Tyres can be a huge cost for motorists. The more miles you do the quicker you will have to change your tyres. Not only will you have to change them if they are worn but you may sustain a puncture which may be able to be repaired, but if not, will need to be replaced. Punctures can happen on new or old tyres.
Checking your tyres often for damage, air pressures and wear is vital and should be done at least once a week. Bald patches on some areas of the tyre or tyres on the same axis (fitted at the same time) wearing out at different times can signify a problem. If your tyres are wearing unevenly then you may need to take it in to a garage to have the issue investigated. Often these issues are caused by problems with the suspension. The car may not be sitting straight and therefore the weight may be not be distributed evenly.
The garage will be able to take the wheels off the vehicle and have a look at the suspension parts such as shock absorbers and struts. From here they can advise you of what needs to be changed. You will probably need to also change your tyres that have been damaged.

When purchasing new tyres you will often be asked what size you need. The garage may have a system where they can look up the tyres for your vehicle but if you have had different aftermarket alloys fitted or want a different size tyre to what is standard then you will need to have this information to hand.
A tyre has three numbers such as 105/55/R15 written on the side of them. The first number indicates the width the second number indicates the profile and the third number indicates the tyres size in inches. After this you may notice another set of reading; a number followed by a letter. The number indicates the loading rating. This number is linked to a table which tells you the load that each tyre can carry. Remember this is times by four (as long as all tyres are the same) when you are working out what load the total vehicle can carry.
The final reading is the speed rating. This is shown by a letter and again is a reference to a rating on a separate table. An R rating, for example, would be a maximum speed of 106mph. It is important to not only check the size but also the other ratings on the tyre when purchasing new ones.

All drivers should know where and how to find the size of tyres fitted on their vehicle. It is quite easy to find this information out, but you do need to know where to look. On the side of every tyre is printed the size it is normally written like 195/55/ R15 87V. If we break this down we can see that it tells us a lot of information about the tyre. The first number in this example is the tyre width in mm, the second is the type height as a percentage of the width and the third letter and number is the diameter. The next number (87) is the load capacity and the final letter is the speed rating. All of this information tells you what you need to know to select the right tyre for your vehicle. There is not necessarily only one tyre size that will fit your car and some cars have different sized tyres on the front to those on the back.

If you are looking to buy a new tyre it is important to check the size of the tyre in which you want to replace in case it is different. You should also check to see that the tyre on the other side of the axle also matches that, if not you may need to get both tyres replaced or ensure the new one matches the one on the other side.

If you go to a garage and enquire about having new tyres fitted, you may be a little overwhelmed at the choice you have available to you. You may hear the terms part worn or budget and not have a clue which ones you need. Below are a few examples of different choices you have:

Part worns – these are tyres that have been previously fitted to another vehicle so do not have the full tread on them. They often come from other countries where the legal limits are higher than in Britain, allowing them to be resold here. The problem with part worns is they may only have 3 or 4 mm of tread left on, which is the depth in which most garages recommend you change them anyway.

Budget tyres are brand new but the cheapest range. They vary drastically in quality depending on the make but you should be able to find out information such as wet grip rating, road noise and fuel efficiency.

Premium tyres are usually the most expensive but often have the best ratings, they are usually brands such as Continental or Bridgestone. Often they will cost upwards of £65 each depending on the make and size.