Tyre checks to carry out before a summer road trip in 2021

Now the world is on it’s way to opening back up after a long 15 months of lockdowns, it is important to know what your car needs before embarking on those long awaited road trips and holidays. Chances are, with the lockdowns over the last year, your car has seen varying levels of neglect, or you may think your tyres are in better condition than they actually are. In this blog post, we are going to outline all the checks we deem necessary to carry out before embarking on your summer of driving adventures in order to stay safe on your travels. 

Checking your tyres is one of the most important places to start. However, if you are unsure as to what to look for, we recommend getting your tyres checked by a professional. 

Tyre Condition

Whether used rarely or regularly, make sure you are checking your tyre for how good a condition they are in. Key things to look for include; Cuts, tears and bulges. Also keep an eye out for any stones, nails or debris that may have got caught in them. These can cause major damage to the tyre and increase risk of damage to the side wall of the tyre. Bulges or lumps are usually the cause of hitting a pothole or curb and can be incredibly dangerous. 

Tyre Pressure 

Ensuring you have the correct tyre pressure means you can safely brake, have good grip on the roads and steer safely with expert control and handling. If your tyres are either under inflated or over inflated, this can have a huge impact on your vehicle and can make a large difference on how your car performs and drives. By having under inflated or over inflated tyres, they will wear unevenly over time, risking accidents on the roads. 

Tyre Tread

Checking your tyre tread is quick and easy to do once you know how. At home, this can easily be checked with a 20 pence piece. Simply take the coin and insert it in between your tyre tread grooves. If you are unable to see the edge band of the 20p, this means your tyres are within the legal tread depth limit of 1.6mm. If you can see the band, you will know that it is time to immediately get your tyres checked and changed. Although the legal tread limit is 1.6mm, we always recommend changing your tyres once they reach 3mm. This means your braking distance and grip on the roads is still adequate enough to save lives. The stopping distance between a car with 1.6mm tread and 3mm tread can be up to the lengths of 9 cars, which can be the deciding factor of accidents. 

Keep your speed down

Last but not least, and this may seem like a fairly obvious one, keep your speed down. Lower speeds put less pressure on the tyre, especially if your tyres are not specifically designed to perform well at high speeds for prolonged periods of time. Speeding on hot roads for prolonged periods will increase the temperature and friction of the tyre, causing faster wear. This also risks your tyre experiencing a blow-out at high speeds which can be fatal. So, enjoy your summer drive by taking it easy out on the roads. 

For more information or to purchase your new tyres, head over to our website and simply enter your registration plate into our system to find both local fitters and the correct tyres for your vehicle.