Sometimes it’s easy to feel some of the things we do go unnoticed so I was really pleased to find this article on a Blog post from one of our suppliers, whose also a very long-standing customer of ours.

It’s called A lesson In Buying Loyalty For Life and you can click on the link to read it.

When you ring for the best price and availability on any of the tyres at Christchurch Tyre Co, you can give us this information to help us deal with your enquiry quickly.

We can normally look up the make and model of your vehicle, but in many cases factory option or aftermarket wheels have been fitted which may differ in size so it’s always best to make a note of the information on your existing tyres.

It is very important that you purchase the correct specification for your vehicle type, wheel size and intended use.

Hear is a quick summary of the four main pieces of information required:

Tyre Width
This is the width of the tyre section in millimetres and should always be appropriate for the width of the wheel rim. Although you can increase the tyre width by one size we do not recommend this.

Profile
Also known as the aspect ratio, this number represents the height of the sidewall as a percentage of its section width. The smaller the number, the lower the height of the sidewall. The lowest profiles are normally associated with high performance cars, whereas medium profiles are used on family cars to give a more comfortable ride.

Wheel Diameter
This is the inside diameter of the tyre and this corresponds directly to the wheel diameter. The diameter is represented  inches, not millimetres.

Speed Rating or Performance Index
Although its not illegal to have a tyre with a lower speed rating than the vehicle requires, it is always recommended that the correct speed rating is used. This is particularly important for higher performance hatchbacks, saloon cars and sports card.

Important notes on increasing wheel and tyre sizes

There are many instances where drivers are considering increasing their wheel and tyres size for looks or performance, or may have purchased a car with larger wheels.

Whatever the case, it’s important to bear the following in mind:

• Oversize wheels may rub the front wheel arches when the wheels are turned to full lock
• Oversize wheels may hit the rear wheel arches if the vehicle goes over larger bumps
• Oversize wheels will change the rolling circumference leaving your vehicles speedometer out by as much as 6 mph at 50 mph so beware.

Whenever larger diameter wheels are fitted, reduce the profile on the tyres to try are keep the rolling circumference as close to the vehicle manufacturers recommendations as possible.

Maintaining this tyre pressure will help prolong the life of your tyres, improve the handling and safety of your vehicle, and contribute to maximum fuel economy.

The recommended tyre pressure for your vehicle will be listed in the manufacturers handbook but if this is not to hand why not ask one of our expert tyre technicians who will be happy to help. Once you have the details to hand, make a note and keep this in your glove box.

Air is lost naturally at the rate of approximately two pounds per month so check your tyre pressure at least every 4 weeks. In the summertime when the road temperature rises, the rate of loss increases so you can even check your pressure every two weeks in hot weather.

We don’t recommend the use of portable tyre pressure gauges. It’s a fact your tyre pressure will become lower over time anyway and using small hand gauges can be very tricky; it is easy to deflate your tyre by a couple of pounds when using these gauges so this just compounds the problem.

The pressure in your tyres also changes when the tyres are warm and all manufacturers recommended pressures are based on the pressure in a cold tyre. For this reason, always check your tyre pressure at a petrol station as close to home as possible and “always” before you embark on a long distance trip.

Under inflation and over inflation is equally bad as the diagram at the top of the page shows:

Dangers of under inflation

Causes excess wear on the inside and outside edges of the tyres reducing the life of the tyre by up to 25%. Under inflation even by 6psi can weaken the tyre’s internal structure and eventually lead to tyre failure.

The amount of tyre in contact with the road is reduced so the driver will experience a significant loss of steering precision and overall handling. The tyre will heat up and increase the rolling resistance so fuel economy could be affected by as much as 5%.

Dangers of over inflation

Causes increased wear around the centre area of the tyre. The amount of tyre in contact with the road is reduced so handling can be impaired. The steering can feel very light causing drivers to overcompensate in emergency situations.

Is there any situation when a tyre should have more or less air added?

There is definitely no reason to under inflate your tyres. However, if you are embarking on a long journey with a full compliment of passengers and a boot full of luggage it does make sense to add a couple of pounds to the rear tyres.

Remember to correct the pressure when you get back to base though.

UK law requires that your vehicle is fitted with the correct type and size of tyre. This means having the right size, speed rating and load rating for the purpose, as well as having your tyres inflated to the manufacturers recommended pressure.

Driving a vehicle with tyres worn down below the legal limit could not only land you with a hefty fine and penalty points, but also represents a severe safety issue.

The legal limit in the UK is a minimum tread depth of 1.6 millimetres, across the central 75 percent of the tread around the complete circumference of the tyre.

However, if your tyres have the legal minimum tread depth of 1.6 millimetres, your vehicle will take 8 metres longer to stop in wet weather at 50 mph against tyres with a tread depth of 3 millimetres.

Vehicle manufacturers recommend you check your tyres regularly and have them replaced before they reach the legal limit.