Tyre Information: Tyre Shopper's Five Top Tips

1. Check your pressures
   You'll find them inside your car's driver's manual. Check the pressure with a tyre gauge when the tyre is cold, as even a short journey can warm up tyres and raise the pressure.
   
2. Check for damage
   Give your tyres a close inspection for cuts and cracks, which can lead to slow punctures or cause the steel wires in the tyre to rust.
   
3. Check your tread
   Less tread means less grip. The minimum legal depth is 1.6mm across the central three-quarters of the tread width and around the entire circumference of the tyre.
   
4. Take extra caution in wet conditions
   You are twice as likely to have an accident in wet weather as in the dry. The stopping distance of a tyre with 1.6mm of tread is double that of a new tyre with 8mm.
   
5. Don't overload your car
   Overloading has the same effect on tyres as under-inflation, causing premature tread wear and in extreme cases, a sudden blowout.
   

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