How To Choose And Properly Maintain Car Tires

Although car tire is nothing but a rubber ring placed over the rim of a wheel of a vehicle to provide traction and reduce road shocks, improper tire can be dangerous – your vehicle runs on tire, it carries the entire weight of vehicle. This is how to choose and properly maintain car tires!

Background: Care Tires Management

Tire management program should be taken seriously if you want to keep cost under control and more important if you want your fleet/vehicle in good shape. A good tire management program includes cradle-to-grave tracking, analysis, preventive maintenance and more. A fleet’s tire management program should be written, communicated, monitored and enforced.

Here Are Few Tips for Proper Tire Management.

1. Inspection and Receipt of New Tire:

• Check evenness and smoothness of thread.
• Note the hardness of thread as per the specification.
• Inspect and ensure that no cords / wires exposed from Outer surface and inner surface.

2. New Tire Best Practice

• Each tire comes along with unique code alternatively it could be customized or given by the company and it should be recorded by this serial number.
• Separate tire cards can be opened for each tire this card should be carried along with the tire from issuance to scrapping of tire
• Tire should be stored in covered and clean area away from lubricants and chemicals. It should not be stacked one above another as the weight transfer on the lowest tire may lead to damage of side walls. Tires should be stacked vertically side by side and even better if it gets any kind of support like a wall, pillar or rack on one side.

3. Technical Features of A Tire

• Remember: Real tire management starts from the day a tire is issued.
• It is advisable that new tire should be issued along with new tubes and flaps as well.
• Regular pressure checking should be done
• Regular NSD (Non Skid Depth) should be taken after every 3000 KMS and it should be logged in the tire log book. Tire having less then 3M NSD should be removed and after careful inspection it can be sent for rethreading.
• Stones trapped between the threads should also be removed as they may lead to tire puncture.
• Mechanical condition of the vehicle also plays important role in the life of tire, some of the common problems are;

Common Tires Red Flags

1. Improper Wheel Alignment

Improper Wheel alignment leads to Inside or outside tire wear. If tires are improperly wearing out, then the vehicle should immediately be taken for wheel alignment.

2. Defective Hub Bearings

Defective Hub Bearings leads to spot damage.

3. Brake Binding

Brake binding leads to uniform but rapid wear causing more heating of tires thus decreasing their life. If this is noted then immediately replace break liners. Attention should also be given to slack adjuster and greasing to s-cam

Wrap Up

Scrap analysis of tire should also be carried out to understand how the tires are wearing and managed.

If tires are properly managed it would help in reducing
substantial costs.