The sidewall is the most fragile part of the tire. Compared to the tread, the sidewall is not only thinner, but also has insufficient steel wire to adhere, so it is more fragile.
Tread. Made of synthetic and natural rubber. On a new tire, this textured surface ensures high mileage, good grip on the road and water expulsion. This equates to safe driving in all conditions.
Shoulder (located between the tread and sidewall): The Shoulder of the tire is the thickest part of a tire's construction. This is designed to dissipate heat that accumulates inside the tire while driving and provide added support to strengthen the tire.
You can rely on a kitchen knife for slashed tires because it is easy to find one in your house. Choose the one with a big and strong blade enough not to bend when penetrating the rubber. The only minus point is that it may draw attention if you use a big kitchen knife.
Belts provide resistance to punctures and help treads stay flat and in contact with the road.
The tire sidewall is the vertical part of any tire, i.e., the area from the rim to the shoulders. It is a crucial part of any tire, as it protects the cord plies from damage, and they give any structural integrity. Damaged plies can significantly weaken the construction and lead to instability or blowouts.
TRACTION – AA, A, B and C: The traction grades from highest to lowest are AA, A, B and C and they represent the tire's ability to stop on wet pavement as measured under controlled conditions on specified government test surfaces of asphalt and concrete. A tire marked C may have poor traction performance.
There's a common misconception that insurance companies won't cover three slashed tires but will cover four slashed tires instead. The truth is that you're covered for any number of slashed tires, as long as you have the right coverage.
You should rotate your tires as recommended by the vehicle manufacturer, or every 5,000 miles. For many of you, that will mean when you get your vehicle's oil changed.
A sipe, also called a “kerf” is a small slit in the tire's tread block that creates additional tread surface area for increased grip in wet, icy and snowy conditions.
In the real world, the answer to the question 'are wider tyres faster? ' is more nuanced. Though wider tyres don't produce less rolling resistance than narrower tyres once you normalise for casing tension, they shouldn't roll any slower either. Wider tyres are also likely to be more comfortable and grippier.
You may not realise it but your front left tyre will pretty much always be first to wear. We asked Toyo Tires resident tyre tech expert Steve Burke why, and what we can do to prevent it. Front tyres tend to wear faster, up to 2.5 times faster on some cars.
Since most vehicles wear their front tires faster, within a few thousand miles, the front tires will be more worn than the backs so you won't want to rotate them then.
Fitting better tyres on the rear axle is safer especially in emergency situations where you need to avoid an obstacle that suddenly appears on the road. Then the rear axle is more "loaded" and less prone to loss of grip, and that's where it's better to keep your tyres in better condition.
Hitting a curb could also pierce a hole through the tire or cut the tread/sidewall. Usually, these punctures/cuts will have large diameters, meaning they won't be repairable.
A slashed tire will quickly deflate and be unusable. You should never drive on a slashed or deflated tire. This can cause tremendous damage to your vehicle and cause a hazardous situation for you and other drivers. If you can't replace the tire, you must have the vehicle towed to the nearest or preferred tire shop.
The MICHELIN® Uptis (Unique Puncture-Proof Tire System) is an airless mobility solution for passenger vehicles, which reduces the risk of flat tires and other air loss failures that result from punctures or road hazards.
The most typical reasons for a tyre puncture are screws, nails, and crushed stones. You may even encounter glass that causes air to escape your tyres. Another element that will put you at risk for this happening is low tyre pressure.
Any puncture less than 1/2 inch from the start of the internal steel belt on the shoulder or sidewall of the tire cannot be repaired (highlighted in red). A tire puncture greater than 1/4 inch (or 6mm) cannot be repaired. A new tire replacement is needed if a puncture exceeds this limit.
This is called hydroplaning. In a heavy rain, your tires can lose all traction with the road at about 50 mph. Bald or badly worn tires will lose traction at much lower speeds. The best way to keep from hydroplaning is to slow down in the rain or when the road is wet.
M+S stands for Mud+Snow, indicating that the tires are suitable for use in the winter (studded or non-studded winter tires). The official winter tire marking is the snowflake symbol, also known as the 3PMSF marking. (the techinical name is 'Servere Service Emblem".
Under-inflated tires will give you (believe it or not) too much traction, which will lead to difficult steering - and a car you can't steer well, obviously, isn't safe.