Find the Right Tyres

What do I need to know about UK tyre law? UK law requires that your vehicle is fitted with the correct type and size of tyre for the vehicle type you are driving and for the purpose it is being used. This means fitting the right tyres and for safety ensuring that they are inflated to the manufacturer's recommended pressure.

The legal limit for minimum depth of the tread on your tyres is 1.6 millimetres, across the central ¾ of the tread around the complete circumference of the tyre.

For safety reasons it is recommended that you replace your tyres before the legal limit is reached. Many vehicle manufacturers recommend replacing at 3 millimetres. At 1.6 millimetres in wet weather it takes an extra two car lengths (8 metres) to stop at 50 mph than if your tread was 3 millimetres.

A regular check of your tyres can help you to avoid 3 penalty points and £2,500 in fines for having tyres worn beyond the legal minimum limit on your vehicle.

It is also a legal requirement to ensure that tyres of different construction types are not fitted to opposite sides of the same axle. The two main tyre types are radial and cross-ply, and these must not be mixed on the same axle.

Mixing brands and patterns of the same construction type is permissible depending on the vehicle type and manufacturers recommendation. Check your vehicle's handbook for tyre fitment details.

We recommend you check your tyres for pressure and damage every 2 weeks.

Maintaining correct Tyre Pressures

There are three main reasons why maintaining the right tyre pressure is important.

• Safety. Tyres that are under inflated can overheat; and over inflated tyres can lead to poor vehicle handling on the road.
• Economy. Over or under inflated tyres suffer more damage than those with the correct pressure and need to be replaced more regularly. Vehicles with under-inflated tyres have increased rolling resistance that require more fuel to maintain the same speed.
• Environment. Correct tyre pressures help to maintain optimum fuel efficiency. This can equate to lower Co2 emissions coming from your vehicle than those with incorrect tyre pressures and that has to be good for the environment.

Check for External Damage

Cuts, lumps and bumps are often caused by an impact between the tyre and a kerb, pothole or object in the road. If your tyre has any of these symptoms then you must have the tyre checked as quickly as possible by a tyre specialist, as this type of damage can result in sudden tyre failure.

Wheel alignment too is a very important step in maintaining and prolonging the life of your tyres. Kerbing or potholes affect your vehicle’s wheel alignment settings which can lead to rapid or un-even tyre wear. The car manufacturer will set your vehicle’s wheel alignment at the factory, so after driving it’s worth a regular check to help prevent premature tyre wear, generally caused by incorrect wheel alignment setting.

Also, emergency braking can sometime leave your tyres with a ‘flat spot’. It is always recommended to have your tyres checked if the vehicle has been involved in an emergency manoeuvre like sudden and heavy braking. If you have any concern or doubt about the condition of your tyres, please ask a specialist for advice as soon as possible.

It’s a Driver's responsibility

UK law requires that your vehicle is fitted with the correct type and size of tyres for the vehicle type you are driving and for the purpose it is being used. This means fitting the right tyres, and for safety ensuring that they are inflated to the manufacturer's recommended pressure.

So there are many different reasons for tyre wear. Your tyres don't just get worn through age and use, but through emergency braking, under-inflation or over-inflation and can be easily damaged by poorly maintained roads. And if your wheels are misaligned, one edge of the tyre can wear more rapidly than the other.

Getting tyre punctures can really dampen your day. While we're sure you're aware that getting your tyres replaced as soon as possible (and not just repaired) is a good idea, did you know that it's also important to get tyres replaced in axle pairs?

Which wheels are in axle pairs?

Most simply, axle pairs are the pair of wheels on each axle. The two front wheels of your car are an axle pair, as are the two back wheels.

As they share an axle, the wheels in an axle pair share loads and stresses between them, which is why they need to be proportionate to each other. Think of it in terms of a seesaw, except you want both sides of the seesaw perfectly balanced.

Why do tyres matter in axle pairs?

Well, the tyres absorb a huge amount of stress from road driving. In an ideal situation, you would want both wheels to operate in complete harmony, turning at the same speed and in exactly the same direction.

But in the real world, this is rare. That's because the condition of a tyre affects a whole host of variables that can impact the wheel's movement.

For example, how inflated a tyre is will change the effective diameter of a wheel. This then has a result on the turning rate of the wheel, as smaller wheels make more rotations, compared to larger ones that are turning at the same speed.

If this seems complicated, think about two people running: a child and an adult. The child, being significantly shorter, is going to have to make many more steps to run at the same speed as the adult - because the longer legs of an adult enable them to cover more distance per step.

So this variation in rotation between two wheels on an axle pair causes an uneven force to be applied across the axle. Eventually, this leads to premature wear on things like the suspension bushings, bolts, and other fixtures.

The tread pattern has to match

The tread pattern on tyres is engineered to channel water away from tyres, allowing your tyres to maintain contact with the road surface at all times.

Another reason to change tyres in axle pairs is that the tread pattern needs to match. If, for example, tyres in an axle pair were installed in opposite directions, the wheels would be working against each other when channelling water away.

Even when installed correctly, different tread pattern types are designed to channel water in different ways, so if you have different patterns on different ends of the axle pair, then there's still going to be an uneven force on the axle.

More immediately, you'll have lowered handling on your car, but in the long run, you'll have to replace both tyres from wear much sooner than you'd expect to.

Replacing Tyres in 4x4 vehicles

In 4-wheel drive vehicles, you rely on all of your tyres for traction and grip. So if any are out of balance, it then affects all of the others.

As such, we recommend that you replace all of your 4x4 tyres when one becomes degraded.

It's vital, however, that you check the weight rating of new tyres. Larger four-wheel drive vehicles are often designed to be able to carry more weight, and installing under-rated tyres could lead to a dangerous blowout.

When do I need to change my tyres?

You may not have a puncture, but if your tyre tread has worn too thin, then it could be time to replace your tyres.

The easiest way to test this is with the 20p test: you put a 20p coin in the tread groove and if you can see the border of the coin then the tyre has worn below the legal minimum which means you should get the tyre replaced as soon as possible.

Even though 1.6mm is the legal minimum, we highly recommend that you replace your tyres at 3mm tread depth in wet weather. When you think about the depth of most puddles on the road, they're usually deeper than 1.6mm - so waiting until your tyres have reached below the legal tread limit can still put you at serious risk of aquaplaning.

Need to order new tyres?

The quickest and easiest way to replace your tyres is to buy tyres online. Shop our huge range of tyres at the best price. Simply:

Locate our Tyre Finder on the homepage or visit Buy Tyres in the menu

Enter your registration or tyre size

Add tyres to your basket

Place your order online

Book local tyre fitting at a time convenient to you

We recommend all customers check the tyre size on the side wall of their existing tyre before placing their order.

Alternatively, call or visit the garage and one of our expert specialists will help you find the right tyre at the right price.