Few people realise how important tyres are. They are your car's main shock absorber and their quality and performance is a major factor in your car's safety, control, cornering, traction, ease of steering and even fuel efficiency. Many world famous tyres like Bridgestone, Michelin and Pirelli will soon be available but before you rush off to buy them correct some popular misconceptions.


Myth 1.
Big fat tyres make a car look big and powerful. Wrong! It may make you feel macho but it's a dumb thing to do to your car. The heavier the tyre, the worse will be the pickup, the ride and the road holding because it increases the weight below the springs. Too much extra traction can also damage your gears or differential. Big tyres only make sense if you are carrying big loads but if they do not perfectly fit the rim they can be dangerous and can damage the tyre.

Myth 2.
Chromed Mag wheels make a car look great. Right! These light new wheel rims are smart and expensive and they do improve a car's performance. The less the weight below the springs, the better will be the road holding and acceleration. You must, however, ensure that these new wheel rims are perfectly matched to your tyres.

Myth 3.
Perfect wheel rims are not important. Wrong! They are absolutely vital for the ride and safety for every tyre and car. On Indian roads, the rims occasionally get damaged by deep potholes, accidents, hitting stones left on the roads, pavements or other hard objects. Most people do not bother to get them fixed. It is now an easy process for which there are hundreds of repairers in any city.

Myth 4.
Ordinary tyres are as good as radial tyres. Wrong! Radial tyres have a flat belt, which keep the tread flat and firmly on the road while cornering. This improves road holding and tyre life. The improved traction also improves acceleration and fuel consumption while the woven steel belt reduces punctures. Radial tyres also have softer sidewalls resulting in a softer and more comfortable ride.

Myth 5.
The soft sidewall of radial tyres can easily get cut. It is true that that this can sometimes happen but in most cases the damage to the sidewall is the result of a sharp drop on the side of road that can cut the inside of the tyre when the car tries to get back on the road. This is easily avoided. When you have to get off the road do not get back on the road gradually. You should cut the steering wheel sharply inwards so that the wheel tread and not the sidewall hits the sharp edge of the road.

Myth 6.
Radial tyres do not give more mileage. The mileage depends on the car, the loads, the driver and the tyre as well. A standard tyre should give over 30,000 kms and a radial about 50% more.

Myth 7.
Tubeless tyres are unsuitable for Indian cars. Tubeless tyres have virtually replaced tyres with tubes around the world because, like mag wheels, they reduce the weight below the springs. In India, however, most tyre repairers have not yet learned the simple method of how to fix them and people do not want to take the risk of having a flat they cannot easily repair. A tyre repairer only needs a pump that can inflate to double the normal pressure to get a good sealing. There is also need to ensure that the rims are perfect.

Myth 8.
Wheel balancing is unnecessary. The wear and tear on tyres is not even and sudden braking can rub off small patches. Wheel balancing roughly every 5,000 kms or so can make a huge difference to your car's safety, comfort and road holding.

Myth 9.
Imported tyres so much softer than desi ones. India's tyre companies can match any specification but they usually produce tyres that people want with more tread rubber for long life instead of light tyres that are better for road holding, ride and comfort. With more sophisticated cars coming onto the roads, discriminating buyers may begin to go for the new lighter and softer tyres even though these may slightly reduce the mileage.

Myth 10.
The little caps on the tube nipples are a useless gimmick. These little caps keep out the dust and dust is a big enemy of a tyre. Dust is blown in whenever the tyre is inflated and they cut or line the soft rubber core of the valve allowing air to slowly escape. Tyres with the caps can usually hold pressure for two to four weeks and those without caps may need checking every few days.

Myth 11.
The specified Inflation pressure must always be maintained. Tyre pressure goes up about 10 to 15% when they heat up resulting in a harder ride and lower traction but a bit extra air pressure before a long journey reduces this tendency to heat up. Fuel consumption will be better with slightly high pressure and will increase if pressure is too low. A slightly lower pressure is, however, recommended to improve traction if there are icy or skiddy roads. Radial tyres always look slightly underinflated and increasing pressure will reduce the tyres footprint or contact area.

Myth 12.
Retreaded tyres are as good as new ones. Retreads do cost half the cost of a new tyre but there is a big sacrifice in safety, comfort, ride and tyre life. You only see the tread and never know the state of the tyre's carcass. It may be old and decayed and suffering from many kinds of damage that the eye cannot see. These may suddenly appear and cause trouble and even an accident. A complete set of new tyres only costs about 10 paise per km over its lifetime. A small price for your comfort and safety.