Tyre Asia April/May 2018 101

wear leading to the tyres’ premature
failure (some of which may be repairable
and many a time the tyre becomes
unserviceable).

The common factors observed in Vehicle
which lead to such costly mistakes are:

Improper Toe-in / Toe-out

negative / Positive camber

King pin inclination

Defective suspension

Defective steering linkage /assembly

Bent Axle

Defects in Brake shoes / Brake drum,

Unequalised Brakes, Rusted Brake drum
etc.

Using improper size of wheel Rim,

Defects / Rust in Rim

Improper mounting of Tyre on the rim

3. Road factors :

• Surface condition of the road
  (cemented / black topped / kutcha /
  pebbled or stony etc.)


• Slope / Gradient / Camber of the road


• Curves / Windings – like Hilly routes as
  compared to Plain high ways


• Stone entrapment in Tread grooves /
  gaps


• Nail / Bolts / screws entrapment

4. Driving Habits :

Drivers / operators of the vehicles have
a major part to play in ensuring the safe
and economic use of the tyres. Many
fleet operators engage their drivers in
periodic training (employing qualified
/ accredited trainers) to constantly
make them aware of the Do’s and
Don’ts. Motivated Drivers who follow
the recommended Driving habits can
potentially save a huge amount of money
by avoiding premature failures / wearing
out of tyres which will result in costly
replacements with new tyres.

Some commonly observed defects in
driving methods are:

 Frequent and unnecessary Start/ Stops

 constant riding on clutch ( this is an
unnecessary and avoidable trend in
many untrained drivers)

 Frequent / unnecessary breaking

 over speeding

 not following correct rate of change of
speeds and Gear

 Speed at which curves / winding roads
are negotiated

 Defective method & speed while

parking

5 Seasonal Factors :

We already know that “heat” is the

first and foremost enemy for the life of

Rubber / Tyre.

hence the season of fitment of new tyres

• whether summer, Monsoon or winter


• will naturally have an effect on the
  performance of tyres.

It is easy to surmise that a vehicle

operating in a location like Rajasthan /

desert area when compared to a similar

vehicle operating in a cooler ambient

temperature will tend to give lesser

performance from tyres

1. In fact all the above factors need
   more elaborate discussion for better
   understanding. This is possible by

conducting a detailed Tyre care seminar.

2. The recommended practices for Tyre
   care, Sound Tyre maintenance programs
   and Driving methods need constant,
   periodical trainings with refresher
   courses.

Financial Impact:

There is a huge opportunity for savings

on the cost expended on Tyre purchase

by a fleet operator. By increasing the

performing life of each tyre a fleet

operator will see direct improvement in

his operational efficiency and bottom

line.

*VN Ramamoorthy is former CEO

of TVS Tread, the retreading arm

of TVS Group. He can be contacted

via mobile 93802 94636 or by email:

[email protected]