Wrong Tyres Can Increase Fuel Consumption
So we headed to one of the top tyre dealerships in the city. Immediately we got there, my friend got taken up by a particularly nice-looking tyre. It was wide and had very deep, block-like treads. My friend was convinced it was stronger, and would last longer than the others. Unfortunately, as a technical person, I knew that particular tyre type was not suitable for his vehicle.
So I had to explain to him that different types of tyres suit particular vehicles. The choice often depends on the vehicle size and load, wheel size, speed, the road condition it’s to be driven on and also the climatic condition, such as temperature.
Having the right tires on your vehicle provides safe road-holding capability to your vehicle, improves tire life, and reduces accidents.
As a rule, motor vehicle manufacturers recommend tyres of a particular size.
Looking at the tyres, it seems quite simple for one to choose the right tyre type for their conditions. It is, however, not that easy in practice. It is not unusual to find someone driving a vehicle fitted with indoor racing car tyres. I have seen many people drive in town with off road racing car tyres. Sometimes these people come to me complaining about their vehicles fuel consumption. A quick inquiry into the history reveals that the vehicle had been consuming nicely until the owner, perhaps mere to improve on its beauty, decided to fit it with different – and unsuitable – tyres. It does not hurt to consult an expert when fitting tyres.
From this experience, I realized I needed to share some of the tyre tread patterns that may suit your driving conditions based on location e.g. upcountry, town-running or even off road in game parks. They are designed to reduce on your fuel consumption, increase tyre life and minimise service costs and accidents.
The block tread
This pattern type of tyre is very attractive to almost all people because of its large blocks along the circumference of the tyre. These are specially designed for mud and snow road conditions and it is clearly abbreviated on the side walls of the tire as M+S which stands for mud and snow. It has a wider contact surface area to the road surface which increases is rolling resistance which in turn increases the fuel consumption due to the extra resistance. This type of tyre is more suitable for earth roads, muddy and snow covered surfaces. Its design provides good gripping ability and a wider friction surface area for traction. Therefore, such a tyre would be good for upcountry, slippery and muddy roads. This is the type of tyre my friend wanted although he never drives in these conditions.
Most cars with these types of tyres in town are from the used-car bonds. Such cars would have been fitted with snow tires designed with block tread that help to embed in the slippery snow to provide a grip for the vehicles traction. Snow being soft, the tire structure is no so complex and has no much reinforcement making them not suitable for hard and hot road surfaces. Putting these snow tires on our hard roads in high tropical heat makes them burst and cause accidents.
The ribbed tread.
This pattern type of tyre has got zigzag treads that run along the circumference of the tyre. It is suitable for both light and heavy commercial vehicles because it offers less resistance to rolling, especially in view of the heavy loads these vehicles carry. This in turn provides for less fuel consumption because of the minimal friction resistance on the road wheels. This type of tyre also provides good resistance to side slip on banked roads giving the vehicle a good road holding ability.
The rib and lug tread
This pattern type of tyre is the best for most tropical countries because it combines both the rib and lug tread pattern. We have already looked at the ribbed tread pattern. We must now look at the lug pattern. This can best be seen on the rear tractor wheel – the big one. That type of tread pattern is known as the lug type. So the rib and lug tread pattern type of tyre consists of the rib pattern in the center of the tyre and the lugs on the shoulders or the ends of the tyre. This gives it less resistance to rolling by the ribbed part of the tire and good road gripping which enables the vehicle to have good traction.
Processing your request, Please wait....
