Make sure you tread carefully

Your tyres are the only contact your vehicle has with the road and they play a vital role in ensuring that your journey is a safe one.

Not only must they support the weight of the vehicle but your tyres must respond to acceleration, braking and steering forces as well as absorbing the impact of those lumpy bumpy, uneven roads. We are here to advice you in the best way to look after your tyres to ensure you and everyone around you have a safe journey.

When outside temperatures drop below 7'C, tyres with a tread depth of 6mm provide higher levels of safety. The extra tread helps you have a shorter stopping distances usually up to 20%. Tyres with a low tread depth wear up to 40% faster during colder weather.

So, during the winter, you should make sure your tyre depth is no less than 4mm. When the treat is below 4mm, the tyres can no longer displace the film of water and they lose contact with the road, steering and braking of the vehicle. That is why it is even more important not to let the minimum depth below 1.6mm.  The same applies during times of frost.

Tyres wear at a different rate. It's best to have you better tyres at the rear of the vehicle and the less worn at the front. The grip of the rear tyres is crucial to directional stability. If a tyre bursts at the rear, this usually leads to an uncontrolled slide however when losing grip at the front means the vehicle continues to skid in a straight line. 

We recommend that front and rear wheels are swapped about every 10,000 kilometres. This allows all four tyres to wear evenly and can then be replaced at the same time.

Don't neglect the spare! 

Our spare wheel travels with us for years, often forgotten and hidden under a cover in the boot. But because you do not know when the next flat tyre will hit you, you should really pay attention to the "fifth tyre on the car". You should first pay attention to the air pressure as it may drop through neglect. Pump the wheel 0.5 bar more than the maximum tyre pressure given in your Ford driver's handbook. We strongly recommend checking your spare tyre pressure at least once a year.

Summary

• Worn tyres reduce the effectiveness of braking, steering and acceleration particularly in the wet.
• The minimum legal tread depth is 1.6mm
• Worn tyres are not only dangerous, they are illegal and could bring penalty points your way.
• If you are involved in a crash with bald tyres, your insurance company may not pay out on the basis of dangerous driving.
• Sheils Motor Group will dispose of your tyres in an environmentally friendly manner in accordance with tyre regulations.

To get prices or more information on tyre, please contact a member of our team today.