Avoiding Unnecessary Tyre Problems
Imagine cruising down the open road, nothing but road between you and your destination. Okay, maybe not, these are roads in the UK after all, so let’s go with: trying to get above 50 mph on a busy motorway, when suddenly, you hear a hissing sound. Your heart sinks as you realise you have a flat tyre – nightmare! It’s a situation that no driver wants to find themselves in, but the reality is that it could happen at any time.
Being ready is crucial when you face an emergency. In this guide, we’ll look at why tools like a tread depth gauge and tyre pressure gauge are so important and why you should aways keep them in your vehicle. Furthermore, the importance of keeping your tyres inflated before you set out.
What are the Dangers of Under Inflated Tyres?
Driving with under inflated tyres can be dangerous. Not only is it harder to maintain control of your vehicle in bad weather or quick manoeuvres, but it can also result in your tyre blowing out. This is dangerous to both you and other drivers as it could easily result in an accident.
Keep Fuel Costs Down
Tyre inflation can also have a big impact on how much you spend on fuel. How so we here you ask? Well, with under inflated tyres, your engine needs to work a lot harder to get the car moving. Therefore, you burn fuel a lot more fuel than you would if your tyres were inflated to the pressure.
Under Inflated Tyres Wear Unevenly
Speaking of cost, not only do under inflated cost more in fuel, but you are also much more likely to need to replace the entire wheel or tyre a lot sooner. This is because under inflated tyres wear very unevenly, putting more strain on your tyres.
Over Inflated Tyres are also Damaging
Although it’s less commonly talked about, you can also cause damage to your wheels if they are over inflated. When tyres are over inflated, there is a smaller point of connection between the tyre and the road. This means you lose some traction and a heavier load on the central part of the tyre. Consequently, your tyres become worn much quicker, resulting in more expense for new tyres.
Under Inflated Tyres are Bad for the Environment
With the world looking for a cleaner, greener future you may be shocked to learn the impact that under inflated tyres have on the environment. In the UK alone, 600,000+ tyres are wasted every year due to under inflation. That’s equal to 1.5 million tonnes of CO2!
Essential Tyre Safety Tools for your Car or Vehicle
As one of the biggest causes of breakdowns in the UK, it’s important to make sure your tyres are always in tip top condition. For this reason, we highly recommend that you always keep a tread depth gauge and tyre pressure gauge in your boot or glove box. Equally, tyres can be checked and inflated if needed before you hit the road.
Tyre Inflators
As concluded by this article, having a tyre inflator is essential for staying safe on the road. If you are unsure what type of tyre inflator you should buy, please take a look at our guide to buying a tyre inflator for your car.
It may feel safter to know that you always have a tyre inflator with you, for this reason we highly recommend the 12v Portable Tyre Inflator from PCL.
This handy piece of kit is small, light, user-friendly, and comes in a neat storage bag – perfect for tucking into a corner of the boot ready for when tyres need inflating.
This is a convenient inflator for day-trippers, holidaymakers and camping fans, keeping them and their families safe on road trips. Suitable for all car tyres, and ideal for SUVs and 4x4s. Perfect for topping up pressure and can even inflate from flat.
The digital display has an integrated LED backlight for use in the dark.
If you prefer to keep your tyre inflator at home with your compressor, then it may be good to know that the PCL Airlite inflator (with either single clip or twin hold on connector) is currently on offer!
PCL AirLite Eco
PCL AirLite Eco
Alternatively, we welcome you to browse our full range of tyre inflators right here.
Tread Depth
It’s illegal for the tread depth of your tyres (tyre baldness) to be under 1.6mm. If that comes as a surprise to you, we highly recommend that you read our blog on how your tyres tread depth can lead to a driving ban. Otherwise, head over to our tread depth gauge product page and pick up a manual or digital gauge of your choice.
Tyre Pressure Gauge
The final tyre safety tool in this triple whammy is a tyre pressure gauge. In brief, these quickly check whether you have the right amount of air in your tyres. To demonstrate, you just simply attach the gauge to the tyre valve and read the amount of pressure shown in Bar or Psi.
If you are unsure how much Bar /Psi the tyres for your vehicle needs, check out Kwik Fit’s ‘Search by your vehicle number plate’ to find out.
Take a look at both manual and digital tyre pressure gauges in our online shop. We highly recommend the tyre safety pack containing a manual tread depth gauge with tyre pressure gauge (as shown below):
This is a glove box essential, supplying the classic PCL pencil type Tyre Pressure Gauge and Tyre Tread Depth Gauge in a durable, reusable tin. Keeping a Tyre safety pack in your car will mean you can check your tyres anytime, anywhere.
The Pressure Gauge, with pocket clip and removable protective cap, is designed so pressure can be read after the gauge is removed from the tyre valve. The Tyre Tread Depth Gauge measures tread of 1-26mm, with a 1.6mm illegal tyre tread depth mark. DVSA approved.
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If you have any questions about tyre safety, please don’t hesitate to contact us. You can also view our full range of tyre inflators and tyre care tools in our online shop.
Special thanks to our Partner PCL for this information.