Tyre Maintenance Guide

Without any doubt, choosing the right tyres for your car is quite an important decision. Like we know, there are different sizes of tyres available in the market. It is not necessary that two cars will feature the same size of tyres. SUVs have larger wheel size in comparison to that of the hatchbacks.Likewise, the specifications of the tyres are different as well. In the same size category, you would find tyres with different profiles.So, selecting the right model is definitely a challenging task for someone who does not have a lot of idea in this field.

If you end up choosing the wrong tyres, it can put your safety at risk.Moreover, you will not be able to enjoy driving the car as well. When tyres are manufactured, the makers incorporate certain traits or qualities in them. These traits define the nature of the tyres. Some tyres are more suitable for city driving, while some are designed specifically for off-road conditions. If you are looking for tyres that are more apt for city driving, this article will provide you with some really valuable information.

Characteristics of tyres designed for city driving

When we talk about city driving, we usually mean driving through congested streets and expressways. City driving is mostly about lots of manoeuvring, which brings us to the conclusion that the tyres for city driving have to be more responsive. When the tyres are more responsive, it becomes easier for the driver to drive the car even on the congested city streets. Here are some of the characteristics these tyres have:

• Tread is of utmost importance

First of all, you need to check out whether the tread of a tyre has enough depth to sustain the regular wear and tear that happens during city driving. When you drive on a highway, you don’t have to apply brakes quite often. You also don’t have to turn your car on the corners quite often.Frequent braking and turning around the corners take a toll on the physical condition of tyres. If the tyres fitted in your car do not have enough tread depth, the tread will wear out soon. As a result,the tyres will not be able to offer a firm grip on the road,particularly during the wet conditions.

Tyres that lack tread depth are also quite low on performance and they lose traction easily. The braking ability of tyres also depends on their tread. When driving your car in a city, you would want its brakes to deliver optimum performance. To ensure your car has shorter stopping distances,choose the ones that have more tread depth. Likewise, there are many reasons why you must choose tyres that have enough tread depth on them.

In the market, you can choose from a wide range of options. Symmetric tyre tread, asymmetric tyre tread, and unidirectional tyre tread are the three tread patterns you can choose from. Tyres that have symmetric tread pattern are the most commonly used ones. They offer decent performance and hence these tyres are meant for the regular purpose. But, if you want your car’s tyres to offer excellent grip on the city roads, you should go for the asymmetric pattern. They make you feel more confident even when taking sharp turns. Unidirectional tyre tread pattern is more suitable if you drive your car mostly on the highways.

• Speed ratings

Every car tyre has a speed rating, and it is denoted in the form of alphabets. If you check out the speed rating table, you will find that every alphabet related to a maximum speed limit. For example, the alphabet ‘R’ means the tyre has been designed for a top speed of 170 km/hr. When you drive on the city roads, it is obvious that the speed has to be below 100km/hr. So, you can go for tyres that come with speed rating of ‘V’,as it will be sufficient enough for highway driving as well.

• Tube/Tubeless

Nowadays, most of the car manufacturers equip their cars with tubeless tyres. But, if your car is an old one, or it didn’t come with tubeless tyres, it is better to get them replaced by the tubeless ones. Of course, replacing them would make more sense when they are worn out.

• Rim size

When it comes to choosing the right tyre size for your car’s wheel, you cannot ignore the rim size. If the rim size is larger, it will eventually lower down the sidewall height. As a result of it, the ride quality, as well as comfort, will get affected in a negative way. Likewise, for city driving, a wider tread width does not make any sense.

So, those are some of the factors that must be considered at the time of purchasing tyres for your car, particularly if you are more into city driving.