How to Choose the Correct Tyre for Your Vehicle

Choosing tyres for your vehicle can be a daunting task, whether you’re an experienced driver, or this is your first time dealing with vehicles and their tyres. You might be in need of new tyres for a number of reasons, be it a puncture, a blow out or even your tread depth has hit the recommended or legal limit. We have created a list of things to consider to help you choose the right tyres for your vehicle. 

Should You Buy All 4 New Tyres?

A large percentage of the performance of your car depends on the quality of your tyres. They are the only contact you have to the road, so needless to say, the better your tyres are, the safer you and others will be on the roads. If your tyres are under performing, damaged or several years old, the movement and braking of your car will be impacted. Therefore, we recommend that buying a complete set of new tyres will result in the overall performance and high levels of safety of your vehicle. We understand that financially this may not always be possible. However, we ideally recommend the same tyres on the same axle, so if you were to change one front tyre, it should match the other front one. Although 4 new tyres are most highly recommended. 

What Information Do You Need From Your Old Tyres?

On any set of tyres, budget or premium, there are a set of numbers on the side of the tyre. These contain essential information that you will need in finding the correct new tyres. If you are still unsure, a mechanic will be able to recommend the best ones for you. The numbers on the tyre consist of; the width of the tyre in mm, the side profile of the tyre, the load index, and the speed rating. The speed rating should always match or be close to the top speed of your car. 

Choosing The Right Tyre For The Right Season

After finalising your decision on how many tyres you are looking to buy, and you have gathered all the relevant information from your old tyres sidewall, you will need to decide what type of tyres you are looking to purchase. This can be summer tyres (which can be used throughout the year) winter tyres, (that can only be used in the cold) or all season tyres (appropriate for any weather condition). 

Summer Tyres

Most cars come with summer tyres as standard, as most of the time in the UK, the weather isn’t cold enough to run winter tyres all year round. They can be used in wet and dry conditions, however, they have not been designed for the cold. Although summer tyres perform well in wet and dry conditions, they are not made to have good grip in snowy and icy weather. It is recommended that summer tyres should be replaced with winter tyres once the temperature hits 7 degrees celsius for optimum safety. 

Winter Tyres

Winter tyres are designed to perform on snow and ice with excellent grip in temperatures 7 degrees celsius and below. Stopping distances are vastly reduced due to the deeper grooves and sipes. Although winter tyres are not mandatory unlike other european countries, they vastly improve your safety if you choose to fit them to your car. 

All-Season Tyres

All-season tyres offer the ease of not having to change your tyres every season. These still provide fantastic performance. They are perfect for an all year round tyre if you are looking for simplicity and a lack of hassle. However saying this, they are incredibly suitable for the UK’s constantly changing climate and will perform in all weather conditions to a trustworthy level, ensuring your safety on every drive.