Yes, they are black, round and mostly dirty, but you should never ignore your tires. As often as you look after your shoes to prevent you from slipping when walking, you need to look after your tires to prevent you from skidding and having an accident.
Many drivers completely ignore their tires, even when they have indicators in their cars to warn them. Yes, tires need to be looked after. Whacking pot holes and leaving tires under-inflated will damage and lower the life-span of the tire. Just like with this car owner who never looked after their tires.
To keep your run flat tires (or any normal tire) in good condition, check the air pressure, depth and condition every fortnight or at least once a month (every 30 days at the worst) and visit the nearest petrol station and use the FREE ‘air pressure’ facilities.
Generally, run flat tires use the same rubber compounds as conventional tires, so you can expect similar longevity. Despite their reinforced components, run flats will wear at the same rate as standard tires and they require the same level of care and maintenance.
This will ensure you get maximum life out of your tires before having to replace them which can be very expensive today.
Run flat (or self supporting) tires are specially designed to keep working for a short while even after they suffer a puncture. So if you get a puncture on a rainy dark night, there is no need for an uncomfortable and some what dangerous roadside tire change which you should be able to safely drive home or to your nearest tire shop to get your damaged tire changed.
Run flat tires also reduce the dangers of a potentially dangerous tire blow out due to their unique construction.
How do they work?
Run flat tires are built with reinforced sidewalls. Normally, a car is supported by the air in your tires, and once you have a puncture, they collapse. However, run flat tires have tough rubber inserts which temporarily hold up the weight of your vehicle even after a puncture.
So, with this tire issue here, the car owner was in two minds to stay with run-flats or to change to normal tires. We managed to convince her to stay with run-flats for a few reasons.
- She does not check her tires at all.
- She does not have a tool kit and will not know how to use it as well if she had it.
- She has never taken her tire pressure monitoring device warning seriously.
- She needs run-flats to get her home in case of an issue.
- She is not a car person and will probably get scammed at a large franchised tire shop.
