Car Tyre Terminology

Bamboozled by TWAs and abbreviations – us too!!

If you are a little unfamiliar with some of the terms used in tyre descriptions, at Easy Wheels, we have put together a “Wheely easy” guide to some of the most common, as more terms come to light we will be constantly updating this section.

Cant find the term your looking for, give us a call on 0845 686 0005 and we will translate it for you!

Tyre size

For a comfortable ride and correct handling it is imperitive that your vehicle is fitted with the correct size tyres. These are listed in your handbook, but also via the Easy Wheels registration search. You can also check these sizes on your tyre wall.

Centre-less Alloys

Some French made cars, Peugeout and Citroes have no centre hole….This is fine but means that some of our affiliated garages do not have the specialist equipment required to fit the tyres…Worry not, we will always highlight this in the instance it should occur.

Directional Tyres

Usually found in Tyres specifically designed for quickly clearing water so have arrow or chevron patterns, These tyres must be fitted in an indicated orientation.

Reinforced Tyres

The tyre manufacturer has added additional reinforcement to the sidewall of the tyres, this generally occurs in larger vehicles. (i.e. SAAB 9-3s or Ford Galaxy’s Renault Laguna)

Run-Flat-Becoming more and more popular, these tyres allow the driver to continue their journey even if the tyre has completely defalated. These tyres however should be changed as soon as possible and at Easy Wheels we stock a wide variety of run flat tyres.

Speed Rating

This is a standard index used to indocate the maximum speed a tyre contain carrying the load under the conditions as stated by the tyre manufacturer.

Tread Depth

The measurement between the top of the tread runner to the tyres deepest grooves. The legal limit for tread depth is a minimum of 1.6mm, although at Easy Wheels we would highly recommend changing the tyres before this situation occurred.