How to Select the Right Car Tyres

I am currently in the midst of learning to drive, and by that I mean, revising the life out of the theory stuff so I can pass the theory test before I even sit in the driver's seat. 

As well as learning the obvious - hazards, speed limits and road signs - I am making sure that I know my stuff when it comes to car maintenance as I know I can't always rely on Chris to help me out like he usually does! 

I am a natural born worrier so I know I'll be constantly checking to make sure that my car is in 100% condition and I’m fully equipped, whether I’m driving on a narrow country road or a busy, bustling city like London. Chris has been driving for around two years now and the one thing he's had problems with the most are his tyres. We've ended up having a flat tyre whilst out visiting family on Christmas Day which needed changing and just last week, we were doing the school run and he said he felt like he needed to just get new tyres altogether. 

Me being me, and wanting to learn as much as I can about cars before getting my own, I am always asking questions about why we do things and Chris is all too happy to indulge me. 

Top Tips for Buying New Tyres:

1. Make sure you are getting the right size for your car and check the measurements. You can find this information in raised lettering on the side of your tyre. This information tells you the width, aspect ratio, rim diameter, load rating and speed rating. Making sure you have a tyre with the correct speed rating is very important as if it is wrong, you can invalidate your insurance.
 
2. All tyres on sale are safe to drive and meet the standards required. Opting for a premium, mid-range or budget tyre is a personal choice. Whilst mid-range tyres can drive well and have a long life span, budget ones may not and might not do as well in wintry or wet conditions. Premium tyres will be the one that will last you longer, get you more miles and generally give you a better "feel" when driving. You can purchase all of these types of vehicle tyres at DAT Tyres London.
 
3. Buy for the season. There are no laws against using summer tyres all year round but going for a winter or all-season tyre give a better performance. 

Once you've chosen your tyres, it's really important to keep an eye on them. Change the air pressure when needed and always make sure the tread is okay. No one wants to be driving on bald tyres! 

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Keeping Your Car Safe When You Have Children

My partner Chris passed his driving test in May 2017 and it was the best thing to happen to us. With two young children, doing shopping could take all day and we rarely had day trips as it could cost a bomb unless it was relatively local.

Having a car has been a huge help and it has been very important to Chris to make sure that it's in top condition. Even nine months after getting the car he religiously checks everything to make sure it's all working, especially as we will be putting our children into the car. The last thing he wants is for something to go wrong when they are strapped in the back. 

The first thing we insist on doing is making sure that both car seats are fitted and secured correctly (it's also important that if it's your first car that your children are in the correct car seat for their age/height), then ensuring that the children are buckled in with no twisted seatbelts. Not wearing winter coats is important as the belts cannot be tightened fully and may not work properly in the case of a crash.

Checking that all the lights work correctly before setting off on a journey is an important one. The last thing you want is to be on a busy road then realise that a light isn't working as you could quite easily cause an accident. Chris is still a restricted driver as he hasn't yet been driving a year so it's still all new to him and does, on occasion, have to refer back to his car manual and test them out by having me stand by the car and tell him if they're working or not. This can be a bit time consuming but definitely worth doing to be on the safe side.

On Christmas Day last year, we had a lot of family to visit and a very short amount of time to get round everyone. We were roughly ten minutes from our house when, bam, flat tyre! This was the first time it had happened and luckily we had a spare in the boot. It took ten minutes for Chris to replace it and get us on our way again but then we had to make sure we purchased a new spare as soon as we possibly could in case it happened again. It's so important to check your tyres regularly for any foreign objects that may be stuck (this is what happened in our case) but also ensuring that the tread and pressure is ideal.

Our car is up for MOT in April and although Chris checks the car as much as he can himself, he is definitely planning on getting it in for a service beforehand. He thinks that this would be beneficial to pay for so that he can be told of any problems and get those sorted, so that his car isn't failing and he isn't wasting money on having to rebook his MOT over and over again. The important thing is finding the perfect servicing station such as Ossett Tyre House which offers all types of car servicing in Wakefield and surrounding areas. Fingers crossed all is good and his "new baby" passes!

(This is a collaborative post.)