Changing tyres – how often should you do it?
by Fiona Taylor
When do you change the tyres on your vehicles?
Changing tyres is an important part of keeping your vehicle properly maintained, but changing them too often, or before they actually need changing may be a false economy.
Tyres are one of the most important parts of your vehicles, without them you are going nowhere. This is why tyre safety is important, and why we have very clear rules on tyre wear and tear. The law requires car tyres to have a minimum tread depth of 1.6mm in a continuous band around the central three quarters of the tyre. Unsure what yours are? Read out other blog here about how to check whether your tyres are legal.
Should you be changing tyres sooner?
There is a suggestion, usually from tyre manufacturers and safety groups, that tyres should be changed at 2mm or even 3mm tread. And drivers are heading this advice, changing tyres and thinking that they are complying with all necessary safety
Do you really need to be changing tyres that often?
According to a report in Fleetworld magasine Michelin are challenging this thought. Michelin said that they believe that tread depth isn’t the most important indicator is tyre safety. But instead it is the performance of the tyres that matters the most.
Michelin have conducted some tests on tyres to evaluate the relative merits of different tyres. They tested;
- standard dry braking
- wet lateral grip (to test cornering ability in the wet)
- wet braking
Each test compared worn tyres to new tyres, and compared budget tyres to premium tyres. They discovered that in some instances some worn tyres can be safer than new budget tyres.
What happens if you are not changing tyres regularly?
What happens if you are not changing tyres regularly?Worn tyres are more fuel efficient, as they use less fuel to combat the rolling resistance. Approximately 5–15% of the fuel consumed by a typical car may be used to overcome rolling resistance. If you don’t change your tyres until they are at their legal tread limit means that they are at their most fuel efficient state.
So what should you do about changing tyres on your fleet vehicles?
Maybe it would be worth thinking about investing in premium tyres that will last you longer rather than replacing budget tyres more often. Or you could get some vehicle tracking and see exactly how your vehicles are being driven and see how this will affect your tyres. If you would like to talk to one of our team about this please give us a call on 01274 587748 and we will be happy to help.
Fiona Taylor
Fiona Taylor is the Sales Manager at award winning Satmo Vehicle Tracking. If you feel you need help with your fleet, want to gain back control, save some money and time then please get in touch.
