Inspect your summer tyres for extra safety and doubled lifetime

During the summer holiday season, most drivers plan longer trips to far destinations. Nokian Tyres strongly advices that you check the car tyres and adjust your driving style for maximum safety and increased durability.  

Although drivers are used to regularly servicing their cars by replacing oils, filters and other parts, they still pay very little attention to servicing their tyres. The three most commonly seen bad habits are extremely low tread depth, incorrect pressure and misuse of winter tyres in the summer. These cause serious safety hazards because a proper tyre is one of the most important car safety features.

In most European countries, the law states that summer tyres must have a minimum tread depth of 1.6 millimetres. However, at this minimum, tyres are no longer safe. The risk is increased sharply when the tread depth falls below most tyre manufacturers’ recommendation of a minimum of four millimetres.

It is not uncommon for drivers to continue using winter tyres during the summer. However, because their softer rubber compound and tread are designed for winter weather only, their wet grip in the summer is nowhere near the necessary level of summer tyres. Tests indicate that even on wet roads, the braking distance of winter tyres is approximately 20% longer when compared to summer tyres. The softer rubber compound also makes them less stable than summer tyres, which may cause a heavily loaded car to sway during a sudden evasion.

The third important safety factor is tyre pressure. Drivers should continuously check the pressure at least once a month, especially during the hot summer weather. For a fully loaded car, the tyre pressure should be increased by 10-15% from normal pressure level. When checking the pressure, drivers should ensure that the tyres are cold and avoid checking immediately after driving.

Increasing tyre life will not cost anything

Drivers can easily extend the durability of their tyres by adjusting their driving style. It is important to understand that people’s driving habits have largely remained the same as 10 or 15 years ago, but the technologies have changed a lot since then.

“Today, even small city cars have a lot of power. Traction control systems and other similar functions have become more common. Drivers today rely even more on these systems, which increases the stress on the tyres that is caused by driving. Cornering speeds may increase, for example“, explains Nokian Tyres’ Technical Customer Service Manager Matti Morri.

Besides calm driving, people should also regularly rotate the tyres from the front to the rear axle. On average, front wheels wear twice as quickly as those on the rear axle. Therefore, it is advised to change them every 8.000 kilometres. And again, the correct pressure in each tyre is crucial. It is important to understand that the inflation pressure recommended by the car manufacturers usually emphasises driving comfort. However, increasing tyre pressure brings about several benefits.

"When you increase the pressure above the car manufacturer’s recommendation, the tyre becomes harder and less flexible. The less flexible a tyre is, the less heat its structure generates. This allows it to last longer. There is no clear rule for optimal overpressure; it is very specific to the situation and the vehicle. However, increasing the pressure by some 0.2 bar will not have any negative effects, and it will give several benefits,” Morri explains.

Along with extending the service life, overpressure improves stability and helps reduce rolling resistance of the tyre, which results in fuel savings. The only downside is a slight loss of driving comfort. Therefore, drivers should consider overinflating their tyres slightly.

Regardless, drivers need to be aware that each tyre will eventually wear down. With modern tyres, service is a necessary casualty when aiming for reduced fuel consumption and increased safety. Premium tyres with low rolling resistance can save over half a litre of fuel per one hundred kilometres and proper wet grip can sharply increase safety.  

Key recommendations for drivers

• Drive calmly. Avoid aggressive acceleration, braking and cornering.
• Rotate your tyres from the front to the back and from the back to the front every 8,000 kilometres.
• Check your tyre pressure once per month. When heading out for a longer trip or driving with a full load, increase the pressure according to the instructions. During normal driving, maintaining slight overpressure will prolong the life of your tyres and reduce fuel consumption.
• Remember to check your spare tyre pressures as well!! If you don’t have a spare tyre, train yourself beforehand to see how the repairing kit works.
•  Check the condition and tread depth of your tyres; safe driving requires a tread depth of at least 4 mm.
•  Do not load heavy items in the roof box, as they will affect the car’s centre of gravity.

High-res images for press use are available at:
www.nokiantyres.com/summerseason-CE
 

About Nokian Tyres plc

Nokian Tyres plc was founded in 1988 and the company’s roots go back all the way to 1898, when Suomen Gummitehdas Oy, or Finnish Rubber Factory, was established. The company is the world’s northernmost tyre manufacturer. It promotes and facilitates safe driving in demanding conditions. Innovative tyres for passenger cars, trucks, and heavy machinery are mainly marketed in areas with snow, forests and challenging driving conditions caused by varying seasons.

