Tyre information
Tread depth
UK law requires that tyres on cars, light vans (not exceeding 3,500kg gross weight) and light trailers must have a tread depth of at least 1.6mm across the central three-quarters of the breadth and in a continuous band around the entire circumference of the tyre.Tyre pressures
Your car handbook will give you the correct tyre pressures for your vehicle, or you can check this on a chart at most petrol stations, correct inflation of your cars tyres will give you the longest tyre life, best fuel economy and maximum safety. You should check your tyre pressures before long journeys, and at least once a month. Surveys have shown that 1 in 4 tyres are underinflated by more than 10%, so check your tyres today.Other legal requirements
- Tyres must be suitable (ie of the correct type and size) for the use to which the vehicle is being put and must be inflated to the vehicle or tyre manufacturers' recommended pressures.
- Tyres of different types must not be fitted to opposite wheels of the vehicle (for example, radial-ply tyres must not be fitted to a wheel on the same axle as wheels already fitted with cross-ply tyres and vice versa, and a two-axle vehicle with single rear wheels must not have radial ply tyres on the front axle if cross ply tyres are fitted to the rear axle).
- No tyre must have a break in its fabric or a cut deep enough to reach the body cords. No cut must be more than 25mm or 10 per cent of the tyre's section width in length, whichever is the greater.
- There must be no lumps, bulges or tear caused by separation or partial fracture of its structure, neither must any portion of the ply or cord structure be exposed.
Other sources of information
TyreSafe is an excellent source of information on all aspects of tyre safety here.The Goodyear Tyre company has this tyre tutor section htm" on its website, giving a lot of good information on how to read your tyre sizes, and what all the numbers and markings on your tyres mean.
If you plan to change wheel/tyre sizes for your car this calculator will tell you what the difference will be to your speedometer reading, and overall size between your original and suggested sizes.
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