Useful Information
Your tyres are the only point of contact with the road surface. You cannot neglect the condition of your tyres. If you do you could endanger not only yourself and your passengers, but also other road users. Ideally you should check the condition of your tyres regularly. We recommend you check your tyres at least once a month.
A Nationwide Survey (Tyre Industry Council, 2002) showed that almost 27% of vehicles had tyres with tread depths of less than 2mm. It is accepted that tyre performance and in particular braking in the wet, deteriorates dramatically below 2mm. Approximately 12% of vehicles actually had illegal tyres.
Why should you check your tyres?
Did you know that you are not insured when driving on illegal tyres? Worn tyres significantly impede the performance of your car. Do not forget that a worn tyre reduces the effectiveness of braking, steering, and acceleration, all of which are vital in staying safe. What are a few minutes put aside now to check your tyres, when you compare it to your own safety and that of your family’s?
What should you check?
The Tyre Industry Council have devised a five point tyre check:
- Check overall condition of tyres, including inner and outer sidewalls
- Check tyre tread depth
- Check all tyre pressures
- Check signs of irregular wear, i.e. alignment
- Check and examine the spare tyre
Tread Depth and Condition
The legal limit for car tread depth is 1.6mm (in a continuous band across 75% of the tyre). However the deeper the tread the more grip you have. We advise that you replace your tyres when the tread is less than 3mm. It is not safe to ignore the minimum tyre tread depth. It is illegal. For each illegal tyre you face a fine of up to £2,500, and may receive three penalty points. Also check the condition of the outer and inner sidewalls, checking for cuts or bulges.
Tyre Pressures
A tyre can be under inflated without looking flat. To be safe you should check the pressures once a fortnight. To find out what pressure your tyres should be at please refer to your Vehicle Manual. Remember that tyre pressures should only be checked when your tyres are cold. A good guideline is to leave them for an hour to cool down before checking. You must not drive on under or over inflated tyres. This will impede your vehicles handling, in cases making the vehicle unstable. The wrong tyre pressure will increase tyre wear. A 20% drop in tyre pressure reduces tyre life by 15% and pushes fuel bills up by 3%.
Wheel Alignment / Tracking
Is your tyre evenly worn across the surface? If not then it could be due to over or under inflation. (Please see Tyre Pressure Section above). If it is only worn on one edge it could be as a result of poor wheel alignment or suspension wear. If this is the case you need to have a professional garage check on your tracking. Weston Tyres will check your wheel alignment for free.
Spare Tyre
Even if you never use your spare it is vital that you check it is in good condition. Check the pressure, and the tyre treads periodically. It is better to discover any problems in a safe and comfortable environment, i.e. at home, than by the roadside. Please note that some cars now come with a can of temporary repair solution instead of a spare wheel. This is only designed as a temporary remedy to get you to a garage.
Wheel Balancing
An unbalanced wheel does not just simply cause an annoying shake it can cause actual mechanical damage. We will always balance your wheel as a matter of course after replacing or repairing a tyre.
What Do All Those Markings Mean?
At first glance the lettering on the side of the tyre may look complicated. It is not meant to be that way. The lettering explains the exact specification of the tyre you have. In short it tells you anything that you may need to know about your tyre.
- Width of the tyre in millimetres
- Height of the tyre sidewall as a percentage of the width. In this case 55% of 205mm. Also know as the aspect ratio
- Indicates Radial Construction
- The diameter of the tyre's inner rim in inches
- Load Capacity of tyre
- Speed rating. Indicates the maximum speed for the tyre at full load. In this case 149.1mph
For further information please contact us.
Punctures
We perform quite a number of tyre repairs, however it is not always wise, possible or advisable to effect a repair. We will not repair a tyre where we consider safety to be an issue.
It is important that customers understand that, should they have a deflated tyre, that IT SHOULD NOT BE DRIVEN ON. Aside from the potential damage to the wheel itself, the tyre will most likely be completely beyond repair.
Punctures in the tread area of the car tyre can often be repaired if the tyre's not been driven in a flat condition for any significant distance.
Strict rules for car tyre repair – what can be repaired and how repairs should be carried out – are laid down in a British Standard (BS AU159).
One of the most important requirements of this standard is that the car tyre must be removed from the wheel to check for any internal damage which if not spotted could later result in sudden failure of the tyre.
Externally applied plugs and liquid sealants can't be considered permanent repairs.
A punctured tyre should be replaced if it displays any of the following symptoms:
- Damage from being driven flat
- Tyre sidewall penetrations or cuts
- Perishing / Deterioration of tyre rubber
- Wire casing is exposed
- Tread depth is below the legal wear limit (1.6mm)
- Previous tyre repairs have failed
