Car maintenance tips ? Changing a tyre

There are many things you pick up when learning to drive, many of these things are a part of your theory based but others you pick up from owning and driving a car, after you pass. One thing it’s important to learn is how to changing a flat or damaged tyre. Changing a tyre can be a complicated process to those that haven’t had to change one before, but with a bit of instruction and perhaps practice at home, you should be prepared.First of all you need to know which tyre is flat, this is normally fairly obvious from looking at the tyre, it should be bulging from the low air pressure and look flat compared to the others. However if you are having trouble you could use a digital tyre pressure gauge to pin point which tyre is losing air.Secondly you’ll need to get the required tools, in new cars the tools will most definitely be with the spare tyre or in the boot somewhere.  Older or second hand cars may not have these tools; the previous owner may have kept them or lost them. So if you’ve bought a second hand car recently check to see if the tools (a tyre iron /socket wrench and car jack) are all there in case you need them.Using the tools you should find the point on the bodywork that the jack is meant to attach too. You should be careful to make sure you don’t use the jack in the wrong place as this can damage the bodywork or trim. Before raising the car loosen the wheel nuts on the wheel you are replacing, this is because once elevated, the wheel will just spin round if you try to loosen it.Make sure you loosen or tighten nuts in opposite pairs; this is the safest way to use wheel nuts according to mechanics and car plant workers. Once the wheel nuts are loose, begin raising the car up on the jack, only raise the car as much as is needed, any more and you could make the car unstable and fall off the jack. It is always safest to use a jack on a clear flat surface so it doesn’t slip or if stopped on gravel you could place a piece of strong flat wood underneath it to secure it. Remove the wheel nuts completely and lift the wheel away from the car, you need to store this wheel in your car. Next you need to bring out the spare tyre and place it on the car, attaching the wheel nuts again. Once they are as tight as you can get them, lower the car off the jack and tighten up the nuts again with the tyre iron or wrench.Your car should now be safe to drive, however depending on the vehicle, your spare tyre may not be suitable to drive on indefinitely so it is advisable to drive to your nearest garage or tyre centre to get your main wheel repaired or refitted. Remember also that some spare wheels are only designed to be used at low speeds so consider this if you are travelling on a motorway.

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