Is it worth fitting winter tyres in the Uk?

Winter Tyres the big debate!!


A question we are often asked by customers, is it worth fitting winter tyres to my car?

Well there may be a few things consumers don't know about winter tyres.

Winter tyres use a special tread pattern and rubber compound which stay flexible in the colder weather.  

Winter tyres don't have to be used in snow and actually it is recommended that they are used when the temperature gets below 7 degrees.  

Not only will you get more control of your car in the snowy weather you will have better handling and breaking and topping distances in colder temperatures and wet weather.  

They are expensive but if you are someone who does a lot of travelling in the winter months then it will make your journeys a lot safer and will give you the peace of mind that when the weather reports show snow for the morning you don't have to worry about making your journey.

If you live in an area where you rarely get snow then I would say the cost of the tyres possibly wouldn't be justified for everyone.  However if money is no issue and you have the space to store your summer tyres while you winter ones are on, then yes I couldn't recommend it enough.

If you are one of those people who decide against winter tyres, then just make sure that you make certain to regularly check your tyres pressure and tread to ensure that you are as safe as you can be on the roads.  


Sophie x

Your tyres could invalidate your car insurance!!!

As a motorist it is your responsibility to make sure your vehicle is roadworthy.

What people don't realise is that if you went into the back of someone or had an accident, be it minor or a serious accident, you car insurance will not be valid if your tyres are seen as not road worthy.  If your tyre has tread less than 1.6mm THEY ARE ILLEGAL.  Your tyres are always checked by the Police (if they were called to the scene) and often insurance companies send people out to view the vehicle before a claim in processed.  

This would be a very costly prang or accident for you.  As well as points on your license and a £2500 for each illegal tyre, you would also have to pay for the damage to your car and the car you damaged!! 

So really there is no excuse not to check your tyres ones a month.

Be safe and check those tyres.

Sophie x

The reason why we MUST check our tyres.....

My morning trip to our scrap tyre pile....

Well as mentioned previously I am reminded every day when I walk past our scrap tyre pile what a massive problem tyre safety is.  I thought I would share with you a few of the tyres I saw this morning, but to emphasise I see the same thing week in week out.  THIS IS SCARY

When checking your tyres it is important that you don't just check the edge but that you check it in several different places.  Don' just stand there and pretend to look, get down and really look, and feel and measure that tread!

This view of the tyre is what you would see when it is fitted to your car, looks ok doesn't it?

This next picture shows just how worn this tyre is on the inside, so without really looking you wouldn't see that!  This is an example of where the wheel alignment needs doing as this tyre has NOT worn evenly! 

On closer inspection of the picture below you can see the metal plies and cords of the tyre are exposed!  This is really dangerous and this motorist was lucky.  He failed his Mot because of this.

This motorist wasn't so lucky and his worn tyre resulted in a blow out on the motor way!  He is lucky to be here, but the damage to his rims is going to cost him a lot more than a new tyre would have!!

I can't stress enough the importance of checking your tyres, and tell your family and friends.  Please help to share this blog post and lets keep more drivers safe on our roads.

Thanks for reading

Sophie x

And just remember to any of my readers who are in the South East of England then here at Elite Garages we will do a FREE tyre safety check for you, as often as you would like it done.  www.elitegarages.co.uk

Don't wait for your tyres to be the reason you fail your Mot!!

Although most of my work is office based I visit a lot of our retail sites and I am reminded every day when I walk past the scrap tyres, that still today the biggest cause of Mot failure is tyres!

In 2014 the DVLA released figures which showed that 2.2 million cars in the Uk failed their Mot due to the condition of their tyres.  I find this figure astounding.  Tyres are soooooo easy to check, it's not like you have to pop the bonnet and look for anything.  They are there in front of you, you just have to use your eyes, a 20p coin or even better a tread depth gauge. (you can get these on ebay for literally pence)  And if you can't do this check yourself then I know we encourage our customers to visit their local Elite Garage branch and I am sure that many local garages offer the same FREE tyre check service.  

Your tyres are the ONLY point of contact with the road.  Why would anyone risk them being unsafe and risk not being able to brake in time?  Why would you risk skidding around that wet leafy corner and crashing into a tree because you loose control?  Why would you risk not enough grip to stop before you hit the car that appeared from nowhere?  Why would you risk your own safety?

I often question how and when things will change in the world of tyre safety.  Why is it still that consumers not only fail to check their own tyres but actually don't know what depth a legal tyre should be.  To me this also shows that consumers are not aware of the dangers of worn and illegal tyres.  It also means they don't know they could be saving money by having the correct tyre pressure and wheel alignment checks. We all like to get value for money so its important consumers understand that you will get more miles out of your tyres if you look after them and do these regular checks.  

