Safety Tips
General tyre safety
Your tyres are the only contact you have between you and the road. The shape of a tyre's contact patch or "footprint" greatly influences its performance and is dependent on its profile or "aspect ratio". Low profile tyres (most performance tires) have a short and wide contact patch that is effective in converting the driver's input into very responsive handling, cornering stability and traction. High profile tyres (light truck and most passenger tyres) have a long and narrow contact patch which helps to provide predictable handling, a smooth ride and especially good traction in snow.
bRAKES
Your brakes are like tyres, however they ware down unknown to you because you can’t see them. Your braking tends to deteriorate over time. Many people don’t notice this gradual deterioration in performance, leading to safety issues and expensive disc replacements. Have your discs and pads checked when you are having your tyres checked.
tYRE AGE
Tyres carry a code on the outer-wall indicating the month and year of manufacture, e.g. 2211. This indicates that the tyre was manufactured during week 22 of the year 2011 (June 2011)
READING YOUR TYRE SIZE
The information imprinted on the sidewalls of your existing tyres is the first and most important step in selecting new tyres for your vehiicle. It will look something like P205/65 R16 95V and having this information will make the selection of your next set of tyres a lot quicker and easier.
The letter P indicates that this is a Passenger car tyre. If there is no P before the size, it would indicate the tyre is a European metric tyre. An LT before the size would designate the tyre as light truck tyre.
The width of the tyre in the illustration on the left is 205mm. This measurement is taken from sidewall to sidewall.
The Aspect ratio or profile of the tyre is the height of the tyre from the rim to the tread area. It’s shown as a percentage of the tread width. In this case the “height” of the tyre is 65% of the width.
The letter R is for Radial and informs us on the “construction type” of the tyre. It is less important these days as all car tyres are radial. Many years ago we had “bias ply” or “cross ply” constructions as well, and they needed to be able to identify the different types of tyre since they could not be mixed on the same axle. If there is no 'R', the tyre is not a radial.
The figure 16 refers to the diameter of rim that the tyre can be fitted to. Internationally rim sizes are still measured and quoted in inches.
The figure 95 is the load index, A type of shorthand or scale used to describe the load carrying capacity of each tyre.
The last letter V is used to indicate the maximum speed the tyre is capable of running at (V rated max is 240kph.).
Tyre Side Wall Diagram:
tyre load ratings
To ensure the safe handling of your vehicle under all conditions, it is critical that your vehicle’s tyres have a load rating suitable to the manufactures specified weight of the vehicle. The chart below will assist you in selecting the correct tyres. We are always available to assist you with the selection process.
TYRE PRESSURE
It is vital to check your tyre pressure regularly, incorrect pressure can damage the structure of the tyre. Under pressure produces excessive heat build up in the structure of the tyre leading to irreversible change in the performance of the tyre. Over pressure can lead to wear in the centre tread depth.
tyre Speed ratings
All tyres carry a speed rating symbol in the form of a letter indicating the maximum speed for which the tyre is designed .The table below shows the maximum speed a tyre is designed to run at.
