Wheels are one of the most important elements for the safety of any type of vehicle and keeping them in perfect condition will avoid more than one scare. They have always taught us that it is important to have all four tires at the correct pressure and not let them wear out, because we would run the risk of poor braking and less grip on the road. But when it comes to changing the shoes of our car, we have many doubts: should we change all four? Are the new wheels in front or behind? What do we do with the ones that are not worn? In this post we solve all these doubts. Here we go!
Tips for changing wheels
Answering the first question, no. It is not necessary to change all four wheels of the car at the same time. First, it is an outlay that very few pockets can afford, and second, it is illogical because not all tires wear the same. The front ones are the ones that suffer the most because, in general, the most weight of the car falls on them, since this is where the engine is located. In this sense, what we would all do is change the front tires and put new ones. But, this is a mistake. New wheels should always be mounted at the rear of the car for the following reasons:
- Putting new tires on the rear axle carries a lower risk of hydroplaning. The rear wheels have less ability to adhere to the road because they support less weight than the front wheels and, therefore, in situations where the road is covered with water, they will be the first to fail if they have a worn tread.
- Believe it or not, a rear tire is more dangerous than a front tire because we don’t have as much control capacity at the rear of the car. That is why it is important to keep the rear wheels in perfect condition and thus avoid punctures and blowouts.
- Healthy wheels reduce the risk of oversteer. This phenomenon occurs when the rear axle does not grip the road enough in a curve, causing the car to turn more than we want. In this situation, we all tend to brake but it is dangerous, because we are taking even more weight off the rear, also reducing its ability to grip. So if we have new tires, we will reduce this situation.
In short, new tires on the rear axle guarantee us a better grip and greater safety. Now we must solve another question and these are solved by auto for trade where you can buy used cars in New Zealand, what do we do with the worn wheels and what do we do with the ones that we do not change? When we remove the worn wheels, what we must do is take them to a clean point. They are made with a rubber compound and leaving them anywhere or burning them is very harmful to the atmosphere and to our health.
Be clear about this advice to always have your vehicle ready and make sure it is in the best condition. Another of the most useful tips is to have car insurance that allows you to only worry about driving calmly and avoiding unnecessary risks.
On the other hand, those that are not sufficiently worn still have a long service life. The ideal thing would be to change the rear tires, which will be the least worn, for the front ones. In this way, our car will have new rear wheels and in the front will be the ones that were previously on the rear axle. With this rotation we manage to increase the useful life of the tires and favor the balance of the car’s traction.
However, remember that it is very important to always comply with the basic safety regulations regarding tires: the tread depth must not be less than 1.6 millimeters, they must be approved, they must not present cracks or deformations and they must have the pressure recommended by the manufacturer.