It’s important to look after your tyres, so here’s a few tips from our team to ensure you are safe and compliant at all times in your vehicle.
Legal Requirements
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.
It is recommended for safety reasons that you replace your tyres before the legal limit is reached as you can incur fines and points on your license per tyre. Many vehicle manufacturers recommend replacing at 3 millimetres.
Tyre Pressure
Check your car tyre pressures regularly. You can find the recommended car tyre pressure in your vehicle handbook. It’s also worth checking your fuel filler flap or inside the front right hand door-strip for the tyre pressure setting information. Also, carrying extra weight in your vehicle generally requires a higher car tyre pressure setting.
Remember to check your car tyre pressure settings when the tyres are cold, the same as the outside ambient temperature, and not after a long journey. Friction between the road and tyre increases the temperature of the tyre and the air inside, leading to ‘air expansion’ inside the tyre, which may result in a false pressure reading. Manufacturers recommend that you check all the Car Tyre Pressures every 2-4 weeks and that check should include the ‘spare’ tyre too.
Rotate Your Tyres
Always fit your ‘best’ tyres to the rear. If you are replacing a single tyre then this should be paired with the rear with the tyre having the most tread depth. There are some circumstances when this advice does not apply, such as: