With its contact with the road less than the size of your palm, your car’s tyres are one of the essential parts of safe and reliable driving. Despite their importance, these four wheels are often neglected when it comes to car maintenance. Cronulla Sutherland Automatics offers Tyre services to ensure your tyres always perform at a high level. Low tyre pressure is costly and dangerous when left untreated. Here are a few reasons why you should always keep your tyres in top condition.
Safety
No matter how responsible you are on the roads, the quality of your tyres is one of the main factors of safe driving. Your tyres provide grip for you to brake, turn and accelerate in a short amount of time. When left untreated, low tyre pressure can cause wear and tear on your tyre tread, lowering the grip and responsiveness of your vehicle. This is especially important as Australian roads can have unexpected obstacles such as changing weather conditions, debris on roads, drivers braking abruptly, and that kid on the bike that you didn’t see. Maintaining good tyre pressure ensures that you are equipped to handle anything that happens on the roads.
Fuel economy
Paying for fuel can be one of the most significant expenses that dip into your weekly budget. Driving with under-inflated tyres increases the rolling resistance of your vehicle, causing your car to work harder to move. This process makes your vehicle use more fuel to drive, meaning you have to fill up more frequently. Checking tyre pressure regularly allows safer driving and significant financial saving.
Cost
Along with fuel costs, failing to take proper care of your tyres can lead to a shorter tyre lifespan. Consistently low tyre pressure distorts the tyre’s footprint (i.e. where your cars rubber contacts with the road), causing significant wear and tear on your tyres. This wear and tear may cause you to purchase a new set of tyres prematurely. Low tyre pressure can put additional stress on your brake lines, rotors, calipers and fenders – all vital car components- leading to expensive replacements down the track.
Steering Accuracy
Under-inflated tyres significantly decrease your steering stability. This reduced steering stability is due to the tyre’s sidewalls flexing more frequently when turning and braking. This causes your tread (your contact with the road) to squirm. This process results in your steering becoming unsteady and leaving your tyres with less traction, decreasing the quality of your car’s steering precision. Cronulla Sutherland Automatics provides regular checks on your tyres and brake fluid to ensure the performance of your car is maintained at a high level, promoting a safe driving experience.
What to do when you notice your tyre pressure is low
As soon as you recognise your tyre pressure decreasing, book an appointment with us at Cronulla Sutherland Automatics. As part of a general service, we can check the pressure and quality of your car tyres, making sure that you are back driving safely on the roads with confidence. Regular checks of not only tyre pressure, but of transmission and gearbox are also essential for keeping safe on the roads as well as allowing your vehicle to perform at the highest level.
Cronulla Sutherland Automatics is an authorised member of the Motor Traders Association (MTA) and the Automatic Transmission Rebuilders of Australasia (ATRA).