Driving style key to replacing tyres, say industry experts

The point when a driver should change their tyres depends on the type and amount of driving they do, according to industry experts.

They were responding to reports that Michelin said drivers are adding to their fuel bills by changing their tyres when thread depth reaches the recommended minimum of 3mm.

The tyre company said good quality tyres remain safe down to the legal minimum thread depth of 1.6mm, a daily newspaper has reported.

However, Irish Tyre Industry Association president Paddy Murphy said different manufactures have contrasting views. “Michelin have the right to say whatever they want. Other manufacturers recommend 3mm, some car manufacturers recommend 3mm, so it’s a case of different people saying different things.”

He said the ITIA recommends drivers change their tyres “a little bit higher than 1.6mm” because once you go below the legal minimum it is “very dangerous”.

He said that drivers would have different preferences and driving styles and that in some cases it would be advisable for tyres to be changed at 3mm.

But he said people tend not to pay enough attention to their tyres in general. “They get into the car and they never check their tyres. That’s the real problem here,” he said.

Safe driving

Irish Tyre Trade Journal editor Pádraic Deane also said the question of when to change your tyres depends on the type of driving you do.

“What the law is telling us is that 1.6mm is the minimum allowable for safe driving on the road. After that people make up their own mind. Personally, I would go a little higher myself in the sense of if you’re driving to the limit and you’re busy on the road a lot, in our climate it’s very wet and your stopping distances are enhanced more at 3mm than they are at 1.6 mm. If you’re going down to the shops and you’re going steady then 1.6mm would be fine.”

But he added that fuel efficiency tends to be better on lower thread depths. “You’re going to get more miles per gallon on your 1.6mm than you are on your 3mm because you’ve less rolling resistance,” Deane said.

The Road Safety Authority said: “Tread depth must not be less than the legal minimum limit of 1.6mm in Ireland. For safety reasons the Road Safety Authority and The Royal Society for the prevention of Accidents recommend that you should have at least 3mm tread on each tyre.

“There is known disparity in the wet grip afforded from varying tyre manufacturers and their individual types of tyres. This is evidenced by the wet grip scale on the performance labels affixed to new tyres.

“The braking distance at 80km/h increases by 18m between tyres with wet grip performance label Class A and Class F. It is with due consideration to the variances between the quality and the wet grip performance of tyres in the marketplace and inclement weather conditions often experienced here in Ireland, that the RSA has based its recommendations on.”