Check your tyre tread in two minutes

The legal minimum for car tyres is 1.6 mm across the central three-quarters of the tread, all the way round. In the wet, though, a tyre at 3 mm already stops noticeably further than a new one.

1. Find the tread wear indicators: small raised bars at the bottom of the main grooves. When the tread is level with them, the tyre is at the limit.
2. Use a gauge (about £3) in three places across the tyre and in three places round it. Uneven wear means the tracking is out.
3. Look at the sidewalls for cuts, bulges and cracks. A bulge means the tyre is damaged inside: replace it.
4. Check the pressures when the tyres are cold, against the figures in the door shut or the fuel flap.

Below 3 mm, it’s worth pricing tyres. Wear on one edge only? Bring it in for an alignment check before you fit new ones.