The first thing we’ll look for is signs of damage to your tyre. This involves looking at the sidewall for bulges, cracks, discolouration, scuff marks and punctures. We’ll also take a look at the tread depth and condition. Aside from measuring tread depth, we’ll look for cuts, nicks, chipping or other physical damage.

A quick tyre pressure check will show if any of your tyres are over or under inflated. Underinflated tyres are the leading cause of tyre failure, while overinflated tyres will cause the centre of the tyre tread to wear out faster than the outer edges. Having the correct tyre pressure will help with your fuel economy, vehicle handling and road noise, and we recommend that tyre pressures should be checked at least once a month.

The minimum legal tread depth is 1.5mm, and this depth needs to be measured at multiple points across the tyre. We’ll also be able to tell if your tyre is suffering from any kind of uneven or premature wear caused by a bad alignment or has been used with incorrect air pressures for extended periods of time.

The rubber compound used in tyres will age when exposed to the oxygen in the air. This occurs slowly over a period of many years. We’ll check the age of your tyres against the date mark on the sidewall. Tyres over 5 years of age should be inspected periodically for signs of damage, including discolouration and dry rot. This is more common to see on trailer tyres or vehicles that aren’t regularly driven.

Lastly, our free tyre checks involve confirming whether all the tyres on the vehicle match, and are suitable tyres for the vehicle. Unevenly worn tyres should ideally be replaced in pairs at a minimum, with the new pair being fitted to either the front or the rear of the vehicle as mismatched tyres side-to-side can potentially cause stability issues or your vehicle’s driver-assist features to function incorrectly.