CAR TYRES

All of our prices are fully fitted including a new valve, balancing and VAT. With alloy wheels we can balance "On Wheel Stud" which means that your new tyres will be perfectly balanced as when the car originally left the production line, a benefit that very few tyre installers can offer. This service is available at extra cost.

Tyres are the vehicle's only point of contact with the road. The actual area of contact is small. Bald tyres - 'slicks' - may be fine for a race car on a dry track, but no good at all for road vehicles on a wet road surface. Tyres treads are designed to pump water from the road surface and provide maximum grip. By the time the tread is worn down to the legal limit they will be unable to perform this task efficiently and MUST be replaced.

Autovets Brighton advises that worn tyres are replaced with new when the tread depth falls below 3mm.

Car vehicle manufacturers choose the type, make, size, profile, load carrying capacities and speed ratings to match their vehicles, adjusting the tyre pressures to give the optimum grip, ride and handling characteristics.

Tyre Maintenance

Tread depth

Measure tyre tread depths regularly.

Pressures

The car’s handbook gives guidance about how to look after your tyres. It will also contain information about vehicle loading and the required adjustments to tyre pressures which should be followed for safety. Tyre pressures should always be checked and corrected (if necessary) when they are cold. It is vital that tyre pressures are maintained at the levels recommended by the manufacturer to ensure maximum tyre life, safety, the best ride and handling characteristics.

Over or under-inflating tyres are likely to seriously impair their performance. Over-inflation increases overall tyre diameter, decreases the amount of tread in contact with the road, decreases sidewall flexibility and affects road-adhesion. Under-inflation decreases overall tyre diameter, increases sidewall flexion, generates higher tyre operating temperatures and difficult vehicle handling characteristics. Running an under-inflated tyre may cause premature tyre failure. Both over and under-inflation adversely affect tyre life.

UK Tyre Law

Tyre pressures

Tyre pressures should be maintained at or within a very close tolerance of the recommended pressures.

Tyre tread depth and damage

When tyres become worn or damaged they must be replaced. There must be at least 1.6mm of tread depth across the centre 3/4 of the width of the tread throughout the entire circumference of the tyre. There must be no damage to the tyre body - sidewalls or tread, no bulges or cuts.

Tyre types

It is illegal to mix tyres of a different construction (cross-ply; bias belted or radial) on the same axle. Cross-ply and bias-belted tyres are seldom used on production cars, and are not widely available in the UK. Cross-ply and radial tyres should never be mixed on the same vehicle. Where a mix is necessary, radial tyres MUST only ever be used on the rear axle and cross-ply tyres on the front. This mix of tyres will produce 'understeer' whereas the opposite will produce 'oversteer'. (Oversteer refers to the car turning more tightly into a corner than it is steered; understeer indicates that the vehicle turns at less of an angle than it is steered). Of the two conditions, understeer is generally accepted to be easier to control.

Autovets Brighton strongly advises against the use of part worn or retreaded tyres.