If the current tyres of your car are worn out, it’s time for new ones. The Road Transportation and Authority in Dubai recommend replacing tyres no later than 5 years or if its tread depth is below 1.6 mm or less. However, the new tyres must be run in. New tyres should be run in carefully. Find out why — and how to break in new tyres to optimise performance and safety.
What’s Different About New Tyres?
Several factors can make the performance of your new tyres slightly different from your older tyres.
- Lubricants: During production, a lubricant is used to remove the tyres from their moulds. This substance stays on the tread until it wears off on the road. Before it wears off completely, it can reduce your traction.
- Antioxidants: The substance is used to prevent the rubber from breaking off the tyre when exposed to environmental factors such as fluctuating temperatures. They can make the tyres feel slippery at first.
- Tread depth: New tyres will, of course, have maximum tread depth. This new tread is stiff, smooth, deep and can feel rigid, initially like a thick buffer between you and the road. Here is how you can check the tread depth of a car’s tyre.
How To Break in New Tyres of a Car
Several signs can tell you when to change a car tyre. So, there are several popular car tyre shops in Dubai from where you can make the purchase. Once you buy them, now it’s time for breaking in new tyres. For this, all you need is to drive, accelerate, brake and corner smoothly – for the first 800 km. This will safely prepare your tyres for regular performance. After this distance, the lubricants and other substances used in the manufacturing process are completely worn out. If you are finally planning to change the tyres, here is a list of tools needed to change the tyre of the car easily.
Break-In and Wear CAR
Every new tyre needs a break-in period. Before breaking in new tyres, drive at moderate speed for the first 200 to 300 km to improve the tyre’s long-term performance. It is recommended not to accelerate too quickly or to brake suddenly in the first kilometres, the time to adapt the driving behaviour to the new tyres. If your old set of tyres was worn, be aware that your vehicle’s behaviour will be different from the new set, even with tyre brands with the same references.
Tyre Wear Check
When checking the tyre pressure, it is also necessary to verify the tread wear. The TWI indicators located on the sidewalls of the tyres allow the driver to find the wear indicators. The wear must never reach the indicators placed in the bottom of the profile and must be even over the entire surface. “A wear indicator of 1.6 mm indicates the height of the minimum prescribed thickness of the rubber”.
The Danger of Worn Tyres
Tyre wear leads to loss of grip. The more worn your tyres are (less deep grooves), the longer the braking distances become, especially on wet surfaces, and the greater the risk of aquaplaning.
Ensure Even Tyre Wear
The position of the wheels (geometry, alignment) and your driving style can cause uneven wear between the tyres. To ensure that the tyres wear evenly, it is recommended to swap the front and rear wheels approximately every 5,000 to 10,000 km.
What to do:
- Try to drive on dry roads and avoid slippery roads
- Drive at moderate speed
- Leave a greater distance between you and the vehicle in front, as your braking distances maybe longer.
What not to do:
- Accelerate sharply
- Hitting the brakes hard even if you can avoid it
- The lubricants used to mount the tyre to the wheel can cause some tyre/rim to slip when you step on the brakes. Therefore, it’s particularly important to avoid this during the first few hundred miles.
An Adjustment Period for Tyres — And Drivers
Even if you have re-purchased the same make and model of tyres that you previously had for your car, you may notice a difference in driving. Your old tyres probably had very little tread depth by the time you replaced them. Tyres with very little tread are more responsive because less tread has to flex when manoeuvring. So you may find that new tyres are a little less responsive until they are fully broken in.
Not only do you need to ensure that your tyres can adapt and gradually start to perform excellently, but with a gentle break-in period, you also have the chance to adapt to your new tyres.
Gentle Run-In, Followed by Continuous Care
Take it easy with your new tyres for a while and they will reward you with long, reliable service. To help ensure this, it is advisable to have your tyres checked regularly even after this break-in period. Note the following factors:
- Sufficient tread depth
- Correct pressure when inflating
- Any signs of wear or damage
This concludes our guide on how to break in new tyres of a car. We hope that this guide will help you if you are planning to buy tyres for sale in the UAE. Besides, well-maintained tyres provide top performance and ensure your safety on the road. Thus, make sure you check the car tyre if you are planning to buy a used car for sale in the UAE. This not only will help you in avoiding the extra expense but can also maintain road safety. Also, learn to read codes on a car tyre to identify its manufacturing year, aspect ratio and width.
If you find this guide useful, stay tuned to the UAE’s top auto blog for more maintenance tips.
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