Causes of Tyre Flat Spots and How to Prevent Them

Tyres are some of the most crucial parts of a vehicle and therefore must be kept in good condition. It would be best to avoid preventable defects like tyre flat spots from affecting your comfort as you drive. A tyre flat spot is a flat and rigid patch that forms along the tyre, causing discomfort as you drive.

A tyre with a flat spot will not be perfectly circular as it should be. The affected part will be a bit flat, or in some cases, the tread will be completely worn out or bald. This will result in a rough ride with noticeable vibrations in your car when you drive on them.

Causes and How to Prevent Them

There are two possible causes of tyre flat spots;

• Leaving your car parked for a long time

Leaving your car parked in the same position for a long time will make the tyres develop flat spots. Parts of the tyres in contact with the ground will flatten and harden. This will even worsen in low temperatures and when the tyre pressure is insufficient.

Solution: When you know you will be leaving your vehicle parked for a long time, it is best to increase the tyre pressure by 3psi. This will help the tyre maintain its shape until you get back.

• Hard braking

When you hit the brakes too hard, the car might skid and cause loss of tread in some sections. The affected section is what we call the flat spot.

Solution: Avoid hard braking or maneuvers that can cause loss of tyre tread.

Will flat spots disappear?

Yes and no! Tyre flat spots will disappear only if it was caused by prolonged parking and not hard braking. This will also depend on the severity of the affected tyres.

Tyre flat spots caused by prolonged parking will most likely disappear as you drive. You may feel the vibrations more in the beginning but will slowly disappear as you drive everyday.

On the other hand, tyre flat spots caused by hard braking and skidding will only worsen over time. this is because a section of the tyre tread is lost and will only continue to wear as you drive. The best thing to do here is to replace the affected tyre with a new one if the flat spot is severe.