Page 44 - BRIDGESTONE PR REPORT - JULY 2025

7/3/25, 10:30 AM The Most Common Mistakes In The Care And Use Of Your Car's Tyres
Other irregular tyre wear, resulting in a less than optimal contact patch, can be
caused by incorrect balancing and/or alignment, or poorly maintained shock
absorbers. In these cases the tyres are the messengers of the problem, telling us
what the cause may be and what needs to be rectified.

Faulty alignment, axle parallelism and balancing:

Correct vehicle alignment, maintaining axle parallelism and wheel balancing
(adjusting the wheel-tyre assembly by means of counterweights to avoid
imbalances) are essential to avoid irregular wear, vibrations and even steering

wheel trajectory problems (safety), apart from the risk of mechanical breakdowns.
According to First Stop, tyre distribution company, alignment should be

carried out when tyres are changed or rotated between axles, once a year or
when between 15,000 and 20,000 kilometres have been driven.

Deformed or damaged tyres:

It is also crucial to check the condition of tyres and rims from time to time, as they

may be deformed, damaged, cut or torn (as a result of impact with kerbs,
potholes, etc.), which can compromise their safety. If they are damaged in any
way, a professional should be consulted for possible replacement. If it is
necessary to do so, remember that it is not advisable to install tyres with different
characteristics or levels of wear on the same axle.

Aging tyres:

Although tyres do not have an expiry date as such, depending on many factors,
including maintenance, exposure to oxidising agents, conditions of use, etc., they
can lose some of their performance over time. So, even if they still have tread, it

is advisable to check the appearance of the tyres at least once a month. From the
5th year onwards, we recommend an annual check by a specialist, and in any
case replace them when they are more than 10 years old. Cracked, aged, cut
rubber, etc. on a tyre can affect road safety.

To find out the date of manufacture of a tyre, simply look for the DOT code on the

sidewall marking. The last 4 digits of the DOT code, for example 1024, tell you the
week and year of manufacture.

Spare tyre:

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