All season tires. Driver, do you know the 3xP principle?

More than 15% of drivers who drive on all-season tires and visit tire shops less often. However, riding on all-season tires does not mean that the tires do not need to be looked after. The most important thing is the 3xP rule.

- Since you have decent tires and had them installed by a professional service - now it's time for proper pressure and operation. Go to a professional workshop where they will check if the wheels are well balanced. If you feel vibration on the steering wheel, then the suspension system, engine mount and steering feel it even more. If you see the pressure drop more than the weather, then either there is a leak between the tire and the rim edges, or the valve is damaged, or you have a flat tire. They will check it on the site. The temperature drops, so the pressure drops - be sure to pump up! says Piotr Sarnecki, CEO of the Polish Tire Industry Association (PZPO).

Last call for changing tires from summer to winter

- The latter, of course, applies to all of us who changed tires for winter in October at a temperature of 7-10 degrees C. Now it is 1-3 degrees, and in a moment it will be even colder. So if you had the correct tire pressure at +10 degrees Celsius, now it will be too low and need to be pumped up. Otherwise, the braking distance and tire noise will increase, and the grip and slip resistance will decrease.

3xP principle

Tires can save our lives in difficult situations on the road. And properly selected high-quality tires can reduce the braking distance even from a few to several meters! It is worth remembering the 3xP rule regarding tires: decent tires, professional service, correct pressure.

Decent tires are at least good quality tires that provide adequate traction, stopping distance and hydroplaning resistance. Check the symbols and markings on the labels.

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– If you have all-season tires, pay attention to the snowflake symbol against the mountain (Alpine symbol). This refers to the winter permit that all good all-season tires have - confirmation that such tires can be used in winter in countries where the requirement to drive on winter tires has been introduced, recalls Piotr Sarnetsky.

The correct pressure value provided by the vehicle manufacturer is listed in the vehicle owner's manual and very often on the inside bottom of the left B-pillar. Pressure should be measured at least once a month, even if the car has the appropriate sensors - while only 40% of drivers say they only occasionally check their level. 2 days of driving with too low pressure is enough, and with the correct pressure, we will wear tires for a week.

- If we do not check the pressure, the tires will serve us 3 times less! Too low tire pressure causes a doubling of the temperature of the inner layers - and this is a direct path to blowing tires while driving. Tires with a reduced pressure of 0,5 bar sound 3 dB louder and increase the braking distance by 4 meters! - Piotr Sarnetsky is worried.

The service where we change tires is also important. It is worth checking the opinion before using the services.

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