12 Tyre Myths Busted by the People Who Fit Them

It is legal, but it is not where grip is at its best. 1.6mm across the central three quarters of the tread is the UK minimum. As tread wears, it clears less water, so wet grip drops and stopping distances grow. Many tyre makers suggest changing well before the legal line.

In the dry you may not feel much difference. In heavy rain, on a motorway, you can. The car takes longer to stop and can feel light through the steering. Most drivers only notice when it is too late to change anything. That is where a worn tyre is most likely to skim on water instead of gripping the road. Aquaplaning explained shows why tread depth matters so much in the wet.

Below 1.6mm the tyre is illegal, and it can mean up to £2,500 and 3 points per tyre. So check often, and plan ahead. A cheap tread gauge from any car shop is enough, or use the wear bars in the grooves. When to replace tyres lists the signs. If yours are getting low, call 0300 124 6981 and we fit new ones at your home or work before the next wet spell.

No. The pressure on the sidewall is the most the tyre can safely hold, not the pressure your car needs. The right figure is set by the car maker and is on a sticker inside the driver door, in the fuel flap or in the handbook. Use that, with the tyres cold.

Too much air makes the tyre run on the middle of its tread. Grip drops, the ride gets harsh and the centre wears out early. Too little air wears the edges and makes the tyre run hot. Both cost you tyres, and too little air costs fuel as well. The door pillar figure is where the tyre works best, for grip, wear and fuel. Correct tyre pressure shows exactly where to look.

Many cars list two figures, one for normal use and one for a full load. Use the higher one when the car is packed for a holiday or towing. Check monthly, before long trips, and when the weather turns cold. Cold weather tyre pressure explains why it drops in winter. Call 0300 124 6981 with any questions.

Most tyre makers advise putting the better pair of tyres on the rear axle. If the rear tyres lose grip in the wet, the back of the car can slide out, and that is harder to control than the front running wide. Your handbook comes first if it says something different.

On a front wheel drive car, that usually means moving the part worn tyres to the front and fitting the new pair at the back. It can feel wrong, because the front tyres do the steering. But the rear tyres keep the car stable, and a spin is the harder slide to recover from. The fronts will wear faster, so you check them more often and swap them sooner. Replace two tyres or four explains when a pair is enough.

Some cars have different sizes front and rear, so swapping is not possible. And some tyres are directional, which limits where they can go. Directional vs asymmetric tyres explains that. We check all of it when we fit, and follow the right rule for your car. Call 0300 124 6981.

There is no single legal age limit for car tyres in the UK, but age does matter. Rubber hardens and cracks over time, even when the tyre is not used. Many tyre makers advise having older tyres checked every year. Cracks you can see into, or rubber gone hard, mean it is time.

Find the date code by looking for DOT on the sidewall. The last four digits are the week and year it was made. 2319 means week 23 of 2019. Check the spare too, because it can be the oldest tyre on the car. Sun, heat and long spells parked all speed up ageing. A car kept in a garage and driven often ages its tyres more slowly. Cracked or perished tyres shows what to look for.

Low mileage cars, caravans and motorhomes are where old tyres hide, because the tread never wears down. If you are not sure, send us a photo of the date code and the worst looking part of the tyre. Caravan tyres covers vans that sit for months. Or call 0300 124 6981.

For everyday driving, not really. Normal air is already about 78% nitrogen. Nitrogen may hold pressure a little more steadily, but checking and setting your pressures with a gauge matters far more than what gas is inside the tyre. Do not pay extra expecting a big change.

A tyre filled with nitrogen still loses some pressure over time, and it still needs checking. It can also lose air through a puncture just like any other tyre. Some racing and aircraft uses make sense, but a family car on UK roads is a different world. If you top it up with normal air, that is fine. It will not harm anything. Nitrogen vs air goes into the detail.

The habit that actually helps is a monthly check with a gauge, when the tyres are cold, set to the figure on the door pillar. That saves fuel, saves tread and keeps the grip where it should be. It takes five minutes and costs nothing if you use a garage air line. Correct tyre pressure shows how. Call 0300 124 6981 if a tyre keeps losing air.

Usually not. A part worn tyre costs less up front, but it has less tread left, so it does not last as long. You also do not know its past. It may have been run flat, hit a kerb or been badly repaired. Per mile, a new budget tyre is often better value.