I mean I suppose I can't think of anything more unexciting to buy than tyres.  I know no one is going to think one Saturday morning "Oh I know today I'm going to treat myself to a nice set of shiny new tyres".  In fact a tyre purchase is usually a distress purchase, it is usually when the customers car has failed the Mot that you hear "oh god well how much is that going to set me back" "oh great well just put whatever is cheapest on" and the dreaded "do you sell part worns?" NO we do not sell "part safe" tyres.  Despite the distress purchase consumers will then go on to re offend the following year when yet again the failure will be due to the tyres that probably haven't been checked since last year!

Maybe it's a case of "well if i don't check them and don't see they are worn then I don't have to fork out for tyres this month" but seriously this is your safety and your passengers on board.  

Don't wait until it's too late, just take 2 minutes out of your day once a month to give them a quick look and if your in any doubt speak to a tyre specialist.  We are here to help and to keep you on the road.


Thanks for reading

Sophie x


www.elitegarages.co.uk

Tyre Safety

Tyre Safety 

It always surprises me that the National Tyre Safe campaign is never as well promoted as I believe it should be.  Why do we not see television adverts regularly showing us how to check our tyres and the importance of tyre safety and being safe on the roads?  We all see adverts which remind us to check our smoke detectors and buy a carbon monoxide detector because they save lives, but no one seems to care that thousands of motorists are driving around on illegal tyres which could cause a fatal car accident!

Tyres are the only point of contact with the road.  If your tyres are illegal, have poor tread or even no tread at all, how do you think you are going to be able to break effectively to stop hitting that pedestrian, or crashing into the car that has just pulled out in front of you?

It is not just the tread of the tyre that's important but actually having the correct tyre pressure is important too and guess what if you have the correct pressure in your tyres you will actually be saving money on fuel as well.  

We all like a clean car and many people will have them regularly cleaned, or it's a weekend tradition to do it yourself or pay the kids to do it!  I just wish people realised how important it was that once a month you should also be checking your tyres. 

If the police stop you and find your tyres are illegal you will be issued a £2500 fine per tyre and also 3 points on your license!!!!! That could be expensive if all tyres are bald.

I also fully appreciate that many people don't feel confident with car maintenance and wouldn't know how to check them or can't be bothered.  That is why at our garages we encourage our customers to come and see us for their FREE tyre safety check as often as they need it.  Any of our Elite Garages branches will be happy to do this for you and we have branches across the South East of England.  www.elitegarages.co.uk for full list of branches.

I also know that a lot of local garages offer similar safety checks so it is always worth a call to ask them.

Tread depth gauges can be bought online, cheapest probably being ebay if you wanted to buy one to have at home.  But also another really easy way to give you an idea is by using a 20p coin.  Insert it into your tyre in several different areas.  The outer ridge of the coin should NOT be visible.  If you can see it then it means your tread is low and you need to seek advise from your local tyre professional.  If you notice on area or one side seems to have much lower tread than the rest then it could mean that your tracking needs doing.  If your wheel alignment is not correct then they tyres will wear unevenly and this needs correcting.  Particularly this time of year when the roads are covered in pot holes this can cause havoc to the wheel alignment and tyres so extra maintenance is needed on your car to get the most out of your tyres otherwise they will wear really quickly and you won't get your monies worth at all.  Also pay close attention to any bulges, cuts, nails and any other visible damage to your tyres.  


Visit www.tyresafe.org for some great tips on tyre safety :)

My first ever blog post!!!!

Whats to come.......

Well I am excited to finally be writing a blog.  

I have been in the tyre trade for about 10 years now, I work for my family business in West Sussex which is how I got into the trade.  As the years have gone by I have worked with tyres in many different ways.  I have been in the buying department, wholesale, retail and marketing and advertising.  

As my knowledge of tyres has grown so has the realisation that consumers are really uneducated when it comes to tyres.  It scares me to see the state of the tyres I see parked up in car parks and at the side of the road.  It terrifies me to think people have passengers and children on board and yet have no idea that their tyres are not only illegal but could cause a serious accident.  Your tyres are the ONLY point of contact with the road, so why do we pay such little attention to them?  

Tyres are a real nuisance to people when they need replacing and more and more today you hear of people wanting "part worn" tyres!!! Maybe they should be renamed "part safe".  Why would you want to put a tyre on your car that might have some usable tread but might also have been in an accident and could blow out at any moment?  Yes they are cheap but not good value for money at all.  I would love to spread the word of tyre safety and to get it be common practice for motorists to check their car tyres regularly just like cyclists and motorcyclists do.

In this blog I will be going back to basics, how to read your tyre size, check your tyres, how to save money by correctly maintaining your tyres.  I want to give people the confidence to know what they are looking for and be in control of their motoring.  Cars aren't just for men it's important women and especially new drivers are educated about these things.  I will also look at other motoring tips and anything else I think is useful really.  


Thanks for reading and I will be back soon...

Sophie x

This is the girl behind the blog....