You'll find the brand, model, and size of your tyre on the sidewall. For example: Michelin Primacy 205/55 R16 91V
- Width: 205
- Aspect ratio: 55
- Diameter: 16
- Load index: 91
- Speed rating: V
You'll find the brand, model, and size of your tyre on the sidewall. For example: Michelin Primacy 205/55 R16 91V
Before it's too late!
The minimum legal tread depth is 1.6mm. You can check it with the wear indicator.
Keep in mind that the more worn your tyres are, the more your braking distances increase, and the higher the risk of aquaplaning.
So never wait too long before changing your tyres. A tyre is a safety device!
Thanks to their strong siping and a silica-based rubber compound, Winter tyres (required below 7°c) will allow you to maintain good grip and traction in all winter conditions.
Summer tyres will provide you with better stability, less noise, and better fuel consumption when temperatures exceed 7°C.
All-season tyres offer a compromise between a summer tyre and a winter tyre. They make it possible to avoid rotation or to having to fit a winter wheel pack. As they are a good compromise, that means they can't be both exceptional in summer AND exceptional in winter. However, manufacturers continue to expand their product lines and invest in research and development to improve performance regardless of the season.
Your four tyres are your only link to the ground. Thus, whether you brake gradually or suddenly, it's your tyres alone that respond and transfer your command to the road. It is therefore very important to keep your tyres in good condition and at the right pressure.
There are three possible types of transmission for your engine:
It's always very difficult to answer this question with a number.
Many factors will influence the number of miles your tyres can travel:
Each tyre manufacturer develops products according to precise specifications.
This will have an effect on very different factors, such as:
The load index is the maximum load that the tyre can carry without being damaged.
Car manufacturers define the appropriate load index for each vehicle during the production, testing, and approval processes.
The vehicle owner must therefore not use a tyre with a lower load index.
On the other hand, drivers may use higher load indices if they wish.
The tyre speed index is the maximum speed that the tyre can withstand before incurring damage.
Like the load index, it is defined at the time of the vehicle's approval.
The vehicle owner must therefore not use a tyre with a lower speed index. On the other hand, the owner is free to use higher speed indices.
The first series of three digits defining the tyre's size correspond to the width.
The width is given in millimetres.
The measurement is taken from 'sidewall to sidewall'.
For example, 205/55 R16 has a tread width of 205 millimetres.
The next series of two numbers is the profile, which represents the height of the tyre.
This height corresponds to a percentage of the tyre width.
For example, 195/65 R15 has a sidewall height of 65% x 195 = 126.75 mm.
The sidewalls in this example therefore measure 127 millimetres.
The third series of two digits represents the rim diameter.
The wheel diameter is given in inches.
For example, 225/45 R17 91V has a rim diameter of 17 inches.
To convert inches to centimetres, multiply by 2.54.
So, in our example, the rim size is 43.18 cm.
To convert inches to centimetres, simply multiply by 2.54.
For example, 18 inches = 45.72 cm.
While electric car tyres are no different from petrol or diesel car tyres, they generally have very low rolling resistances.
So, we recommend that electric vehicle drivers pay close attention to the European tyre performance label and opt for low rolling resistance tyres (A or B).
Your vehicle's battery will therefore last longer between charges.
In terms of winter tyres, rolling resistance will be higher, and therefore you'll have to recharge more often.
The European label is a mandatory for all new tyres.
It measures three criteria:
Rolling resistance is a formula for expressing the amount of energy a tyre will need to travel a given distance.
Thus, the lower the rolling resistance, the less energy the vehicle will use to drive.
A decibel is a measurement of sound.
The level of noise emitted by a tyre while driving is given in decibels.
The lower the level, the quieter the tyre is.
When you slow down or stop, your tyres still have a certain level of momentum.
The vehicle therefore requires a certain distance to come to a standstill.
This distance is given in metres and varies according to the condition of the tyres, the surface (dry, wet, snowy...), and the speed.
When the road surface is wet, there's a film of water between the tarmac and the tread of the tire.
This foreign body reduces grip and significantly extends the braking distance.
It's therefore very important to keep your tyres in good condition, at the right pressure, and to regularly check the treadwear so as not to accentuate the risks
When the amount of water on the road becomes too much, the tyre can lose contact with the tarmac.
It's therefore no longer in contact with the ground.
