Tread Carefully This Winter
Winter weather can be particularly treacherous especially as elements like ice, snow, sleet and rain are commonplace. Taking good care of your car is an easy way to make winter driving safer as well as prolonging your car’s driving life and keeping any unnecessary emergency repair costs to a minimum.
Take a few minutes every week or so to carry out a few checks that will help to keep your car in tip top driving condition, paying special attention to tyres during winter time, as these are what keep you safely on the road.
The basic legal requirements for car tyres in the United Kingdom state that tyres must be compatible with others on the car and should be in good general condition.
Tyres should be correctly inflated to the vehicle manufacturer’s recommended pressure. You should find your car’s optimum tyre pressure (psi) in the manufacturer’s handbook. You might also find the psi printed on a sticker, often on the inside of one of the car’s front doors.
Regularly checking your car’s tyre pressure and keeping all four tyres correctly inflated can go a long way in cutting fuel consumption, reducing wear and tear and making your car safer on the road especially when the weather takes a turn for the worst.
It’s best to check your tyre pressure when your tyres are cold as the reading will be far more accurate and you’ll avoid the risk of over-inflation. For this reason it might be a good idea to invest in a manual tyre pressure gauge and a foot pump and do it at home rather than driving your car to the nearest garage.
Tyre tread depth is also vital and should always be above the legal minimum, which is 1.6mm in Britain. During winter time you might want to aim for a tyre tread thickness of at least 3mm for optimum grip.
To be sure your measurements are correct you could invest in a tyre tread depth gauge which can be picked up for a few pounds at your local garage or car accessory shop. While you’re measuring tyre tread thickness have a look to see if there are any bulges, cracks, cuts, or foreign objects stuck in your tyre and if there are take remedial action immediately.
Tags: top driving condition, winter driving safer, winter driving tips
June 22nd, 2010 at 12:07 pm
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