Wheels and Tyres
216
Driving style Fast cornering, sharp acceleration and brak
ing (squealing tyres) increase wear-and-
tear on your tyres. Balancing wheels The wheels of a new vehicle are balanced. There are a wide range of influences when driving which may result in an imbalance
and which makes themselves felt through
vibration in the steering. You should have the wheels rebalanced si
nce any imbalance increases wear-and-tear
on the steering, the suspension and tyres. A wheel must also be rebalanced when a new tyre is fitted and each time a tyre is repaired. Wheel alignment errors Incorrect wheel alignment at the front and re
ar will not only increase wear-and-tear on
the tyres but will also has an adverse effect on vehicle safety. Contact your specialist garage if you notice any unusual tyre wear.
WARNING
•
If the inflation pressure is too low,
the tyre must perform a greater flexing
work. At higher speeds the tyre will warm up as a result of this. This can result in tread separation and even a tyre blowout.•
Immediately replace the damaged rims or tyres.
•
Tyres which are 6 years old or more should only be fitted in exceptional
cases and when adopting an approp
riately cautious style of driving.
For the sake of the environment
Tyres which are insufficiently inflated increase your fuel consumption.
Wear indicatorsThe base of the tread of the original tyres has wear indicators 1.6 mm high, installed at right angles to the direction of travel. These
wear indicators are lo
cated at 6 - 8 points
depending on the make and are evenly spaced around the circumference of the tyre ⇒ fig. 179
. Markings on the walls of the tyres
through the letters “TWI”, triangular
symbols or other symbols identify th
e position of the wear indicators.
A re m a i n i n g t re a d o f j u s t 1 .6 m m , m e a s u re d i n t h e g ro o v e s o f t he tre a d n e x t t o th e w e a r indicators, means that your tyres have
reached their legally permissible minimum
tread depth.
WARNING
•
You must have your tyres replaced with new ones at the latest when the
wear indicators have been worn down
. The legally permissible minimum tread
depth should be observed.•
Worn tyres do not provide the necessary adhesion to the road surface at
high speeds on wet roads. One could experience “aquaplaning” (uncontrolled movements of the vehicle - “swimming” on a wet road surface).
Fig. 179 Tyre tread with wear indicators
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