The tyre is thus on the water, and it no longer has any grip.
In addition, as the tyre is moving, a wedge forms at the front of the and prevents it from regaining contact with the ground.
At certain times of the year and in certain regions of Europe, Snow chains are mandatory equipment.
However, their use is only necessary on snow or ice.
It's very important to know how to fit them in case you're required to use them.
On Grip500 you'll find a wide choice, descriptions, and fitting aids for your snow chains.
Choosing the right snow chains is essential for your safety.
Snow socks are made for very occasional use.
They're easy and quick to fit, but a little less efficient than snow chains.
Snow chains take up a little more space and more time to fit, but they perform better on snow and ice.
Snow chains are mandatory during some months of the year on roads where access is restricted
We therefore recommend that you always have a useable pair of chains in your boot.
Be careful, the chains must be adapted to your tyre size.
All-season tyres have been developed to handle temperatures above and below 7°C.
They offer a real technical and technological compromise, helping you to maintain grip and traction in winter. They also help to maintain good performance in the summer (driving comfort, braking distances, etc.).
All-season tyre performance has really improved in recent years!
On the other hand, we can't say that it's both a summer and winter tyre, but a good compromise between the two.
While all-season tyres perform much better than winter tyres in the summer, and their siping and tread compounds mean they're able to perform well on cold roads, they do not perform as well as winter tyres on snowy roads.
We recommend that you carefully consider your requirements in order to choose the right tyres for your needs.
A winter tyre has high levels of silica in its tread compound, 70x more siping compared to a summer tyre, and will perform perfectly when the mercury drops below 7°c, or on snow-covered roads.
Optimum traction, grip, water drainage, and braking distances ensure you a safe drive throughout the winter.
You'll love your all-season tyres on both dry and wet roads once the temperature drops below 7°C.
Braking distances are greatly reduced compared to when you're driving on summer tyres, and your traction and roadholding get a boost, too!
The all-season tyre, as its name suggests, will give you a good compromise, meaning that you don't need to have two sets of tyres, nor do you have to put up with feeling unsafe at certain times of the year.
You'll love it in almost every situation.
On the other hand, if you live in a regularly snow-covered area, we recommend winter tyres in winter.
If you are a frequent driver and comfort, noise level, or cornering stability at high speed are among your priorities, we recommend using summer tyres in summer.
A summer tyre's performance level will diminish as soon as temperatures fall below 7°C.
There are two main factors to explain this phenomenon:
As we always say: summer tyres are for summer, and winter tyres for winter.
A winter tyre, which performs exceptionally well in cold weather, will deteriorate more quickly in summer.
Visit Grip500 and explore all the products available for your car at the best prices.
Have you just put your summer tyres back on and are wondering, "what shall I do with my winter tyres?"
Grip500 recommends storing them flat, in a dim environment, protected from the elements.
If you don't have the space, you can ask at one of our fitting centres near you if they offer this service.
During the winter season, summer tyres should be stored in a covered area, without too much light (no UV rays).
If you're unable to store them, check with one of our fitting centres that offers a tyre storage service.
Changing your rims is a great way to give your car a new lease of life, without buying a new one!
Choosing your wheel pack is very simple:
Changing tyre size is possible if you respect the following steps:
The rim material is different (steel or aluminium).
Alloy wheels have come a long way in recent years.
They're very much on-trend and make your car look really stylish.
Steel rims, which have historically been more popular in winter (price and road salting problems), are now waning due to the emergence of cheaper alloy wheels, which are made of much better quality materials than 10 years ago.
On Grip500, your new rims come with the necessary screws.
This way, you avoid any unpleasant surprises when you receive your new wheels, and you can fit them on your car straight away!
When you buy your wheel pack, Grip500 will also send you a new set of screws to avoid not being able to fit your wheels.
So, you can use your new wheel pack as soon as you receive your delivery.
Buying tyres is an investment that will last several years.
For this reason, Grip500 offers you a quality anti-puncture tyre warranty, meaning we'll replace your tyre in the event of a flat, valid for 1 year for only a few Euros.
This service is quick to arrange, just like the replacement of a flat tyre.
The anti-puncture quality tyre warranty guarantees that you won't be hit with any unexpected costs incurred through your tyres.
In the event of a problem, your flat tyre will be replaced in accordance with the warranty contract. This saves you from having to purchase new tyres when your originals were new or only slightly worn.
