Tips for Maintaining Tire Performance During the Rainy Season

The rainy season has arrived. At this time the roads will be more slippery because it rains frequently. To ensure car safety, make sure the tire performance is always optimal.

Tires are a vital component that ensures safe and comfortable travel. Tires tread directly on the road surface. So, when conditions are bad, tire performance clearly decreases. Even more so during the rainy season.

Water often pools on the road surface. This makes it difficult for the tire to tread optimally. As a result, the car is prone to slipping and skidding because the road is slippery.

Therefore, tires must be in the best condition. You need to ensure it to make your trip safe and comfortable. Here are several ways you can maintain optimal tire performance during the rainy season.

Check Tire Tread Condition

To ensure that the tires show their best performance, check their condition first. Pay attention to the tire tread. Make sure that the tires are not thin so that the tire grooves are in good condition.

When it rains, water wets the road surface. In this condition, the tires work harder. Tires do not touch the road directly so gaining traction is more difficult.

Luckily the tires have been specially designed. There are tire grooves which are of great benefit in maintaining tire performance. 

Tire grooves are not just mere decoration. Tire manufacturers design them with full calculation. The tire grooves are deliberately presented to play a vital role in disposing of water. For tires, these grooves are like gutters which function to channel water to make it easier for the tires to hit the road.

Just pay attention to the area of ​​the tire tread that has deeper depressions. That's “drainage sewer” in question. 

Usually its position is in the middle of the tire. The number varies between three to four lanes with connecting channels on the side of the tire. That part functions as a waterway. 

Later, when the tire passes over a wet road surface, water will pass through it. The water is then passed to another branch of the tire pattern to be finally disposed of.

Thanks to that, the tires can continue to tread directly on the road surface. The risk of aquaplaning can also be minimized. 

Therefore, during the rainy season like now, take the time to look at the condition of your car tire treads. Make sure it's still good so it's safe to use in a car when the roads are wet.

Fill Tires With Nitrogen

When the rainy season arrives, it is recommended to inflate the tires with nitrogen. Not only does it support car comfort, the use of nitrogen also ensures safety.

So far, nitrogen has been chosen because it is felt to make tires feel softer. This is true. However, it turns out that nitrogen is also useful for strengthening the tire's grip on the road surface.

Nitrogen has the property of being an inert gas. Its presence in the tire is not affected by heat. In this way, tire pressure will always be stable even though tire temperature increases with use.

Thanks to this stable pressure, the area of ​​the tire tread that touches the surface or contact patch tends to be even. This is very important because the tire's grip will be maximum.

In the rainy season, an even contact patch is increasingly necessary. The presence of water makes the road surface slippery. As a result, good tire traction is more needed.

In this regard, nitrogen's ability to maintain the tire contact patch is much better than air. If the tires are only filled with air, the tire pressure may change. When it's hot, the tire area tends to round or bulge. 

This is what affects the traction of the tires. The tire's contact patch decreases, thereby reducing the tire's ability to tread on the road surface. This is dangerous in slippery road conditions such as during the rainy season.

So, it is recommended to fill the tires with nitrogen. Then make sure the pressure is according to the recommendation so that the contact patch remains optimal.

Do the two things described above. There is no doubt that tire performance in the rainy season will remain optimal.