by admin | Oct 30, 2026 | Wear, Damage and Diagnosis
TL;DR: Driving style is one of the biggest levers on how long your tyres last. Hard acceleration, heavy braking, fast cornering and sustained high speed all add heat and scrub rubber off faster. Smooth, anticipatory driving can realistically add tens of thousands of...
by admin | Oct 30, 2026 | Wear, Damage and Diagnosis
TL;DR: After a hard pothole hit, check the tyre for a sidewall bulge or cut, the rim for dents or cracks, and the car for a slow leak, new vibration or a pull to one side. A bulge or cracked rim means don’t drive on it. Photograph the pothole and keep receipts —...
by admin | Oct 30, 2026 | Wear, Damage and Diagnosis
TL;DR: A light kerb scrape is usually cosmetic. Worry when you see a sidewall bulge or bubble, a bent or cracked rim, a tyre losing air, or the car pulling or vibrating afterwards. A sidewall bubble means the internal plies have been damaged and the tyre must be...
by admin | Oct 30, 2026 | Wear, Damage and Diagnosis
TL;DR: A single tyre wearing faster than the others is a warning sign, not bad luck. The usual causes are an alignment fault (camber or toe), tyres that are never rotated, uneven pressure, a worn suspension or bearing component, or the drive wheels doing more work....
by admin | Oct 30, 2026 | Wear, Damage and Diagnosis
TL;DR: Road noise that gradually gets worse is almost never “just the tyres getting old.” The usual culprits are uneven or cupped tread wear, a worn wheel bearing, an alignment fault chewing the tread, or a switch to a chunkier tread pattern. The quickest...
by admin | Oct 30, 2026 | Wear, Damage and Diagnosis
Quick answer: Where you feel a vibration tells you roughly where it comes from. Shake through the steering wheel usually means a front-wheel problem; shake through the seat or floor usually means a rear-wheel problem. A shudder felt only when you brake isn’t a...
by admin | Oct 30, 2026 | Wear, Damage and Diagnosis
Quick answer: A steady vibration that appears around 90–110km/h and fades at other speeds is most often a wheel out of balance. But the same symptom can come from an out-of-round tyre, a flat spot, a buckled rim, a thrown balance weight, a worn wheel bearing or a...
by admin | Oct 30, 2026 | Spares, Punctures and Roadside
Quick answer: You can legally carry a second spare on a 4WD as long as your number plate and tail-lights stay clearly visible (a plate must be readable within a 45-degree arc and be lit at night), you don’t exceed rear overhang limits or your axle and GVM...
by admin | Oct 30, 2026 | Spares, Punctures and Roadside
Quick answer: For a genuine remote crossing like the Simpson Desert or the Cape York rough tracks, two spares are the sensible standard — one flat is easily followed by another where there’s no help for hundreds of kilometres. On a well-travelled dirt trip with...
by admin | Oct 30, 2026 | Spares, Punctures and Roadside
Quick answer: A standard tyre puncture repair in Australia typically costs about $30–$50 at a tyre shop as a 2026 guide, covering demounting the tyre, fitting a combination patch-plug from the inside and rebalancing the wheel. Roadside or after-hours repairs cost...