How to check your winter tyres out of storage

The summer is ending and temperatures are dropping, so for many drivers, it’s nearing the time to remove your summer tyres and trade them for those winter tyres in storage. However, before taking to the road in them, you must first consider that while your tyres may not have taken any road wear in the last few months, pre-existing issues or age-related problems might have manifested themselves over the summer, so we recommend doing an initial spot check before making the switch.

What should I be looking for before fitting my winter tyres?

• Tread Depth – Look over all your tyres and ensure that they meet the legal minimum tread depth in your country. In the UK it is 1.6mm however it’s recommended that you have at least 3mm remaining so you can be confident that your tyres will continue to grip and you can retain control.
• Cracking – A clear sign that your tyres may be getting old is when cracking appears across the surface of your tyres. Though it doesn’t always mean they need replacing, when compared to the age of your tyres it might offer a good reason for the fault. The date of manufacture can easily be identified by looking at the DOT code on the sidewall of your tyre. While there is no legal expiration date, it’s recommended that you change your tyres every 6 years to avoid risks.
• Punctures or cuts – Check for any wear and tear across the circumference of your tyres. Look out for holes, or signs of low pressure.
• Chemical damage – Check the area around where your tyres have been stored to ensure that no chemicals have leaked and absorbed into the tyres’ rubber as this could damage the structure of the rubber.

Consider a storage solution for your summer tyres

Many garages now offer tyre storage solutions throughout the year. The benefit of this is that the garage may be able to fit your tyres when it’s time to change over, but this type of storage does come at a premium.

Try out all-season tyres

Developed with countries with a varied climate in mind, all-season tyres can provide the safety of winter and summer tyres in one without the need to swap them out as the seasons change. Davanti now offers a range of all-season tyres for passenger cars and commercial vehicles with the Alltoura 4-Seasons, Alltoura H/T 4-Seasons and Vantoura 4-Seasons which you can check out on our product page, along with our full winter tyre range here.

If you have more questions on the seasonal change contact your local Davanti dealer here.

If you don’t have any winter tyres in storage, and you’re ready to make the switch you can find our full winter tyre range on our product page.