How Often Should You Change Your Car Tyres?

As we get back out the road again, whether it’s going to work, on staycation, or to visit friends and family, our cars and vehicles will need maintenance once more.

Taking care of your car is vital for safety. Changing your car tyres should be a regular part of car maintenance.

But how often should you change car tyres?

The legal limits

Currently, the legal limit for your car tyre depth is set at a minimum depth of 1.6mm across the middle 75% of the width of your tyre.

Under UK car safety law, you must change your tyre when it reaches this minimum depth. But ideally you would change them before that.

Check your tires regularly

To make sure you don’t forget to change your car tyres when they need it, make sure you check them properly on a regular basis.

At the end of long journeys, when you fill up or on a weekly basis are good benchmarks for checking your car tyres.

This is a good habit to get into so that you don’t end up breaking any car safety laws or injuring yourself or someone else on the road.

Keep an eye on mileage

On average, cart tyres are usually good for between 20,000 to 30,000 miles. Anything above that could see the tyres becoming warn and damaged. Posing a significant safety threat.

Keep an eye on your mileage after installing new tyres so you know when they are scheduled for a change.

Watch out for “balding”

Balding refers to when the tread of your tyres wears away and leaves the surface smooth. This should be instantly noticeable, so make sure you are checking for balding regularly.

The tools to change tyres

There are a few tools needed to change your car tyres. Of course, a jack to get wheels of the ground is essential and new tyres too.

An air impact wrench can be incredibly useful too. It can help to remove tight bolts when removing the wheel and secure them properly when reattaching it. Other tools could include:

• Spare tyre (if you are dealing with a flat tyre and not just rotating tyres or accessing the brakes)
• Carjack
• Lug wrench
• Wheel wedges
• Work gloves
• Tire repair kit (if you are attempting to fix your flat tyreor need to)
• Flare/reflective triangles (if you are changing the tyre on the side of the road or in a car park)

Getting professional help

If changing a car tyre feels like too much of a challenge, get the professionals to do it for you.

Car tyres can be easily changed at most mechanic workshops and can be done relatively cheaply too. Saving you money and time when it comes to changing your car tyres. However, you may find that the price of new tyres increases as the value of your car increases.

For example, if you need to get a tyre change on your Ferrari sports car, or your 4×4 Land Rover, then you may find that you are having to take a lot more money out of your pocket. On the other hand, if you are driving an old Renault Clio for example, then it will not be as expensive for you.

Why is it so important?

Nothing is more important than your health and safety when you are on the road. If you do not change your tyres regularly, or recognise when they need changing, you are putting yourself and others at a huge risk. You will have less grip on the roads, especially when you are turning corners or when you are on the motorway and need to brake quickly or perform an emergency stop.