Today, the secret life of tyres - quite possibly the least sexy thing about cars. The top 10 tyre tech things most car owners don’t know about grippy goodness, but should.

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I get a lot of enquiry about tyre, believe it or not. Rachael says:

“The manufacturer recommends 33psi all around for the standard 225/40R tyres on my car, but when I took delivery, the dealer recommended 35 to 36 psi. As you can imagine, I am now left somewhat confused as to what the safe operating pressure for these tyres actually is.

“It would appear that the information regarding tyre pressures has been conflicting to say the least and has led me to a state of total “I don’t know what the f**k to put in the tyres”. Your opinion, especially given that you conducted tyre tests with Wheels magazine, would be greatly appreciated.” - Rachael

Quite. That all too common state of not knowing ‘what the fuck’. Somewhere between Queensland and Victoria…

Julian - a regular correspondent, via the Twitters - is also kind of in this ballpark:

“Why does the tyre shop anyways recommend a significantly higher inflation than the placard? (in my case, 38 vs 32). is it because I’ll be back sooner to buy a new set?” - Julian

No - that’s probably not why. But I can confirm that this and all other things about tyres are quite confusing to the non-tyre aficionado. And for my sins in a previous life I did hang out with all those tyre engineer geeks while doing years of Wheels magazine tyre tests, all those years ago.

So bear with me - I think we’re going to need a tyre, and a completely different studio setup. We might have to tweak the dungeon … correction: The Fat Cave. Cover me: I’m goin’ in.

1. Pressure - most people just don’t check. So if you’re one of those, use the placard.

2. Underinflation versus overinflation & goldilocks pressure - more for enthusiasts. Differential diagnosis is even wear. Buy a tyre gauge.

3. Inflate more for hard cornering or heavily laden (max. Pressure on sidewall)

4. Cold inflation Vs practicality & how to offset

5. What tread is

6. Reduced distance is a tradeoff between grip (ie - safety) and longevity.

7. What the numbers mean

8. New tyres - mould release compound and vent pips.

9. When are tyres worn out? (Time - 6yrs-10yrs, 1.5mm, tread wear indicators + what tread is.) How old are your tyres - cracking the manufacturing code

10. Remote travel - plug kit + compressor. Really remote, carry another spare. If towing, investigate the possibility of fitting the trailer with the same wheels and tyres as the vehicle.