Tyres, alignment and tyre hotel

Legally the tread may not drop below 1.6 mm, but for good grip on wet roads it is best to replace around 3 mm. Age matters too: rubber hardens and cracks over time, even on tyres with low mileage. Visible cracks in the rubber or a tyre older than roughly 8 to 10 years is worth checking, whatever the tread depth.

Winter tyres use a softer rubber compound that stays flexible at low temperatures, with a deeper tread for grip on snow and ice. Summer tyres are firmer and perform better in warm weather, on both dry and wet roads in the warmer season. All-season tyres are a compromise for low-mileage drivers or mild-winter regions, but perform worse than a dedicated tyre in either season.

Such a knock can shift the angle of your wheels slightly, invisible to the eye but measurable with our equipment. Incorrect alignment wears your tyres unevenly, increases fuel consumption and can make the car pull to one side. The sooner you get it checked, the less tyre wear you lose.

You drop off your unmounted set of tyres, we clean, label and store them dry and at temperature until the next seasonal swap. At the swap itself you no longer need to transport or store tyres yourself; you call or book, and we fit the right set.

Yes, always. An imbalance of just a few grams at the wheel already causes vibration in the steering wheel at higher speed and speeds up wear on tyres and suspension. Balancing is standard on every fitting with us, so it is already included.

You can, but always fit the new tyres on the rear axle, even on a front-wheel-drive car. New tyres give more grip; up front that could cause a sudden sideways slide in the rain, since the rear axle then keeps the most grip. We apply that rule as standard whenever you take just two new tyres.