9th January 2023
If you have experienced a puncture or a flat tyre, you will know how important it is to replace your tyre as soon as possible. But should your tyres be replaced in pairs? Ideally yes, they should.
This is because replacing a tyre without changing the tyre on the opposite side of the axle can cause your vehicle to become unbalanced. Potentially leading to excessive tyre wear or wheel misalignment. There are many benefits of changing your tyres in pairs, which include:
When tyres are replaced in pairs, they should be fitted near the rear axle with the older tyres switched to the front axle. This will help in maintaining control and grip of the road during wet driving conditions.
An axle pair is a pair of wheels that share the same axle. All cars tend to have two axles that spin with the wheels. These are the front and rear axles and are connected to the wheels through your vehicle’s suspension components. The front axle is usually responsible for steering your car, and the rear provides the power. Your axle plays an important role in the overall stability of your vehicle.
As your tyres are the only part of your vehicle that has contact with the road, your tyre tread is important as it helps to move water out and away from your tyres during wet conditions – otherwise known as aquaplaning. Having the same tread pattern on your tyres can help them to maintain contact with the surface of the road. If the tread patterns on your tyres are different, the way in which they move water out and away from your tyres will also be different. This will lead to different pressures on the axel shaft which can reduce your control in wet conditions.
It is important to remember when replacing tyres, that they match the seasonal type of your current ones. Whether they are winter tyres, summer tyres or all-season tyres, each type have tread patterns that are optimal for different seasonal conditions. Mixing two varying types of tyres on the same axle pair will be dangerous, particularly in extreme driving conditions as each wheel in the axle pair will be going against the other.
Some manufacturers will recommend that all four tyres should be replaced in the event that only one needs replacing. This is because some modern vehicles with highly sophisticated drive systems will require the vehicle to be balanced all round in order to reach optimal performance. Mixing brand new tyres with worn tyres will leave the drive system unbalanced and can compromise the performance of the vehicle.
Looking to buy tyres online? Here at Merityre Specialists, we supply a wide range of tyres from leading tyre manufacturers to suit all budgets. All of our car tyres are fitted by trained experts at your local branch. For more information, contact our helpful team today.