Winter Driving

It's that time of year again where not only are we seeing more frequent frosty mornings in the South, the roads are covered in wet slippery leaves.

Your tyres are the only point of contact with these wintery roads.  It is more important than ever that you regularly check your tyres. This includes tyre pressure, checking the general condition of the tyre can you see and bulges or chunks missing, which could be curb or pothole damage?  And finally the tyre tread.  This is what gives you grip and gives you control over your vehicle. 

If your not confident in checking your tyres yourself then at any of our Elite Garages branches we are always happy to check customers tyres for them Free of charge. I know many other reputable garages are also offering tyre checks.

Don't forget any illegal tyres found not only will land you 3 points on your license and a £2500 fine, but if you are in an accident and your tyre are found to be illegal your insurance becomes invalid.

It's also important to remember that the temperature changes how our tyres perform.  Braking and slowing down will be slower.  In the UK consumers assume they don't require a winter tyre on their car, however there are brands which have made an all season tyre which are readily available.  We stock lot's of winter tyre and we have a large number of customers who visit it every year to have their winter wheels put on their cars.  It obviously is the safest option, however many people don't have the money or the space to keep a set of spare tyres.

Be safe, be vigilant and enjoy this  beautiful time of the year......


Thanks for reading

Sophie x

www.elitegarages.co.uk


image used: https://www.vcars.co.uk/news/driving-and-traffic/drivers-prepare-early-for-winter-5638.html

Don't be an unhappy camper CHECK YOUR CARAVAN TYRES

Caravan Tyres

The weather is warming up and those of you with a caravan will be planning a few nice sunny trips away.

Many people will just jump in the car and off you go......... Stop there.  You MUST check your caravan tyres before every trip.  Tyre pressure, tread and inspecting the general condition of your tyres are all vitally important.

Caravans are often parked on the driveway most of the year without moving so the condition of your tyres can really deteriorate.  As soon as you get on that motorway you are at risk of a blowout and potentially a nasty accident so don't take the chance and BE SAFE.

It will only take a few minutes to give your tyres a check a lot quicker than waiting at the side of the road for a recovery van.

As always your local Elite Garages are always happy to check your tyres for you.  www.elitegarages.co.uk to find your nerest branch.  

http://www.tyresafe.org/media-centre/multimedia/videos/caravan-tyre-safety/


Images and video from www.tyresafe.org

Thanks for reading...

Sophie xx

  

Winter Tyres in the Uk? YES

This is something that is asked so often.  The answer is Yes and this video demonstrates it beautifully.  It is often thought winter tyres are only for snow, no they aren't.  They perform fantastically well in the cold and wet and let's face it we have our fair share of rain in the Uk. 

Choosing the right tyres....

We all drive different cars, in different places but we all need tyres.  The majority of tyre purchases will be a distress purchase for the consumer.  It will be at the failure of an Mot, a puncture or even a road traffic accident which will bring to peoples attention the state of their tyres.

It is recommended that we ALL check our tyres every month.  Check the pressure, check for any bulges or cracks and also check your tread.  At Elite Garages we welcome anyone to come and have a FREE tyre check.

It's a great idea to have them checked at a garage because they will advise you on how much remaining tread you have and they will see if you have any uneven wear, which could be a sign of over inflation, under inflation or even if you need your wheel alignment checked.  Most garages will be happy to check your tyre for Free so give your local garage a call.

When it comes to purchasing new tyres it is important to consider how you drive.  If you have a family and most your driving is local, shorter journeys then economy and safety will be most important to you.  If you do commuting and spend a lot of time on the motorway travelling long distances then economy, comfort and noise will be important

Tyre labeling comes in handy when comparing tyres cause it looks at , noise, wet grip, and fuel economy.  However it is to be noted that not all tyres are tested in the same way.  Premium tyre manufacturers spend a lot of money on the latest technology and carry out vigorous testing to ensure their products are up to a high standard.  There are 100's of budget tyre manufacturers who carry our their own tests and don't have the same technology behind them.  So a premium and a budget tyre with the same label does not mean they perform the same..... Don't be fooled.

Our tyre experts are happy to provide customers with the advise they need when it comes to choosing the right tyre.  We stock tyres to suit everyone's budget and we carry 1000's of original equipment tyres.

Visit your local Elite and we will be happy to help :)

Part worn Tyres!!!

I know that a lot of people will save money wherever possible and that tyres are usually a distress purchase.  Let's face it most people leave it till their tyres are already illegal and dangerous before changing them, but part worn tyres NO just NO.......

I think Part worns should be renamed "Part Safe".  Your tyres are the only point of contact with the road and it is so important that you have safe, legal tyres, with plenty of tread and that are in good condition.  If your tyres fail you the outcome could be fatal and so many road traffic accidents are due to illegal and unsafe tyres.

When you buy a part worn tyre yes it might be cheap but.....

a) You don't know the history of that tyre, someone could have had an accident, hit a curb, there could be damage you don't know about!

b) Yes that tyre has only cost you £20 but it's only got 2mm of usable tread left on it, that's actually not good value and it would better value to buy a brand new budget tyre.


New tyres are sold with approximately 8mm of tread, and usually part worns can have as little as 2mm of tread remaining.  The legal minimum tread depth in the Uk is 1.6mm so the cost per mm on a part worn tyre is much more than it would be a brand new one.

So next time the thought of a part worn tyre pops into your head, ignore it Call Elite Garages www.elitegarages.co.uk or your local tyre retailer and ask for a price of a budget tyre, you may be surprised at how much better value it would be to buy new.

So don't buy part safe tyres by full safe, full tread tyres

Tyre safety check selfie please Instagram Users?

To all you instagram users........

If your an Instagram user you will know i'm sure how to post a "selfie"

I am wanting to test the power of social media and blogging so if you are reading this and you now know the importance of checking your tyres then I have a request.....

Can you please take of selfie of yourself checking your car tyres and then #elitegarages

I can see from my analysis of this blog that I have readers all over the world so I would love to see how many I can get on board with this.  

Don't forget you are looking for any cuts and bulges in your tyres, check the pressure and look at the tread depth.  If you need to grab yourself a 20p coin and test the tread like this....

Thanks for reading

Sophie x

www.elitegarages.co.uk

New year new tyres?

After Christmas and New Year are over and we are all spent out probably the last thing on our minds is buying new tyres!

With the continuing wet weather here in the Uk and horrendous pot holes everywhere, our tyres are really taking a seasonal battering!  Pot holes can not only damage your tyres but can also cause your wheel alignment to be out of sync and this needs to be regularly checked.  If your wheels are not correctly aligned then your tyres won't be wearing evenly and you could be causing premature wear on your expensive tyres.  You want to not only have the best control of your vehicle and be safe but you want to get your moneys worth from your tyres.  

Perhaps a news years resolution to add to your list could be to regularly squeeze in that tyre check, once a month is all we recommend, I think you can manage that.

I wanted to share another example of a tyre that a customer today hadn't even noticed was badly worn!  It was a large family car, why would you want to put your family at risk but not regularly checking your tyres?

On closer inspection when it was up on the ramp, it is clear to see how badly worn this tyre is on the inside!  This wouldn't have been visible from the ground and that is why we can't emphasise enough the importance of regular tyre safety checks.  Here at Elite Garages we offer them FREE and you can come in as often as you like we are always happy check them for you.  If your not close to one of our branches then call your local garage and I'm sure they will be happy to help you.

Thanks for reading 

Sophie x

www.elitegarages.co.uk