11/03/2010: Do you know what to look for when choosing car tyres?

We all need to buy replacement car tyres from time to time and, depending upon your own level of knowledge, you may prefer to fit exact replacements for your original tyres or you may wish to look around for something else. If you’re a cost-conscious motorist you may want the best value for money car tyres, whilst if you’re a motoring enthusiast you might want extra performance or enhanced appearance.

Nowadays there’s a lot of choice in buying car tyres and you might find this all too much and simply don’t know how to decide. So why not start by looking online where you will find a large number of websites from retailers of car tyres? On these you can choose tyres by manufacturer or specification or simply by entering the details of your car into a product selector window to find your ideal tyre.

If you have an older vehicle you may well find that there are now car tyres available that can offer you better grip and longer life than those that were originally fitted to your vehicle, because the technology behind them has progressed enormously in recent years. All car tyres sold in the UK must now meet demanding European standards, so you can expect quality and reliability whatever you choose.

As you would expect, different cars need different car tyres and those you would fit on a small family hatchback would not be right on a 4 x 4, a sports model or a heavy and expensive executive car. In addition, most manufacturers offer car tyres designed for summer, winter or all-season use, along with special models for commercial vehicles that have a variety of different load carrying capacities.

And it’s worth remembering that each manufacturer of car tyres goes about things in their own way; offering a wide range of different constructions, materials and tread patterns but all to meet exactly the same purpose. Finally, perhaps the most important thing is that it isn’t a good idea to mix and match car tyres so it’s best to choose them in sets of two for the same axle or simply replace all four.