You'll find a series of 4 digits on the sidewall of your tyre, after the DOT.
These 4 digits correspond to the week and year your tyres were manufactured.
So, '0319' corresponds to the third week of 2019.
DOT stands for 'Department of Transportation'.
It features a series of letters and numbers referring to the driving authorisation.
A tyre with DOT markings on its sidewalls is authorized and approved to drive on all roads globally. On the other hand, a tyre without DOT markings on its sidewalls is not authorised for driving on the road (e.g. track tyres).
The last series of 4 digits corresponds to the week and year of manufacture (ex: 0519 is a tire manufactured in the 5th week of 2019).
We indicate a tyre's DOT if it was manufactured more than 36 months ago. Such tyres are often sold at lower prices and are an opportunity for a good deal.
Also known as TPMS, pressure sensor valves are equipped with an electronic system that measures tyre pressure.
This pressure level is then shown on the vehicle's dashboard.
As soon as pressure decreases, we recommend that you stop at a petrol station and bring your tyres back to the correct pressure level.
Electronic valves (also called pressure sensors) don't need to be changed when you change your tyres.
With that being said, the tyre fitter will ensure that the components of the valve are in good condition to avoid premature wear and tear or damage.
TPMS is the term used for pressure sensor valves (also known as electronic valves).
All winter approved tyres have a specific sidewall marking to identify them.
This image is called 3PMSF and looks like a mountain with three peaks and a snowflake inside.
If your tyres have this marking, you can drive anywhere where winter equipment is mandatory.
The M+S marking on the sidewall of your tyres stands for Mud and Snow.
It of course means that your tyres are adapted for driving in mud and snow.
This marking is used on most 4x4 tyres, and on all winter and all-season tyres.
On the other hand, for a few years now in Europe, we've been using the snowflake pictogram as well as M+S markings (on winter or all-season tyres) to also indicate that a tyre is designed to drive on snow and in slippery conditions during the winter.
The tyre's tread is the surface in the centre, between the two sidewalls.
The tread is the only surface that comes into contact with the ground.
It has the really important job of giving traction, speed, stability, and direction to the tyre.
The tread depth must be at least 1.6mm.
The shallower the tread depth, the less water the tyre will be able to drain. The tyre will therefore start aquaplaning faster.
The sidewalls of a tyre are the load-bearing strips between the rim and the tread.
The sidewalls have several very strategic functions:
The sipes on your tyres:
Silica is a mineral that's added to the tyre's rubber compound.
The molecules don’t change with temperature variations, and they allow your tyres to maintain their performance level, even at low temperatures.
Natural or synthetic rubber doesn't harden (or less so) where silica is present.
The tyre therefore remains flexible and can continue to brake, cushion, and not slip.
Carbon black is a pigment that colours tyres evenly. The tyre therefore turns black.
Without carbon black, a tyre would be a mixture several non-uniform colours: the result of mixing the more than 70 raw materials that make up the tyre.
Technically speaking, manufacturing green, white, or red tyres wouldn't be complicated.
But all manufacturers conform to the black colour choice, because once a tyre is in contact with the ground, it gets dirty very quickly.
Black makes it possible to cover up these colour fluctuations.
'Green' is a new label referring to tyres that have low rolling resistances.
These new generation tyres are more environmentally friendly.
They use less energy to travel a greater distance.
You therefore reduce your fuel consumption (for which your wallet will thank you) while doing your bit for the planet.
Many factors influence the longevity of your tyres:
It is entirely possible to fit a tyre with higher speed index.
With that being said, we recommend keeping the same brand, aspect ratio, size, load index, and speed index on the same axle, in order to maintain balance on the road and avoid vibrations and other problems.
On the other hand, you cannot fit tyres with a lower speed index. If you did this, your tyres could then wear prematurely (or even very quickly...) and potentially blow out while you're driving.
Winter and all-season (M+S) tyres are the exception, provided that the speed limit of the new index is respected.
You can fit tyres with a lower speed index if you:
Fitting tyres with a higher load index is always possible.
This allows you to increase the maximum load that your axle can carry.
However, we recommend that on one axle, you keep:
Fitting a tyre with a load index lower than the original is strictly prohibited!
In fact, car manufacturers set a maximum load that an axle can carry when designing a vehicle.
Reducing this load capacity would mean taking significant risks and is strictly prohibited by the highway code.
