Tyres are the most essential part of any motor vehicle as they are what makes a vehicle move. Since they get overworked the most on road, it’s but natural that they will be affected by many physical and characteristic changes with time. Every motorist comes across some common tyre problems at some point. Whether it’s a puncture, worn tyres, or misalignment, or any other, it is a part and parcel of a tyre’s life on road.
In this blog we have put together the most common tyre issues to enable you to spot them before they become dangerous or significantly decrease the life of your tyres. It is also important for your own safety as a motorist. Following are the most common tyre issues-
Over inflation
Too Much air or nitrogen pressure in tyres causes the central tread of the tyre to be more pronounced, leading to over inflation. The outer edges of the tread on both sides of the tyre will fail to make contact with the road surface. This results in the tyre tread being able to disperse less water in wet conditions. Over inflated Tyres will wear out and will cause you to have to replace your tyres prematurely.
Under inflation
Under inflation is an extremely common tyre problem with most passenger cars moving around with lower tyre pressures than recommended. Drivers and operators do not check them as often as they should due to lack of awareness.
Correct tyre pressure has an impact on many aspects of our comfort and safety. Having too little pressure in your tyres can result in extended braking distance, reduced resistance, delayed and less precise reactions of the car, risk of over- or understeering of the vehicle, more difficult parking and a higher risk of punctures
Most vehicle manufacturers list the tyre pressures required in the driver’s handbook for correct assistance.
Bulging Tyre
Bulges in a tyre are usually as a result of impact damage. Hitting a pothole, curb, or debris on the road can lead to damage of the tyre’s inner structure. Tyre sidewalls are built to withstand some pretty harsh treatment but if the inner structure of the tyre becomes damaged it can result in a bulge which is an irreversible tyre damage and will require the tyre to be replaced.
Cracking Tyre Rubber
The rubber on the outside of the tyre is made up of lots of polymers that are knitted together to form molecules. Tyre cracking is caused by these bonds breaking down. Causes for this can be — UV Rays/Extreme Heat which leads to expansion, aging of tyre that weakens the polymers, water penetration, degradation over time, and wrong tyre pressure. Cracked or bulging tyres should not be repaired and instead the tyre should always be replaced.
Misalignment
Another of the most common tyre problems is Misalignment. It’s not always easy to detect if a car’s wheels are misaligned, as this can occur gradually over a prolonged period of time. However, some of the key signs that the car’s wheels are misaligned are: Uneven tyre wear on one side either the fronts or the rears, pulling or drifting of the car to one side when driving on a straight flat road, or a crooked steering wheel which is not straight or level.
Puncture
Punctured tyres usually happen as the result of a nail or screw or any other sharp edged thing on the road surface, pushing through the tyre and penetrating into the sealed air chamber. This will result in a loss of air pressure from within the inside of the tyre. Most punctures occur in the rear tyres as front tyres flick the objects up into the air and while bouncing/spinning the rear tyres catch them on the point and they pierce the tyre. There might be some other causes also of punctures.
Flat Spot
Flat Spots are where a particular section of the tyre has been worn flat. The most common reason for this is emergency braking or applying the handbrake whilst the car is in motion. This can lead to instant tyre wear in specific areas due to disruption in rotation, causing excessive friction on the part of the tread rubbing against the ground. However vehicles fitted with Anti locking braking systems (ABS) don’t have this problem as it ensures the wheels don’t ‘lock’ in place.
Get your rubber tested at Hasestri (Hari Shankar Singhania Elastomer and Tyre Research Institute), the rubber research institute of India that has best in class facilities and machinery like Rubber process analyzer, Tire aging oven, Humidity chamber, and many more to test the quality and performance of rubber and its finished products.
