Rate of Usage of Expired Tires and their Effect on Vehicles Performance (A Case Study: Secondi – Takoradi Metropolis) Mohammed Okoe Alhassan Takoradi Technical University Mechanical Department Takoradi - Ghana Joseph Sekyi-Ansah Takoradi Technical University Mechanical Department Takoradi - Ghana Stephen Eduku Takoradi Technical University Electrical/Electronic Department Takoradi – Ghana Abstract- Tires, are ring – shaped covering mounted on the rim of a wheel that serve as a cushion, and the surface for traction. Vehicle tires affect traction, braking, steering and load support to vehicle whiles absorbing shock and creating smooth and com- fortable ride. Tires can affect the overall performance and fuel economy of a vehicle. Tires not handled properly could burst, bust tires are contributing factors to road accident. Tires have expiry date, but unfortunately vehicles users do not consider the expiry date when buying tires due to the fact that most of them are not aware or do not know how to read the date code. A sur- vey of vehicles in Secondi - Takoradi Township was done to as- certain whether vehicles in Secondi - Takoradi uses expire tires or not. The survey was carried out at three places: Takoradi Township and its taxi - stations as well as the main campus of Takoradi Technical University. From the various point of obser- vation 300 vehicles in total were sampled. The survey showed that the overall usage rate of expired tires in the Takoradi Town- ship was 72.7% out of 110 taxis sampled, mini bus was 16.7% out of 120 vehicles, private cars 14.3% out of 70 vehicles. Overall usage of expired tires rates was consistently higher for taxis than that of the other cars. The survey carried out on tires in Secondi – Takoradi Township revealed that, usage of expired tires rates in Sekondi – Takoradi is very alarming due to high rate of ex- pired tire usage. It was therefore recommended that, there should be a comprehensive and sustained education on how to read expiry date code and enforcement programed in the Me- tropolis to increase awareness. Keywords: Expired tires, Sekondi – Takoradi, Vehicles, Fuel Consumption, Date Code. I. INTRODUCTION As an automobile travels, tires add traction, braking steering and load support to the vehicles while also absorbing shocks and creating a smooth and comfortable ride. The friction be- tween the tires and the road surfaces as the vehicle travels cause the wear which could lead to tire failure. Thus, poor wheel alignment can cause excessive wear to both the center and the edges of the tread. Gravel roads, rocky terrain and other rough terrain will cause accelerated wear. Over inflation above information on the tire side wall, can cause excessive wear to the center of the tread. Under inflation causes exces- sive wear to the outer ribs. Unbalanced wheels can cause un- even tire wear, as the rotation may not be perfectly circular [1]. It's amazing that tires hold up as well as they do consid- ering their vulnerability to road hazards. Many tires today are easily capable of going 60,000 to 80,000 miles or more pro- vided they are properly installed, maintained, aligned and inspected regularly. With proper care and "normal" use, most tires will go the distance without a problem. The devel- opment of pneumatic tires started with the patent by John Boyd Dunlop in 1888 and is still going on today. [2] The first pneumatic tires had small cross sections and high inflation pressures, mainly for bicycle applications. From the 1920s, larger tires were introduced for the upcoming vehicle industry. Two major evolutions took place in the 1960s, the tubeless tire was introduced and bias ply tires were replaced with radial ply tires, which improved the wear and handling properties significantly. The main difference between the bias and radial ply tire is the orientation of the plies. In bias ply tires, the body ply cords are laid at angles substantially less than 90º to the tread centerline, extending from bead to bead. In radial tires, the body ply cords are laid radially from bead to bead, at 90º to the centerline of the tread. Two or more belts are laid diagonally in the tread region to obtain the required strength and stability of a tire. As rubber on tyres ages, it increases the risk of the tread sep- arating from the tire, causing a sudden blowout and loss of control of the vehicle. The average consumer assumes that when they buy new tires for their vehicle, they are getting new tires, not old unsold tires that may have been sitting in a warehouse for years. The date code on tyres are not obvious, and if you don't know how to read it, it is just a meaningless number on the side of the tire and because there is no expira- tion date on some tires, it creates a more potential hazard for consumers who buy new tires but are actually getting old tires that may be too dangerous to use. some experts are now rec- ommending an expiration date of only 3 – 6 years from the International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT) ISSN: 2278-0181 http://www.ijert.org IJERTV6IS120008 Published by : www.ijert.org (This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.) Vol. 6 Issue 12, December - 2017 104