Tyre Fitting in Dawlish

Dawlish is a seaside town known for the railway on the sea wall, with steep hills inland and heavy visitor traffic on the A379. Cars here get both slow summer crawling and climbs out of town.

Automaster is at Longcombe Cross near Totnes. Tyre fitting, puncture repair, wheel alignment and balancing are all covered, and this guide explains each.

What does summer queuing on the A379 do to tyres?

Stop-start driving heats the tyres without cooling them with speed, and under-inflated tyres suffer most. Check pressures when the tyres are cold, using the handbook figures.

Wear tends to creep up on the edges, so check across the whole width of the tread.

If your car sits in the visitor queue regularly, a pressure check each month is a habit worth building, because heat and slow speeds suit under-inflated tyres badly.

How do I check tread, sidewalls and age?

Legal tread depth is 1.6 mm across the central three quarters of the tyre. A gauge gives a precise reading; a quick look at the wear bars in the grooves gives a rough one.

Check sidewalls for cuts and bulges and look at the age code. Tyres that are old can harden and crack even when the tread seems fine.

Inland climbs from the town put torque through the driven wheels, so those tyres often wear faster than the others.

• Wear bars level with the tread
• Cracking between the tread blocks
• Date code showing an older tyre

Repair or replace after a puncture?

The answer depends on where the hole is. In the central tread, a proper repair from inside is often possible. On the sidewall or shoulder, it is not, and the tyre needs replacing.

Please do not keep driving on a flat. It can destroy a tyre that might have been saved.

If you find a screw or nail in the tread, leave it where it is until the tyre is looked at, because pulling it out can let all the air out at once.

Why bother with alignment and balancing?

Poor alignment eats tyres from one edge and makes the car pull. Poor balance shakes the steering wheel or seat at certain speeds. Each costs you tyre life and comfort in different ways.

Because the two are often mixed up, describe what you feel when you ask for a quote.

A new set fitted without checking alignment can wear out unevenly in a few months, which is a frustration worth avoiding.

Do you cover Dawlish, and how do I reach Automaster?

Drivers from Dawlish, Teignmouth, Newton Abbot, Stoke-in-Teignhead and Heathfield bring cars to us. The garage is at Longcombe Cross, Longcombe, Totnes TQ9 6PL.

A quote request needs the registration, the tyre size on the sidewall and the number of tyres. Mention symptoms too.

Our garage also handles MOT testing and servicing, so tyres can be looked at when the car comes in for something else.