What is mobile tyre fitting, and how does it work?
A fully equipped van comes to your home, work or the roadside. What actually happens from the phone call to driving away, and the jobs a mobile fitter genuinely cannot do.
8 min read
Tyre Guides
Straight answers to the questions we get asked on the phone.
These are written for drivers, not for search engines. If a guide saves you a call-out you did not need, it has done its job. Where something is a legal requirement we say so and cite the source; where it is our own recommendation, we say that instead.
40 guides across 6 topics. If you are stuck at the roadside right now, start with what to do with a flat tyre on the motorway — or just call 07989 606060.
Mobile Tyre Fitting
How the service works, what it costs, and how long it takes.
How much does mobile tyre fitting cost?
The tyre, the fitting and the call-out are three separate things. How to compare a mobile quote with a garage honestly, and the charges to ask about before you book.
7 min read
How long does a tyre change actually take?
Twenty to thirty minutes a wheel once we are there. What makes a job take longer — seized bolts, corroded rims, run-flats — and how to make it quicker.
6 min read
Emergency and out-of-hours tyre fitting: what is realistic at 2am
What is genuinely available overnight, why stock is the limiting factor rather than staff, and the situations where recovery is the right call instead.
6 min read
Roadside & Emergencies
Something has gone wrong and you are stopped at the side of the road.
What to do if you get a flat tyre on the motorway
Where to stop, why you should get out of the car, how to find your location from the marker posts, what to do on a smart motorway with no hard shoulder, and why changing a wheel there is a bad idea.
9 min read
Changing a wheel safely, and when you should not attempt it
The order of operations that matters, why you loosen bolts before jacking, why the star pattern is not optional, and the places you should never do this.
9 min read
Space-saver spare or sealant kit: what is in your boot?
Space-savers are speed and distance limited. Sealant kits only fix small tread punctures. A side-by-side comparison, and a five-point boot check to do now.
8 min read
Can you drive with a puncture?
Almost always no — but "get out of a live lane at walking pace" is a real exception. What a slow puncture changes, and what driving on a flat actually costs.
6 min read
Flat tyre and no spare wheel: what to do
Check what is in the boot before you need it. When a sealant kit works, when it is useless, and why using one affects the repair afterwards.
6 min read
Lost or damaged locking wheel nut key: what happens now
The single most common reason a call-out fails. Where the key hides, why rounded nuts are worse than lost ones, and how removal actually works.
5 min read
Tyre Problems
Warning lights, odd wear, slow punctures and the noises that mean something.
Can a puncture be repaired, or do you need a new tyre?
The repairable area is narrower than most people think. Where the damage has to be, how big it can be, the British Standard behind the rules, and when replacement is the only honest answer.
9 min read
The TPMS warning light: what it means and what to do
Steady light versus flashing light, what actually fails an MOT, why it appears on the first cold morning of autumn, and why you should never just reset it.
8 min read
Uneven tyre wear and what the pattern is telling you
A diagnostic table: match the wear pattern to the cause and the fix, plus how to inspect properly and why front-wears-faster is normal.
9 min read
Why does my tyre keep losing pressure?
All tyres lose a little air. Losing several PSI a week is a fault — and it is as likely to be the rim or the valve as a nail in the tread.
7 min read
Bulges, cuts and cracks in a tyre sidewall
A bulge is never repairable and never safe to run on. How to tell it apart from cosmetic kerbing and ordinary weathering.
6 min read
Tyre noise and vibration: working out what it is telling you
Vibration through the steering at 50–70mph is usually front wheel balance. Through the seat is usually the rear. Humming that changes with cornering often is not the tyres.
7 min read
Tyre Maintenance
The checks that make tyres last, and the ones that keep them legal.
Correct tyre pressure, and how to check it properly
The right pressures are on a plate in your door shut, not on the tyre. Why checking them warm gives you the wrong answer, and why TPMS is not a substitute.
9 min read
How long do tyres last? Age matters as much as mileage
Plenty of tread does not mean a good tyre. How to read the DOT date code, where age is actually the law, and what to look for on an older tyre.
8 min read
Wheel balancing and wheel alignment are not the same thing
Vibration at speed means balance. Pulling and uneven wear mean alignment. Which we can do at your door, which we cannot, and the symptoms that are neither.