A run-flat tyre (or 'self-supporting-sidewall tyre', or 'zero-pressure tyre') is a tyre with reinforced sidewalls that will compensate for the tread in the event of a pressure drop.
This allows you to drive at a low speed for a certain number of miles without damaging your tyres, and without the risk of rolling off the rim.
All vehicles with first-fit run-flat tyres are also equipped with pressure sensor systems that will alert you on the dashboard in case of any tyre damage.
You then have time to get to your garage or a service station to define the reason for the loss of pressure and restore your tyres to a roadworthy condition.
All major tyre manufacturers offer run-flat tyres in their ranges. They use varying names:
The name Continental SSR is the name of the run-flat tyre developed by the Continental brand.
Utility vehicle tyres (or van tyres) are reinforced and can carry a heavier load on the axle.
These tyres have several names:
A retreaded tyre is one that has finished its first life and is beginning a second one.
The worn tread needs to be replaced because it's no longer doing its job properly, and your safety is therefore reduced.
However, with a new tread and partially refurbished sidewalls, this tyre will have many more miles left in it.
So, it can be sent to a retreader.
At a retreading factory, the tyre's condition and carcass are assessed, and it then its worn out tread and parts of its sidewalls are replaced.
There are several major brands specialised in retreaded car tyres: Blackstar, Insa Turbo, Heidenau.
This recycled tyre can therefore begin its second life. This way, both your wallet and the planet will thank you.
To find out if your tyres are run-flat tyres, simply read the markings on the sidewalls, or in your information booklet.
If your vehicle is not equipped with run-flat tyres as standard, we strongly advise you don't opt for run-flat when replacing your tyres.
In fact, your chassis, rims, and entire undercarriage system have not been designed to support this type of tyre.
We recommend that you stick to the original tyre type.
So, if your vehicle is fitted with run-flat tyres as standard, we recommend that you stick to run-flat tyres when you replace your tyres.
If, however, for whatever reason, you choose not to use run-flat tyres, you are required to have an emergency solution in your vehicle such as:
Tyres go through a natural loss of pressure due to:
So, you should regularly check the pressure of your tyres to keep them in good condition ensure yourself a safe drive.
Tyres are black because tyre manufacturers add a molecule called carbon black to the various ingredients during production.
The carbon black gives the tyre its uniform colour.
Technically, it would be easy to make red, green, white, or even blue tyres.
Your tyres fulfil a number of roles and responsibilities:
Keeping your shock absorbers in good condition keeps you safer behind the wheel and extends the lifespan of your tyres.
In fact, when your shock absorbers are no longer doing their job, the tyre is forced to compensate.
Tyre valves are also made of rubber (or have rubber components). Their condition therefore deteriorates over time (sun or moon rays, humidity...).
We therefore recommend that you replace your valves when changing your tyres.
The valve is a safety device that allows you to keep your tyres at the right pressure.
It's very important to check your tyre pressure frequently.
We recommend that you check your pressure at least every 3 months.
Tyres that aren't at the right pressure level result in higher fuel consumption, faster loss of control in an emergency situation, swaying steering, risk of overheating, and they may even blow-out.
Your front axle tyres transfer the direction of the vehicle to the road.
So it's important that your 2 wheels are parallel to avoid them wearing out prematurely.
Over the years, your geometry will deteriorate. This deterioration caused by the numerous impacts your wheels encounter (pavements, potholes...).
You can have your geometry checked by one of our many fitting partners.
Maintaining good geometry allows you to stay safe and limit the wear of your tyres.
Your car's undercarriage system features all the parts that allow the vehicle to move forward and adapt to your driving.
The car's undercarriage system includes:
Some tyres have a dual load index.
For example, 195/70R15 104/102T means that vans with a double drive axle can carry a heavier load.
Consequently, the four tyres on the axle will be able to carry 4x the load corresponding to the 102 index.
When you change tyres, you can change your all four and replace them with new or retreaded tyres.
If, however, you only replace two tyres, we recommend that you fit these two new ones at the rear.
There are several reasons for this:
A space-saver tyre is a spare that you usually keep in the boot of your vehicle. This spare allows you to replace your flat tyre and carry on with your journey.
We recommend that you put air in your tyres (adjust the pressure) at least once every 2 months.
Maintaining the right tyre pressure means you: