In hot weather conditions, tyres are more susceptible to failure and in some worst-case scenarios, bursting out all due to the surface temperature of the road and how long you’ve had the tyres for.
That’s why it’s important to take extra care of your tyres and check the tyre pressure when it’s hot outside.
As a good rule of thumb, Lindleys would recommend waiting two hours before checking your cars’ tyre pressure.
But there are many different rules for this. If you were driving quite slow and only for a few miles, then leaving your car to cool down for an hour should be fine. But if you were driving in hot weather conditions for a long drive, you may want to leave the car to cool down for up to four hours
But it’s not just your tyres you should monitor in hot weather, you should keep checking your whole car, from oil and water levels to the engine and your brakes.
It’s important, whatever the weather for you to keep on top of your cars’ performance, one small issue could lead to something worse, so it’s always handy to be prepared and carry our regular checks on a weekly (or at the very least) fortnightly basis.
For driving in hot weather, tyres do take a lot of the wear and tear and if you’re not careful, they could lead to a lot of problems. In this article we’ll cover;
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Should you check your tyre pressure when they’re hot or cold?
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What are the best performance tyres?
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Do tyres lose pressure in hot weather?
Should you check your tyre pressure when they’re hot or cold?
We would always recommend checking your tyres when they are cold.
This is because when you are driving, the tyres expand and are “in-use” and if you were to instantly check the tyre pressure right after driving, you may find that the tyre gives you a false reading.
Not to mention, if you’ve been driving long distances in hot weather, then your tyres may even be quite hot to handle and we would strongly advise against blowing them up as soon as you’ve finished your drive.
So it’s important to allow time for your car to cool down, especially the tyres and then, check tyre pressure accordingly.
Then, once your tyres have cooled down, you can inflate them as you see fit, but it’s important to only do this once the tyres have cooled down.
What are the best performance tyres?
There are many different tyres to choose from, budget, mid-range and premium, it’s something we have gone into great detail about before.
Ultimately it all comes down to budget and the type of tyres needed for the job.
For heatwaves and driving long distances in hot weather, we would recommend either going for premium tyres or all-season tyres.
Simply because these types of tyres are manufactured at a certain level to handle the different extreme weathering conditions your car may be faced with.
So make sure to weigh up the area you drive in, how often you drive in tough weather conditions and then you will have an idea what type of tyres your car needs.
Do tyres lose pressure in hot weather?
As you drive your car in hot weather conditions, the tyres expand in size due to the rubber reacting with the hot temperatures.
Once the car cools down, the tyres then decrease in size and return to their normal state. But when you go to check the pressure of the tyres once they’ve cooled down, you may realise that they’ve actually deflated and will need pumping up again before your next journey.
That’s why it’s important to remember to always check your tyres before a long or even short journey and to inflate them if they have lost pressure to ensure you’re driving on fully pumped tyres.
Get your new tyres fitted with Lindleys
It is important to constantly check the pressure of your tyres and be prepared for all types of weather.
Do your research beforehand to see what the high and low temperatures are throughout the year to choose the right tyres accordingly.
If you’re still unsure, book your tyres online with Lindleys, we’ll happily advise you on what tyres you should get for your car (and for what weather) and we’ll fit them for you.
If you can’t find a time that suits you to bring your car in, book a mobile tyre fitting where we will come to you and fit your tyres at home or at your place of work.
Alternatively, get in touch with us today to discuss more information on checking tyre pressure, where you can book your car in for a service or seek advice on which tyres to fit for your car.