TYRE MAINTENANCE

Did you know that tyres are the most important part of your car to ensure safe and maintain total control while driving? The tyres on your car are the only contact with the ground. On an average car, the amount of tyre in contact with the ground is about the size of the palm of your hand.

Tyres must transmit power to get you going forwards, and then provide enough grip to keep you from danger, allowing you to steer and brake when you need it, often at short notice! Put simply, if you look after your tyres then you’ll maximise the amount life they have and minimise the cost to you because they will last longer and minimise fuel usage.

If for example, you have a slow puncture or don’t regularly keep your tyre pressures topped up (an in-car electronic pump and pressure gauge is ideal for this), then you will use more fuel as the car engine has to work harder to move those flat tyres, which leads to more CO2 being produced, and of course it will cost you more.

TREAD DEPTH RULES

1. The law states that there should be a minimum tread depth of 1.6mm. This should be measured across the central three-quarters of the tyre, around the entire circumference of the tyre. This means that the depth of the grooves must not be less than 1.6mm.

2. The second part of the law says that the 1.6mm measurement must be across the central three-quarters of the tyre. This means that at any point across the main part of the tyre, the tread depth must not be less than 1.6mm.

3. The third part of the law says that the 1.6mm measurement must be all the way round the tyre. This means that there must not be less than 1.6mm of tread all the way round the tyre.

Why all the fuss about tread depth? Independent tests commissioned by RoSPAhave shown that stopping distance increases greatly when the depth of tread wears down to the legal minimum. The legal minimum is an absolute minimum - your stopping distance in wet conditions will increase dramatically when tread depth is less than 3mm. Different surfaces will also affect low tread performance.