Essential Car Care - Part Five

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This week OzFreeOnline offers you suggestions for taking care of your tyres.

TYRE CARE Buy a decent tyre gauge and keep it in the car. Improper tyre pressure can affect tyre wear as well as ride and handling. You should always check your tyres when they are cold. Use the manufacturers recommended tyre pressures. Tyre pressure tends to rise as you drive due to heat build-up. Manufacturers have this in mind when they set the recommended cold pressures so do not let air out when the tyre gets hot. Check the tyre again when it cools off and you will find that the pressure is back to where it was. Tyre pressure will change with the seasons, so in winter months make sure they are not under inflated. Remember; always check them when they are cold.

TYRE ROTATION On front wheel drive cars, it is especially important to rotate your tyres periodically because the front tyres wear faster than the rear. Uneven tyre tread thickness, front to rear, will give you uneven braking and poor handling, especially in the rain. If you don't rotate the tyres, you'll wind up replacing them two at the time, which means you'll always have uneven tread thickness. Replacing tyres in a matched set of four will keep the handling and braking traction of the car balanced.

If you notice a humming noise, check the rear tyres for a 'saw-tooth' wear pattern on the inside and outside shoulder of the tyre. You can detect this by running your hand back and forth along the edges of the tyre tread. Be careful not to cut yourself on debris or exposed steel belt wire. If it feels smooth in one direction, but jagged in the other, you may have found some of your noise. This condition happens on some front wheel drive vehicles, with tyres that have tread blocks on the shoulder of the tyre. Rotating this tyre to the other side of the car should even out this type of wear and quiet down the humming. Check your owner's manual for the proper rotation method. Most front wheel drive cars require the following rotation method:

Front wheel drive tyre rotation Warning: If you have directional tyres they must never be crossed over to the other side of the car. You can tell by the fact that they will have a clearly marked arrow on the sidewall showing the direction of rotation. If you have a matching spare, include it in the rotation.


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