8 min read
Storing tyres properly between seasons
Stack or stand? Cool, dark and dry, away from electric motors, why you should mark which corner each came from, and the TPMS catch with a second set of wheels.
6 min read
How to tell if a tyre needs replacing
A ten-point check you can do on the driveway. Legal, past its useful life, and unsafe are three different things.
7 min read
Tyre rotation: what it is and whether it is worth doing
It can extend the life of a set — but not on every car, and not if it means putting your worst tyres on the rear axle.
6 min read
Tyre pressures when you are loaded up or towing
That second column on the door plate is not decoration. Loaded pressures matter most on the holiday run — exactly when people forget.
6 min read
Choosing Tyres
Sizes, ratings, seasons and labels — how to work out what you actually need.
How to read the markings on your tyre sidewall
205/55 R16 91V decoded, the DOT date code that tells you how old the tyre really is, and the manufacturer fitment codes people miss.
8 min read
Tyre load index and speed rating explained
What 91V actually means, XL and C markings, why fitting a lower rating than the manufacturer specified is a problem, and when going higher is pointless.
8 min read
The tyre label explained: fuel economy, wet grip and noise
What the three ratings measure, the snow and ice pictograms, which one to prioritise for UK driving, and what the label deliberately does not tell you.
8 min read
Winter, summer or all-season tyres: what makes sense in the UK?
The 7°C rule, what the snowflake symbol certifies, whether a second set of wheels pays for itself, and why all-season is the pragmatic answer for most UK drivers.
9 min read
Run-flat tyres: how they work and what to do when one fails
How far you can actually drive on one, how to tell if your car has them, why repair is normally refused, and whether you can switch to conventional tyres.
8 min read
Van tyres vs car tyres: why you cannot just fit either
What the C marking means, how it differs from CP and XL, why load index is the number that matters on a van, and the pressure differences people miss.
8 min read
EV tyres: why electric cars are harder on rubber
Weight and torque are the reasons. What HL means, why "EV" on a sidewall is marketing rather than a standard, and how pressures affect range.
8 min read
How much do new tyres cost in the UK?
Why the same size varies by a factor of three, what you are actually buying at each tier, and the cost-per-mile arithmetic that changes the answer.
7 min read
Budget vs premium tyres: is the difference real?
Every new tyre sold in the UK is legal. The difference is wet braking, wear rate and consistency — and it does not matter equally on every car.
7 min read
Do you need to replace all four tyres, or just the one?
When one is fine, when it should be a pair, and the 4WD cases where a single new tyre is a real mechanical problem rather than an upsell.
6 min read
Can you mix tyre brands, patterns and types?
Legal is not the same as sensible. What you must never mix on the same axle, why the better pair belongs on the rear, and where cross-ply rules still bite.
6 min read
4x4 and SUV tyres: road, all-terrain or mud-terrain?
Road, all-terrain and mud-terrain compared. Why the heavier vehicle matters more than the badge, and the 4WD rule that makes matching tyres a mechanical issue.
7 min read
Caravan and trailer tyres: why age matters more than tread
A caravan tyre with full tread can still be finished. Standing, UV and load are what kill them — and blowouts at motorway speed are how you find out.
7 min read
Safety & Legal
What UK law requires, what an MOT tester checks, and where the real limits are.
Tyre tread depth: the UK legal limit and how to check it
The legal minimum is 1.6mm - but the wet-weather penalty starts well above that. How to check your tread with a 20p coin, the different limits by vehicle type, and what illegal tyres actually cost.
8 min read
Tyre faults that will fail an MOT
The checks a tester actually performs, what dangerous/major/minor mean, the TPMS rule people get wrong, and a five-minute pre-MOT inspection.
9 min read
Part-worn tyres: the UK rules, and why we do not fit them
The legal requirements sellers must meet, how rarely they are met in practice, what you can never find out about a used tyre, and the arithmetic that makes part-worns poor value anyway.
8 min read
Winter tyre and snow chain rules for driving in Europe
Rules differ by country and change. What the 3PMSF alpine symbol certifies, where chains are mandatory, and why this is a check-before-you-go job.
6 min read
