You may have noticed that racing cars like formula one seem to look as if they have no tread on the tyre, but these are a special type of tyre which is used in racing.



Tyre sizes can vary from being a small tyre on a child's bicycle or a huge monstrous tyre on a commercial vehicle.

Tyres can come with all sorts of properties, they may be made from a soft rubber compound or may be made from a hard rubber it all depends on the type of transport the tyre is being used for.

When it comes to buying the correct type of tyre for your car, van or minibus you can normally go to your local tyre specialist, these types of garages can be found in all local business directories. It is always a good idea to ask the mechanic to check the rest of your tyres on your car even though you may have only come into have one changed or repaired.

On many occasions you may find that you have a choice of tyre which you can use as prices can vary depending on the brand that you want to buy. A lot of suppliers have a budget range of tyres which are a cheaper alternative to the more expensive brands.

You may wake one day and find you have a puncture on your tyre, this may have been caused by a nail, if the wheel is removed and taken to a tyre centre it may be repaired by using a special patch which is applied to the inner part of the tyre, once the glue has dried it seals the puncture and so you can now reuse the tyre.

When it comes to filling air into tyres great care must be taken. If too much pressure is filled the tyre will wear in the middle and if less pressure is filled it will wear on the edges. This will affect the life of the tyre. It is always recommended to check car manufacturer recommendation to see what the correct pressure is for your particular car.

When you do not have the right amount of pressure in your tyres it will affect the amount of fuel that you will use. When you go to a petrol station you may be fortunate to find a display board with the correct tyre pressure for your vehicle.

The display board will also tell you if you need to have a different pressure at the back of the car compared to the front of the car. You will also see that there are different pressures for a car with a full load as well as for a car that has no load.

Always remember to keep an eye on the condition of your tyres as this is a vital part of your car. The condition will affect your stopping distance depending on the condition of the road as well as the weather.

A small measuring device can be bought from your local car parts store which will give you a reading of the amount of tread that you have left.