In 2015, the company’s net sales were approximately EUR 1.4 billion, and it employed 4,400 people by the end of the year. Nokian Tyres’ stock is listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki. Production plants are located in Finland and Russia. At the headquarters in Nokia, Finland, centralized product development is carried out and prototypes and test runs are completed. The Nokian factory manufactures car tyres, heavy-duty tyres, and retreading materials for truck tyres. All products are developed with the goals of sustainable safety and environmental friendliness throughout the product’s entire life cycle. For more details about the company’s history, please visit:

www.nokiantyres.com/company/about-us/history/

Culture of innovations

The success of Nokian Tyres stems from a thorough understanding of the Nordic conditions complemented by innovation – a continuum of ideas harnessed to improve safety, durability and environmental friendliness. The results of company work are tested in conditions in which only the toughest can make it. In 1934, the company presented the first winter tyre in the world and since that, the Nokian Hakkapeliitta tyre represents the pinnacle of safe driving. In 2013, the company set the world speed record on ice at 335.713 kilometres per hour, achieved on a car with stock Nokian Hakkapeliitta 8 winter tyres. The new Nordic non-studded Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2 winter tyre is the most energy efficient winter tyre model in the automotive industry. The company also offers special SUV tyres with sidewalls made of aramid fibres that prevent puncturing. In 2014, the company introduced the concept of tyres with retractable studs. For more information, please visit:

www.nokiantyres.com/innovation/research-and-development/

Contact

For more information, please contact:

Hannu Liitsola, Managing Director CE, +420 605 236 440, hannu.liitsola@nokiantyres.com 

Lukáš Líbal, Marketing Director CE, +420 222 507 759, lukas.libal@nokiantyres.com 

Further information

Nokian Tyres’ summer tyres 
www.nokiantyres.com/tyres/passenger-car/summer-tyres/  

Nokian Tyres Aramid Sidewall Technology 
https://www.nokiantyres.com/innovation/innovations/nokian-tyres-aramid-sidewall-technology-winter/ 

Nokian Tyres –  the world's northernmost tyre manufacturer and the inventor of the winter tyre
www.nokiantyres.com/company/about-us/history/ 

For more information: 

www.twitter.com/NokianTyresCom 
www.youtube.com/NokianTyresCom 
www.facebook.com/nokiantyres 
www.linkedin.com/company/nokian-tyres-plc 

Nokian Tyres Europe 
Nokian Tyres s.r.o 
V Parku 2336/22 
148 00 Praha 4 
Czech Republic

Managing Director Central Europe
Hannu Liitsola, Tel. +420 605 236 440 Email hannu.liitsola@nokiantyres.com 

Technical Customer Service Manager CE
Sven Dittmann, Dipl.-Ing., Tel. +49 160 908 944 04 Email sven.dittmann@nokiantyres.com 

Marketing director CE
Lukáš Líbal, Tel. +420 222 507 759 Email lukas.libal@nokiantyres.com 

Nokian Tyres Finland Headquarters 
Nokian Tyres plc 
Pirkkalaistie 7 
P.O.Box 20 
37101 Nokia 
Finland

Head of Product Management
Petri J. Niemi, Tel. +358 10 401 7646 Email petrij.niemi@nokiantyres.com 

Technical Customer Service Manager
Matti Morri, Tel. +358 10 401 7621 Email matti.morri@nokiantyres.com 

Product Development Manager
Jarno Ahvenlammi, Tel. +358 10 401 7741 Email jarno.ahvenlammi@nokiantyres.com 

Development Manager
Juha Pirhonen, Tel. +358 10 401 7708 Email juha.pirhonen@nokiantyres.com 

Product Manager Central Europe
Stéphane Clepkens, Tel. +358 50 462 7536 Email stephane.clepkens@nokiantyres.com 

Nokian Tyres is the world’s northernmost tyre manufacturer. The company promotes and facilitates safe driving in demanding conditions. It supplies innovative tyres for cars, trucks and special heavy machinery mainly in areas with special challenges on tyre performance: snow, forests and harsh driving conditions in different seasons. Nokian Tyres’ product development is consistently aiming for sustainable solutions for safety and the environment, taking into account the whole life cycle of the tyre. A part of the Nokian Tyres group, the tyre chain Vianor has 1,475 outlets in 26 countries. In 2015 Nokian Tyres had approximately 4,400 employees and net sales of approximately 1,4 billion euros. Nokian Tyres’ share is listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki. Further information: www.nokiantyres.com