What tyres do I need for my car?
With a myriad of different types of tyre available from hundreds of different brands, how can you choose which are the best replacements when your car needs new tyres?...
Tyres aren’t just the squidgy things at each corner of your car. They dictate every aspect of how it behaves on every single journey. So it pays to know how to choose the right rubber for your needs
Tyres are one of the most important safety-critical components in the entire vehicle. According to road safety charity, TyreSafe, over the past five years an average of 153 people have been killed or seriously injured each year in accidents caused by defective tyres. One reason for this could be that worn tyres add 27 metres — or 28% — to the Highway Code baseline stopping distance. That means an average car will take 123 metres to stop, instead of 96 metres.
What does a tyre do?
Your car’s tyres are crucial to you being able to drive safely, because they are the only part of your vehicle that’s in contact with the road. It’s tyres that allow your car to accelerate, to negotiate corners as intended and, most importantly, to stop when you need to. But given that grip levels vary hugely between the best and worst tyres, it makes sense to know which rubber you’re running.
How do I know which tyre size I need?
Your car owner’s manual will have information on the correct tyre size(s) — some cars have different sized tyres on the front and rear axles, so ensure you check the correct wheel — for your make and model, but the easiest way to find out this information is to simply look at the tyres on your car because the size will be on them. The size is written on the sidewall of the tyre in the form of a series of numbers and letters, all of which are important.
For example, you might see ‘235/45/R18 91V’, which signifies that:
- The tyre is 235mm wide
- The height of the sidewall is 45% of the tyre’s width
- R stands for Radial, which refers to the tyre’s construction (almost all tyres are radials these days)
- 18 refers to the diameter of the wheel rim the tyre sits on
- 91 refers to the load rating
- V represents the maximum speed rating
It is vital that you choose a tyre of the same size, because a wider tyre won’t fit the wheel properly, and a different sidewall height will affect the car’s gearing, and can render your speedometer inaccurate.
That final number on the tyre refers to the tyre’s load rating. This is usually in the form of a two- or three-digit number and letter, for example 91V. The number part refers to the weight each individual tyre can carry, and there is a specific table on the TyreSafe website that allows you to work this out.
The final letter, for example V, is the tyre’s maximum speed rating, and the full list of ratings can again be found on the TyreSafe website.
What tyres do I need for my car?
The phrase ‘horses for courses’ is especially relevant here. There’s a vast range of tyre types out there, and your choice is entirely dependent on what type of car you drive and what you use it for.
So, if you drive a small city car, you may be best served by a narrow eco tyre with a higher sidewall, to enhance manoeuvrability, and comfort while taking less energy to roll.
But if you drive a hot hatchback such as a Volkswagen Golf R, then you’ll want a wider tyre with a shallower sidewall to enhance the car’s grip and handling responses.
And if you regularly use your Land Rover to go off road, then a set of robust knobbly tyres is what you’ll need.
Summer, winter or all-season tyres?
Again, which tyres you choose to fit to your car largely depends on what you’re going to do with it, and to a lesser extent where you live.
Summer tyres tend to be made of a harder compound for durability, with a stiffer construction. They are designed to do their best work on dry or wet roads at temperatures above 7deg C, which is what happens in most of the UK throughout the year.
Winter tyres are a different kettle of fish, because they’re made of a generally softer compound that grips harder when the temperature falls below 7deg C. They also have a slightly softer construction that allows the tread to move slightly, generating more heat and therefore grip. And finally, the tread pattern is different – it’s filled with extra grooves called sipes, which are designed to grip icy or snowy roads. Such tyres make an enormous difference to your ability to keep moving in snow.
All-season tyres are the ones Goldilocks might choose, because for many drivers they’re ‘just right’ – they work better than summer tyres in colder, snowier weather, and better than winter tyres in summer weather.
So, if you live in the south of England, you might be tempted to stick with summer tyres all year round, but if you live in the north of Scotland, then you face a tougher choice. You might want winter rubber for the chillier months, but then you need to either swap to summer rubber when the temperature rise, or have a second set of wheels with winter tyres on them. Either way, you’ll need to store them and then put them on the car at some point.
And that’s where all-season tyres are proving popular, because they give you a good portion of the ability of summer and winter tyres, but remove the need to store and swap them.
Tyre FAQs
Should I buy cheap tyres?
Everyone has a certain budget, and it’s certainly better to replace a worn-out tyre with a new cheap one if that’s what your budget dictates. However, you do tend to get what you pay for, and spending a bit more on rubber from a good tyre brand will generally pay you back in greater grip, lower running costs and greater durability.
Should I buy part-worn tyres?
Tyres are expensive, so the market for part-worn used rubber is expanding. However, while there are laws including the Motor Vehicle Tyres (Safety) Regulations 1994 (part of the Consumer Protection Act) surrounding the sale of part-worn tyres, there is still an element of risk surrounding them, because you simply don’t know what sort of life they’ve endured before they reach you.
When should I replace my car’s tyres?
The short answer is ‘when you need to’, but every situation is different. If the tyre is undamaged, then the law states that a tyre is legal until it has 1.6mm of tread across the centre 75% of the tread width. However, tyre wet-weather performance drops off noticeably when the tread depth falls below 3mm, so it’s best to replace the tyre then. Also, if you notice that the tyre is damaged in any way, such as having visible cracks or bulges, then it needs to be replaced right away.
Should I replace two tyres at the same time?
Yes, it’s good practise to replace tyres in pairs across an axle, so replace either both rears or both fronts at the same time; they’ll tend to wear out at the same rate anyway. If you don’t, you’ll have a variation in grip and performance across the one axle, which will become horribly apparent in an emergency manoeuvre.
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