Tyre Advice

Most drivers will probably take tyres for granted and wait until their service or MOT to be told the treads are below the legal limit. They’ll ask for the cheapest tyres without realising why they’re cheap! At CarShop, not only do we love to offer hassle-free advice when buying cars, but also love to offer advice on maintaining your car. Here, we’ll guide you on buying new tyres, maintaining them and what to do if you find yourself with a puncture…

Buying New Tyres

Visit a tyre website such as Black Circles, and the first thing you’re asked for is either the registration of your car or the dimensions of the tyre you’re after. More often than not, if you put your registration number in, it will bring up the right tyre. Regardless, it’s always worth checking your current tyres to ensure you’re buying the right ones. The diagram, below, shows how to identify the dimensions of your tyre:

Some tyres, particularly low-profile, will show XL at the end of the dimensions, which means reinforced. Many BMWs and MINIs will have run-flat tyres, which means, if you get a puncture, the tyre will remain inflated for about 50 miles. Run-flats can be identified, commonly, with the RSC symbol, though this may differ by tyre manufacturer.

Legislation, in November 2012, now requires tyre manufacturers to label their tyres with fuel efficiency, tyre grip and noise level information, as Black Circles describes:

This makes tyre-shopping a whole more straight forward, enabling consumers to compare tyres based on these facts, as well as price.

Winter Tyres

You may notice, whilst browsing tyre websites, that you can get winter tyres, which are ideal for snow. Considering how infrequent most of the UK experiences heavy snow, are winter tyres really worth it?

For those that do experience heavy snow on a yearly basis, the answer would be yes! Some tyre suppliers offer to store your summer tyres, rather than taking up space in your garage, until you’re ready to swap again.

It’s not advised that you use winter tyres all year round, as the compound used to make the tyre is softer than that in summer tyres, and will wear down much quicker on hot surfaces.

Checking Tyre Pressure

Many drivers don’t regularly check their tyre pressures. It is important to maintain the car manufacturer’s recommended tyre pressures to help extend the life of the tyre, improve fuel efficiency and the safety of the car.

There are plenty of websites that will tell you what the tyre pressure for your car should be, but, most commonly, can be found in the vehicle handbook. Note that, if you have aftermarket wheels, the recommended tyre pressure will differ.

Pressure gauges and compressors are cheap to come by and easy to use. If your car comes with a tyre repair kit, rather than a spare wheel, the compressor can be used alone to inflate the tyres. Most petrol stations have compressors on the forecourt, which automatically stop when the tyre is at the pressure you want it at. It is ideal to check the pressure when the tyre is cold and more frequent pressure checks should be made in the warmer months, when more air escapes from the tyre.

Checking Tyre Tread

The legal minimum tread you can have on your tyres is 1.6mm, across the central ¾ of the tread around the complete circumference of the tyre. This video by Black Circles explains how to check the tread of your tyres:

It is really important that you change your tyres if the tread is too low, as you risk 3 points on your license and up to £2500 fine for driving on illegal tyres. On top of that, with 1.6mm depth, a car takes a further two car lengths to stop from 50mph than if the tyres had 3mm depth!

Changing Your Wheel

Toyota UK provide a handy video on changing your wheel. The same applies if you have a full size spare, as opposed to a space saver. Remember, the speed limit on a space saver is 50mpg, or 80kmh. You should never change your own wheel on the hard shoulder of the motorway. if you have breakdown cover, they can come and rescue you.

Using a Puncture Repair Kit

Which? demonstrate how to use a puncture repair kit.

To save on weight, thus improving fuel efficiency, a lot of modern cars come with a puncture repair kit, rather than a spare wheel. If you know how to use a compressor to keep your tyres at the correct pressure, these repair kits are a doddle to use!

Bear in mind once used, the tyre will need replacing. Like a space saver, you should not drive faster than 50mph or 80kmh. Also, these kits are only suitable for slow punctures, so if you get a blowout, you should contact your breakdown recovery company.