storage conditions are also responsible for an increased rate of ageing. Generally, drivers store their seasonal tyres. If you store your winter or summer tyres according to proper guidelines, you will find your winter or summer tyres fit and fine next year. Store these tyres in a dry and cold environment and avoid heat, chemicals, and humidity.

Finally, these valuable tips will save your Tyres in Reading for a long time from ageing. However, ageing is natural in tyres. So, you would not be able to stop the process forever. Change your tyres when they show signs of ageing.