Along with the brakes, the tyres on a car are perhaps the most important feature from a safety perspective. They are certainly something you don’t want to treat lightly and allow to become unsafe.

This month, the Trade Tyre Services team will take a look at how to identify when your tyres need replacing and what costs might be involved for Lichfield and Sutton Coldfield drivers in getting them done.

How do I know my car needs new tyres?

In the UK, it is illegal to drive a car with tyres that don’t have a 1.6mm depth throughout a continuous band in the centre 3/4 of the tread and around the entire circumference of the tyre. (Regulations are different for larger vehicles and motorbikes, both of which need at least 1mm.) 

The reason for this is that bald tyres have less grip on the road, making your vehicle more dangerous both to you and other road users, especially in wet conditions. They’re also more likely to lose tyre pressure more quickly and be prone to bursting while in use. The result of this is that if your tyres are worn and therefore unsafe, it’s only a matter of time before something catastrophic happens.

Regular checking of your car’s tyres should therefore become part of your routine, to ensure that they are both legal and safe. Many modern tyres now come with tread wear indicators that allow you to quickly assess their condition. These are small bars built into the base of the main groove of a tyre – when the tyre tread gets level with the top of the bar, it means your tyres have reached the 1.6mm minimum tread depth.

If your tyres don’t have tread wear indicators, then ideally a calibrated tyre gauge should be used to give you an accurate reading. Otherwise, you can use a 20p coin to make a rough assessment of the depth – the outer rim is a little under 3mm wide and when the coin is placed into the tyre’s groove should be obscured. If the rim is visible, however, that suggests that your tyre might need replacing and that you should get it checked out immediately.

What’s the cost of a new tyre?

The cost of a new tyre is going to depend on a number of factors. Firstly, you’ll need to know what size tyre your car takes. There are two ways you can do this. If you look at the outside of your current tyre, you should be able to read a code to identify it. Otherwise, many tyre fitters, such as Trade Tyre Services (Midlands) Ltd, are able to identify suitable tyres just with your vehicle registration. With that, your make and model of car can be identified along with suitable tyres.

Next, you need to decide whether you want an economy tyre, a mid-range tyre or a top-of-the-range tyre. For example, using the example of a standard 17-inch tyre for a 2019 Nissan Juke Bose Personal Edition, at the time of writing we are able to offer 44 options, ranging in price from £63.24 to £195.18 per tyre (tyre and fitting only – disposal of old tyres and wheel alignment are extra. Please see our website for details).

Why choose Trade Tyre Services?

At Trade Tyre Services (Midlands) Ltd, we make tyre buying and tyre fitting easy, affordable and very convenient. As mentioned previously, whether you use our website or give us a call to get a quote, all you need is your vehicle registration. From that, you can choose your tyre, pick a date, and decide whether you’re happy to come into our garage or whether you’d like us to fit it at your home or place of work.

With all popular brands kept in stock for rapid fitting, and over ten years’ experience fitting tyres for satisfied customers around Sutton Coldfield and Lichfield, we’re your number one choice for all your tyre replacement needs from budget tyres for your runaround to high-spec performance tyres for your sports car. Call us today to find out more.