Part worn tyres are legal to sell if they meet the rules, including a minimum tread depth and a proper inspection. But the rules cannot tell you everything that happened to the tyre. Damage inside a tyre is often invisible from outside, and old repairs can hide under the tread. Age is another unknown, so check the date code on any tyre you are offered. Part worn tyres covers the rules and the risks.

A new tyre comes with full tread, a recent date code and no history. It is also covered by the label, so you know its wet grip grade. The value brands from the big makers keep the price down without the unknowns. The best budget tyre brands lists them. Call 0300 124 6981 and we will quote a new budget tyre, fitted at your door.

No, not on most cars. The rule is to match the tyres on each axle: same size, same type and ideally the same model. If one tyre is damaged and its partner still has good tread, one tyre can be enough. If the partner is worn, replace the pair.

Some four wheel drive cars are fussier, because tyres of very different sizes or wear can strain the drive system. On those, the car maker may say to keep all four closely matched. It is a real cost if ignored, so it is worth checking. Most normal front or rear wheel drive cars do not have this issue. Check the handbook, or ask us with the registration. Replace two tyres or four covers when four is the right call.

When you do replace a pair, the better tyres usually go on the rear axle, as covered above. Mixing brands front and rear is fine. Mixing brands across one axle is best avoided, because the two sides can grip differently in the wet. Mixing tyres explains what is legal. Call 0300 124 6981 for a fitted price.

Only if the size is right for the car. A wider tyre can give more dry grip, but it can also aquaplane sooner in standing water, rub on the arches, upset the handling and throw out the speedo. Fitting a size the car was not built for can also fail an MOT.

Stick to the sizes listed for your car. Many cars have more than one approved size, depending on the wheel. Changing wheel size is fine when the tyre size changes with it and the pair is on the approved list. Guesswork is where it goes wrong, and it is easy to avoid by checking first. The registration tells us which sizes fit. Reading your tyre size explains what the numbers mean.

If you want more grip, a better tyre in the right size usually beats a wider one in the wrong size. It also costs less, because wider tyres are often dearer. Compare the wet grip grade on the label. Tyre labels explained shows how. Or call 0300 124 6981 and we will suggest options for your car.

No. The warning light only comes on when a tyre is well below where it should be. By then it has been running low for a while. A monthly check with a gauge catches a slow leak long before the light does, and keeps all four tyres at the right pressure, not just the worst one.

Some systems also need resetting after pressures are changed, or they warn at odd times, like on cold mornings. The light is a safety net, not a replacement for a gauge. It will not tell you if all four are a little low, which is common after a cold snap. Only a gauge tells you that. The TPMS warning light explains what it can and cannot tell you.

If the light comes on, stop when safe and check with a gauge. If one tyre keeps dropping, it may be a slow puncture. A nail or a leaking valve are the usual causes. Slow puncture signs shows what to look for. Call 0300 124 6981 and we will check and repair it at the car if the tyre passes.

No. It is an old myth. On a normal car, lower pressure does not give more grip on snow or ice. It makes the tyre squirm, the steering vague and the braking worse, and it can damage the tyre. Keep the pressure the car maker gives.

What helps on snow and ice is tread depth, the right tyre and gentle driving. Leave a far bigger gap, pull away in a higher gear and brake early and softly. Smooth hands and feet matter more than anything you do to the tyre. Stay home if you can when it is truly bad. All season tyres with the snowflake mark, or winter tyres, grip much better in the cold than summer tyres. Summer, winter and all season tyres compares them.

Cold weather already drops the pressure, so check it more often in winter, not less. Letting more out on top of that makes a bad situation worse. The winter driving checklist covers the rest. If your tyres are low on tread before the cold sets in, call 0300 124 6981 and we fit new ones at your home or work.

Not quite, but they are not the danger some people think either. Every new tyre sold here meets the same safety rules. Premium tyres usually grip better in the wet and last longer. Budget tyres cost less. For short, local driving, a good budget tyre is often a sensible choice.

The best budget tyres come from the value brands of big makers, and the label lets you compare wet grip fairly. A budget tyre with a good wet grade can beat a pricier one with a poor grade. Price and badge are not the whole story, so read the label. Look at that grade before the price. The best budget tyre brands covers who makes what.

On a high mileage car, a mid range or premium tyre can cost less per mile, because it lasts longer. On a car that does a few thousand miles a year, that sum often goes the other way. Budget vs premium tyres lays out the trade off. Call 0300 124 6981 and we will quote more than one option, fitted, so you can see the real gap.