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How much tread do you actually need?
1.6mm is the legal minimum. It is not the sensible one.
- 1.6mm is the legal limit across the central three quarters
- Three points and a fine per illegal tyre
- Wet grip drops off well before the limit
- Free tyre check — we will tell you straight
Are we covering you?
Pop your postcode in and we'll tell you straight away.
The law in the UK is 1.6mm of tread across the central three quarters of the tyre, all the way round. Below that the tyre is illegal, and it is three points and a fine per tyre — four bald tyres is a driving ban before you have hit anybody.
The number people miss is that grip in the wet falls away long before 1.6mm. Tread exists to clear water out from under the tyre; less tread, less water shifted, and stopping distances stretch out in a way you do not notice until the one time it matters. Most of the trade changes tyres around 3mm for that reason, and so do we.
Checking it takes a minute. A 20p piece has an outer band; put it in the main groove and if you can see the band, the tyre is close to or below the limit and wants looking at properly. Check in three places across the tyre and at a few points round it, because tyres rarely wear evenly. If one edge is going faster than the other, that is usually a tracking or pressure problem, and replacing the tyre without fixing that just wears the new one out the same way.
While you are down there, look for cuts, embedded stones, nails and any bulge in the sidewall. A bulge means the tyre is finished regardless of tread — do not drive on it.
Not sure what you are looking at? We do free tyre checks, and we will tell you if you have another winter in them rather than invent a reason to sell you four.
Questions we get asked
Use a 20p piece. Put it into the main tread groove — if the outer band of the coin is visible, the tread is close to or under the limit and needs checking properly.
They do. Rubber hardens and cracks over time even on a car that barely moves. The four-digit code on the sidewall gives the week and year it was made.
Same axle should always match. Across the car it is best practice, and on some four-wheel-drive vehicles it is a requirement rather than a preference — ask us about yours.
While you are here
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Ring or WhatsApp with your postcode and registration and we'll tell you what we can do.