In these rainy months, optimising your car’s performance for slippery, wet conditions should be a priority. Unless you’re in Somerset, in which case you might want to swap your car for a boat!
One important factor that will affect your ability to drive on wet roads is your tyre pressure. If your tyres aren’t sufficiently inflated, the edges (shoulder) of the tyre will be worn down faster than the centre, because there isn’t enough pressure to force the central tread down and bear an equal share of the load.
This has a negative effect on your tyres’ longevity and rolling resistance, but – most importantly at this time of year – in wet conditions, the concave shape of and under-inflated tyre means that water will be trapped underneath rather than rolled away by the wheels.
On standing water, this deformity means that the car is much more likely to hydroplane, because the uneven tyres cannot deal with the volume of water underneath them. This happens quicker with smaller tyres and shallower treads.
Low tyre pressure is, fortunately, easy to fix, and we’ll give you a free pressure check every time you book a refurbishment – leaving you safe in the knowledge that both your alloys and tyres are the best they can be this winter.
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