Tire tread wears out over time, causing cracks to form and eventually fall off. If you don’t replace them, they may cause serious damage to your vehicle. The least of these damages is a drop in the price when you want to sell your car in Dubai.
Replacing your tires is part of maintaining your car’s safety and performance. The sooner you do it, the less expensive it will be and the better job you’ll do.
Change your tire when they’re almost flat. If you wait until they are completely flat, you could damage the sidewalls on the inner tube.
Ideally, it is best to carry out a tire check approximately every 3,000 km or when the depth is less than 1.6 mm.
Why Change a Tire?
Flat tires can happen at any time. Luckily, most car models have a spare wheel. In all cases, you will have to dismantle and change the wheels of a car if you find yourself in a puncture situation.
Tires ensure a vehicle’s grip and good handling. Thus, worn tires increase the risk of slipping, aquaplaning, and limit braking effectiveness, representing a risk to your safety. Plus, a reason to negotiate the price when you are selling a car in Dubai.
What Are the Different Types of Tire Wear?
Faceted:
This type of wear usually occurs on the front tires due to a localized mechanical problem at the axle level or poor wheel balancing. You know you have facet wear when you hear noises at low speeds.
At the shoulders:
The shoulder is the surface joining the top and the side of the tires. The main cause of wear in this area is poor inflation. A poorly filled inner tube can cause fuel overconsumption due to increased rolling resistance.
Jagged shoulders:
this type of wear comes from abnormal friction on the roads. The tread should wear evenly, so any inner or outer wear indicates a lack of parallelism or misalignment.
How to Choose Your Type of Tire?
When changing tires, you must take several parameters into account. You can find a lot of information on the tire itself, like:
- Tire size: tire width (expressed in millimeters), its height (in the percentage of width), and its diameter (in inches).
- The speed index: the maximum speed that this tire can support.
- Load index: the maximum load the tire can support.
The major commercial brands generally offer four different types of tires:
- Winter tires: to endure cold temperatures.
- Summer tires: ideal all year round as long as the temperature is above 7°C.
- All-season tires: less efficient than winter/summer tires in different temperatures.
- Puncture-proof tires: perfect to avoid a difficult situation on the side of the road where there is a possibility of road hazards or punctures.
Finally, you will also find tires designed to adapt to different models like SUVs, 4×4, passenger cars, or vans.
How to Change a Tire?
When changing tires yourself, use a safety triangle or vest to warn other motorists about your presence and limit the risk of an accident.
All the equipment you need to change a tire is a jack and a tire lever.
- Prepare the wheel: remove the hubcap, then slightly unscrew the rim nuts. Do the same with the other three rims if you are doing a maintenance change.
- Remove the wheel: Place the jack under the car. If you couldn’t find the mark to help you find the best location, count about twenty centimeters away from the wheel. Raise the vehicle until the wheel is about 5 cm above ground level. Completely unscrew the rim nuts. Remove the faulty wheel and swap it for the new one.
- Fitting the spare wheel or refitting the wheels: Place the new wheel in its location. Make sure the nut holes are properly aligned. Place the nuts in the rim while holding the wheel in place. Screw the nuts. Tighten slightly, as you must finalize the process on the ground.
- Complete the operation: Lower the vehicle down and tighten the nuts firmly using the tire iron.