Don't neglect the wheels and tyres
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The wheels and tyres are probably the most important components in an automobile.
It could be said that they are even more important than the engine because if the engine stalls or malfunctions when the vehicle is in motion, the driver can still reduce the speed and bring it to a halt safely. However, if the wheels or the tyres malfunction, for example if the wheels are loose and come off the wheel hub or if the tyres explode, there is high possibility of damage from an accident.
The severity of the damage will depend on other factors as well, but I can guarantee that it will be considerable.
Today, I will address questions that people often ask about the wheels and tyres so that you can adapt it for your own use. And I am sure that some of these questions may also be topics that you have always wondered about.
The most popular question I have ever been asked is to how badly can a tyre be damaged before you must consider replacing it. My answer is that you must consider the position of the damage. For example, if the tyre is punctured by a nail or sharp object on the tread area and the cut is not very large, you can have it repaired and continue using it.
For confidence, you can rotate the damaged tyre to the rear so that you can be sure that the front tyres that help steer the vehicle are in better condition. But if a tyre has more than two punctures, or if the original puncture has leaked again, I suggest that you replace it, or at least use it as a spare tyre.
Now, if the puncture happens on the tyre shoulder to the tyre wall (the side of the tyre), that particular tyre should not be repaired. Even if the repair is done very well and the puncture is very small in size, you still should not use it again. You must be very careful even in using it as a spare tyre. That is because the tyre shoulder and walls are constantly moving, and the new rubber that is pasted on it can fall off any time.
You shouldn’t even continue using tyres with worn-out shoulders or walls to the extent that the markings on the walls disappear or you can see the inner part of the tyre wall (which may happen when they are rubbed against the footpath). In this case even if there are tyre-repair shops (mostly upcountry) that can repair it by pasting new rubber and remarking the walls, you should not reuse them. To ensure safety for other road users, you should also destroy that tyre to prevent the tyre shop from repairing it and selling it to others as used tyres. Others may purchase that tyre without knowing that it was badly damaged before, and they could run into severe accidents.
Another caution about tyres that people don’t usually think abut is when they are wiped or sprayed with chemicals to make them shiny and appear like new. They forget that these chemicals can bite into the rubber and cause it to swell. In some cases, if they are applied on the tyre shoulder or tread, it could also affect the tyre grip, again leading to accidents, especially when driving on wet and slippery conditions.
Another question is about damaged wheels: if the wheel rim is dented should it be replaced?
For the wheel, you have to consider the damage, for example if the rims are scraped and some of the edges are gone, you can have it repaired at major wheel and tyre shops. They will paste new alloy on the wheel and smoothen it to the original shape. But in this case you must have the wheel balanced very carefully, otherwise there could be vibrations that could reach the steering wheel. If the shop that does the repair is not detailed enough, or if the extent of the wheel rim that is missing is too much, the wheel balancing would become much more difficult.
Meanwhile, for cracks that usually occur near the nut holes due to tightening the nuts too tight or too loose, or if the holes don’t correspond with the nut size, or by carrying more weight than the wheel can take, it is better to change the wheel.
You can test this kind of damage by hitting the wheel with a hammer and listen to the sound. Even if the wheel can be repaired, I suggest that you change it, especially if you often drive at high speeds or carry much weight.
Many car owners choose a particular set of wheels because of the design, despite knowing that the offset doesn’t match their vehicle. They want the car to look beautiful and believe the sales person that this could be taken care of by using spacers.
As for using spacers, I warn you that it could easily cause the wheel and steering wheel to vibrate. You must also check the spacers very often to make sure that it doesn’t loosen, which could cause the wheel to be disconnected from the hub and lead to accidents.
