Common knowledge of tire maintenance: A detailed analysis of the causes of high-speed blowouts. As the saying goes, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." For a car, the wheels are its feet, and the tires are its shoes. If a blowout occurs during driving, it not only makes it impossible to move but also increases the likelihood of an accident. Therefore, maintaining tires becomes particularly important:
**Common Knowledge of Tire Maintenance**
To prevent blowouts, it is necessary to strengthen tire maintenance and regularly replace tires. As tires gradually wear out, the steel wire layer becomes fatigued, and the tread ages, their performance will inevitably weaken. Car owners should ideally replace all four tires at once. If the wear levels differ, new tires should be placed on the front two wheels. Before and after driving, it's important to frequently check tire pressure, including the spare tire's pressure, especially in summer when the tires come into contact with hot ground. If the tire pressure is too high, it could easily lead to a blowout. Additionally, one must pay attention to the tire's load capacity and avoid overloading.
It's also important to watch for signs before a potential blowout, such as abnormal steering wheel movements or smoking tires. In these cases, immediately stop the car to inspect and prepare for a possible blowout. Furthermore, during long-distance and high-speed travel, it's best to avoid sudden braking as this reduces the tire’s "capacity" and increases internal pressure, leading to a blowout. Lastly, strictly prohibit overspeeding. When cars exceed speed limits, a "standing wave" phenomenon may occur, causing the tire temperature to rise rapidly, accelerating rubber aging, leading to delamination and even blowouts.
With advancements in technology, prioritizing radial tires and using low-pressure tires are good ways to prevent tire issues. Radial tires have softer bodies, and their belt layers use strong, low-stretch fabrics or steel cords, making them resistant to impact, with low rolling resistance and less energy consumption, ideal for highway driving. Currently, passenger cars and trucks commonly use low-pressure tires. These tires have good elasticity, wide treads, large road contact areas, thin walls, and excellent heat dissipation, improving ride smoothness and steering stability, greatly extending tire life, and preventing blowouts.
It's worth emphasizing that if a driver notices overheating due to excessive air pressure, they must never release air or pour cold water on the tires to cool them down. Doing so accelerates tire aging and significantly shortens tire life. In such situations, the only solution is to stop the car and allow natural cooling and pressure reduction. For under-inflated tires, drivers should promptly inflate them and check for slow leaks to replace tires with better air-tightness.
**Four Causes of High-Speed Blowouts**
In recent years, with improvements in road conditions, vehicle speeds have significantly increased, especially on highways. If a blowout occurs during high-speed driving, it can lead to serious accidents resulting in vehicle destruction and loss of life. Drivers must take frequent blowout incidents seriously, analyzing specific causes based on climate and terrain conditions, and taking targeted preventive measures.
There are four main causes of car blowouts:
1. **Low Tire Pressure**: This increases the sinking amount of the wheel, radial deformation, friction between the tread and the ground, rolling resistance, and internal stress within the tire body, leading to a rapid increase in tire temperature.
2. **Over-Inflated Tires**: Typically, tire pressure should be 80% to 100% of the maximum load and speed indicated on the tire.
3. **Incorrect Tire Installation**: This includes unbalanced wheels and improper front-wheel alignment.
4. **Lack of Necessary Tire Maintenance**: Without rotating and maintaining tires, uneven wear occurs, creating weak spots that can lead to blowouts.
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