At Flear & Thomson, It has never been easier to arrange for your tyres to be safety checked and changed. It does sound obvious but it is absolutely valid - The more tread you have on your tyres the greater the grip on the road. Tyres that have less than 3mm worth of tread can take as much as 15metres longer to stop than new tyres, that's a huge difference to your safety, that of your family, pedestrians and for other road users .

The minimum tread depth in the UK is 1.6mm but 15% of all cars on the UK roads have one or more illegal tyres.

For more information on tyre safety and the best tyres to suit you, visit the F&T 24Hour Tyre Website CLICK HERE TO VISIT SITE, then enter in your tyre size (found on the sidewall of your tyre) and see the extremely competitive prices that we can fit your tyres for at our dealerships.

Tyre Pressure makes a massive difference to how your tyres perform and therefore how your car performs for economy and safety reasons. If you have received an alert on your dashboard about your tyre pressure (tpms light) or it has been a period of time you last checked your tyre pressures, they will need to be checked. If your tyre pressure is too low (Image A), you’ll end up with uneven tyre wear and poor grip when cornering – something you’ll especially want to avoid during wintery conditions throughout Scotland. If the pressure is too high (Image B), you’ll suffer from severe tread wear – so your tyres won’t last as long as would be expected. It will also make steering difficult and increase fuel consumption. The wrong pressure also increases braking distance. Tyres with the correct pressure (Image C) will last longer, reduce fuel consumption and contribute to overall safe road holding and handling.

Wheel Tracking.Your cars wheels take a fair amount of strain on our UK roads – whether that’s from clipping a kerb, or hitting a pothole that are now too aparent everywhere. So over a period of time, your wheels can become misaligned or slightly tilted. If your wheels become tilted to one side (Image A & Image B), there will be increased wear to the one side of the tyre. This will shorten the lifespan of your tyres, and you’ll also have less grip – particularly in our UK adverse weather conditions. Adjusting the wheels requires specialist tools and knowledge, and can be carried out by one of our Kia trained Technicians at one of our branches in Perth, Dunfermline or Stirling.

Tyre Depth. Your tyre tread is incredibly important and is the connecting point between your car and the road surface, and it’s also a legal requirement that it doesn’t get too low – so how can you check it? Most tyres have tread wear indicators to let you know when your tread is getting low. These usually look like little raised squares within the grooves of the tyre. If these raised squares are flush with the tyre, then it’s probably time for a replacement. It is also recommended that you replace your tyres once your tread depth is less than 4mm. This is because your tyre tread is what helps you maintain control in wet or adverse conditions. If your tyre tread becomes too low, you’ll end up with less grip and your car will take longer to stop – particularly in rain or snow. Also, if your tread depth is below the 1.6mm legal minimum, you can be fined. As you safety is priority to us at F&T, please do not hesitate to contact us for a free tyre safety check.

You can also get a rough gauge of your tyre depths by using a 20 pence coin. There’s a rim around the edge of the 20p coin that is about 2mm wide. Stick the edge of the coin inside the tyre tread and if you can’t see the raised rim you’ve more than 2mm of tread. If you can see the raised rim then you may need to have tyres replace.

Checking your tyres.

• Every couple of weeks, check the pressures of your tyres when they are cold.

• Do not ignore your TPMS light (tyre pressure monitoring system). It is telling you your tyre might require a change in air pressure or you have a puncture.

• Check for any visible signs of damage such as gouges or cracking as these can lead to a puncture of for the tyre to rapidly deflate.