Do you know how to check your tyres are legal?

ailuro2

Was reading yesterday that one in six of us are driving around on illegal tyres, that about half of us NEVER bother checking tyres.:eek: Remember it's 3 points on your licence for each baldy tyre if you get caught. There's a very simple way to check them though.

Here's a quick link to show you where to look. No excuses now the lighter nights are here, it only takes two minutes to check.

At least if any of your tyres are nearing it's end of legal life you will have time to pick up a decent offer on tyres instead of paying full price at the garage where your car has gone for its MOT.;)

http://www.michelin.co.uk/michelinuk/en/auto-utilitaires/guide-achat/20061110173225.html

harveybobbles

I thought people just wait until they have a blow out to realise the tyres are illigal? these rae generally the same people who wait until their engine stops before checking the oil level...

MX5huggy

Yes....................

LandyAndy

Do you know how to check your tyres are legal?

Ask a policeman.

If they are legal he will provide this service free of charge.

LandyAndy

In all fairness to the OP the link would be useful to the uninitiated.

AdrianHi

Tyre pressures are another one a lot of people forget. I do them once a month, check when the tyres are cold (2 hours+ after driving). Most months I measure a 0.1 bar drop in pressure with is around a 3%-5% pressure loss.
Look at the pictures in the aquaplaning section, 2bar vs. 1.5 bar (25% drop in this test)
http://www.michelin.co.uk/michelinuk/en/car-4x4-van/tyre-pressures-what-happens/20070319171410.html

Note most cars require more than 2 bar pressure, check the tyre pressure chart on your car.

25% is still not enough of a pressure drop for the tyres to look low in pressure (see -8psi and -14psi which is about -25%):
http://www.michelin.co.uk/michelinuk/en/car-van-4x4/what-tyre-pressures/20070319171409.html

Cannot find the reference now, but I have read 85% of tyre blowouts are caused by higher speed driving on tyres with too little pressure, tyre wall flexes more than it should, heats up too much, melts and shreds.

nomoneytoday

I would use a 20p coin - if the groove depth between the ridges are larger than the width of the 20p coin across the tyre then they are usually legal

vikingaero

AdrianHi wrote: »

Tyre pressures are another one a lot of people forget. I do them once a month, check when the tyres are cold (2 hours+ after driving). Most months I measure a 0.1 bar drop in pressure with is around a 3%-5% pressure loss.
Look at the pictures in the aquaplaning section, 2bar vs. 1.5 bar (25% drop in this test)
http://www.michelin.co.uk/michelinuk/en/car-4x4-van/tyre-pressures-what-happens/20070319171410.html

Note most cars require more than 2 bar pressure, check the tyre pressure chart on your car.

25% is still not enough of a pressure drop for the tyres to look low in pressure (see -8psi and -14psi which is about -25%):
http://www.michelin.co.uk/michelinuk/en/car-van-4x4/what-tyre-pressures/20070319171409.html

Cannot find the reference now, but I have read 85% of tyre blowouts are caused by higher speed driving on tyres with too little pressure, tyre wall flexes more than it should, heats up too much, melts and shreds.

The other thing to watch out for is that most manufacturers recommend inflation to the recommended pressure when the tyre is cold. We've had a few days in the UK where it's been 15C during the day and freezing at night. It's better to check pressure at night when the effect of the sun on a tyre has gone and the tyres have cooled to an even temperature - rather than one side of the car being heated to give an anomaly.

roswell

And a tip for vauxhall owners incase they didnt know that plastic "tool" attached to the petrol cap cover is used to measure your tyre depth on one end and the other end saves you getting your hands dirty taking they valve caps off.

AdrianHi

vikingaero wrote: »

The other thing to watch out for is that most manufacturers recommend inflation to the recommended pressure when the tyre is cold. We've had a few days in the UK where it's been 15C during the day and freezing at night. It's better to check pressure at night when the effect of the sun on a tyre has gone and the tyres have cooled to an even temperature - rather than one side of the car being heated to give an anomaly.

Agree, I have had the puncture detection system on my car (works by meauring differences in wheel rotation speed) triggered by one tyre in sunlight in the morning, the others cold.

harveybobbles

LandyAndy wrote: »

In all fairness to the OP the link would be useful to the uninitiated.

Maybe things like this should be part of the driving test. Like changing a wheel, checking levels etc...