Aging Tyes under increasing Pressure

Age factor in tyre wear

As a driver you should pay more attention to the age of your tyres when assessing your car´s safety, as reported by leading tyre and car servicing chain Kwik-Fit.

Kwik-fit carried out market research finding that a huge 16.7 million tyres may have the defect of premature ageing despite the use of anti-oxidising chemicals which are used to build the modern tyres. Poor storage has also been a cause for concern as has infrequent use of tyres older than five years old. This is because the rubber is not heated enough on a regular basis and can go brittle which accelerates ageing. For this safety reason, most tyre manufacturers recommend regular visual inspections of older tyres.

Typical tyre wear is associated with tread depth wearing down until the tyre nears the end of its working life. However, premature ageing may potentially lead to sidewall damage and increases the risk of tyre failure on the road otherwise known as ´blowouts´.

Kwik-Fit Customer Service Director David White commented: "Low-mileage, older cars tend to be most at risk from premature ageing - as their owners assume there´s no problem if they can still see plenty of tread."

Kwik-Fit has launched a free tyre age check option for customers. This is a free, drop-in service. Last week, market data from LeasePlan UK revealed that the average yearly mileage of cars and vans is now 23,500 miles, an increase of 2,500 miles since 2006, reports Fleet News magazine.

 

published: 22/07/2009