How your tires will affect your driving performance
Puerto Rico’s roads and their effect on your tires
Ways to keep your tires performing well in Puerto Rico
Conclusion
How your tires will affect your driving performance
Believe it or not, tires can affect your overall driving performance and experience in a number of ways. The first is the difference a tire’s diameter makes. The smaller a tire’s diameter the better in terms of performance. Wider tires are harder to handle and make for an overall more difficult ride. Obviously, your tires need to be wide enough in order to fit the rims your car has. This is why you will typically find smaller cars are easier to handle at high speeds than larger vehicles, because their tires have less diameter.
Another way that your particular tires can affect your driving performance is the depth of the treads can impact how quickly you can stop. The deeper your treads are directly affect how quickly you can stop. This is obviously a crucial part of your performance when you are driving.
Next, how rigid your tires are will affect things like braking and traction. Softer tires do better with both of those things. However, softer tires are more likely to break down on roads with tougher conditions.
Finally, tire pressure is the most critical part of where tires will affect your driving performance. It impacts all of the above plus it will also affect your fuel efficiency. Tire pressure will negatively impact your driving both if they are underinflated or overinflated.
If they are underinflated, it can lead to steering issues and, much worse a flat tire. If they are overinflated, it can lead to your tires wearing out faster and even a possible blow out which you will want to avoid at all costs.
Puerto Rico’s roads and their effect on your tires
Unfortunately, the condition of Puerto Rico’s roads has never been great and still is not. Thankfully, they are finally starting to improve in the wake of Hurricane Maria. There still are a considerable number of cracks and potholes on the streets of Puerto Rico though.
These things can cause a tone of your damage to your tires and your car as a result. The various ways that cracks in the road or potholes can damage your tires includes puncturing it, damaging the sidewalls, and cracking/bending the actual wheel itself.
You will obviously want to avoid all of that. So, take it slow and keep your eyes peeling when you are driving in Puerto Rico in order to avoid hitting any potholes or cracks in the road.
Ways to keep your tires performing well in Puerto Rico
Regardless of the tires that you already have on your car in Puerto Rico, here is what you can do in order to maximize their performance:
- Proper inflation is everything – As was mentioned earlier, underinflated and overinflated tires are both problems for your tires. Check the pressure frequently but pay special attention when temperatures get really high or low.
- When it comes time for new tires, get them – Do not try and coast by on a set of tires that are too worn and or old. In general, you should look into getting new tires after every thirty five to forty five thousand miles driven or after five years of use, whatever comes first.
- Get your tires rotated – Many people will tell you that tire rotation is not important and they would be wrong. Rotating your tires is when the tires of your car are switched in position with each other. This prevents uneven wear on the tires. This is useful because you will not end up needing to get one new tire at a time.
- Perform visual inspections often – Always be vigilant in terms of visually inspecting your tires for blatant issues such as punctures or extremely warn areas of tread.
- Make sure the car’s alignment is not “pulling” – When your car’s alignment is said to be “pulling” one way or another, it means if you take your hands off of the steering wheel, your car will start to slightly and continually move left or right rather than stay straight. If this is the case, it will increase wear on some of your car’s tires. Get this fixed as soon as possible.
Conclusion
Your tires are much more important to your driving than most people think. When they are damaged or worn your driving will inevitably suffer. You run the risk of damage to your tires on some of Puerto Rico’s roads due to numerous potholes. So, when you have a car in Puerto Rico, be on the look out for potholes and cracks in the road. You should also drive slowly so you have more reaction time just in case you do see these things on the road. Finally, always take great care of your tires and inspect them for wear and damage frequently.
