Fortunately the answer is fairly straightforward for once. Car tyres across the board tend to have a tread depth of 8mm.

4WD tyres normally have between 8mm and 14mm depending on the type/application.

The more tread that your tyres have the less chance you will aquaplane. You can read our article on how NOT to aquaplane for more information.

If you are selling a second hand set of tyres with this information you can now measure the tread that is remaining and accurately state how close to new they really are!

Here are a few things that you can check.

1- Stud pattern
The first thing you need to check is does the stud pattern fit. If your car has 5 studs and the wheels have 4 then obviously you are going to have a problem.

I found a fairly decent stud pattern reference online, you will need to scroll down to find your vehicle.

2 – Overall diameter with the tyre
You need to make sure that once you have your new rims and the tyres on them, that the overall rolling diameter is similar to what your car originally is fitted with, otherwise you could encounter a myriad of issues. (e.g wrong gear ratio, tyres rubbing on guards etc)

3 – Offset
The offset of wheels is also important. The offset of a wheel is described as the distance from the wheels hub mounting surface through to the centreline of the wheel.

This is often the “unconsidered” dimension, however it’s a very important one. If the offset is too much different from the original the whole handling of the vehicle can be adversely affected.

If you want to measure the offset of your wheels this is how it’s done.

• Measure the overall width of your wheel (don’t take the numbers on it, as that is flange to flange)
• Divide this value by 2 – this gives you the centerline of the wheel
• Next measure from the mounting surface of your hub to the inboard flange, this is what is called your back spacing
• Subtract your centreline from your back spacing and that is your offset

Remember if in doubt, best not to do it, you don’t want to be stuck with a set of rims that not only doesn’t fit your car, but you have no idea of what car they will fit.

For each tyre..

Tyre tread depth – do you have enough tread to get you through the next 6 months?

Condition – make sure there are no cracks or nails, screws etc in the tyres

Pressure – Ensure your tyre pressures are correct, if you are not sure what to pump them up to refer to our previous article regarding tyre pressures – we spell it out.

Alignment and Balance – Does your car have the shakes or jitters? Does it pull to one side or perhaps the tyres are starting to wear in an uneven manner? Head along to your local tyre shop and get it checked out.

Remember the two most important things on cars are tyres and brakes, if either of those are in dodgy condition you may not stop when you really need to in a hurry!

We also have one set left of the popular 225/65 17 rav four tyres (Bridgestones).

In stock we have several sets of 245/70 16 Bridgestones – contact us for a special deal.

Stock is hard to come by right now so we appreciate your patience when we cannot immediately get hold of the tyres you require.

Remember now is a good time to book in for a wheel alignment after all the holiday driving. Its a small cost compared to the price of wearing out your tyres quicker than what they should.

Safe driving!

In fact this picture shows exactly the type of string plug used.

Roll forward a couple of years though and doubts started to surface around the safety of using such a way to fix a tyre. For one thing because the tyre was not even removed from the rim, damage could have occurred internally to the tyre which would not be known about. This damage could cause the tyre to prematurely fail, or be unsafe at high speeds when temperatures were higher than normal. In short the safety of the tyre was now in an unknown state.

Is it legal to plug a tyre? Well it’s hard to find specific text to state that however when checking on the VTNZ website they had the following to say.

Many garages sell ‘string repair’ kits or sealants as a quick-fix solution for tyre punctures. Use these as temporary measures only, to get home or to a repair service. Drive slowly and for a short distance

Remember your safety is worth a lot more than saving a few bucks, so get your tyres fixed properly by an approved repairer.

To purchase this set, if you are quick enough you will find them via our trademe listings.

When I was checking other brands prices, I noticed you could get a hankook for almost as cheap. ($129ea) however I am sure most people would agree that Bridgestone are a far superior brand.

Don’t delay as the Christmas holidays are fast approaching!

You can find this set for sale for under $800. They retail for over $300 dollars each so be quick if you need a set.

If they are still for sale by the time you read this you will them and be able to purchase via our trademe listings.

Designed primarily for onroad driving Yokohama has engineered the Geolanders to provide excellent handling regardless of the weather.

Due to the fact that I get these tyres have done delivery km’s I can sell them to you much cheaper than retaild prices, please contact me for a deal or check out my trademe listings at the link above.

The 693 is a superb all round tyre, recommended for mainly on road driving, however also offers execellent performance off road.

Bridgestone describe the tyre as using their DONUTS technology. (Driver Oriented New Ultimate Tyre Science)

Rememember the craziness of Christmas is just around the corner and close to Christmas we do tend to run low on stock, so I recommend you get in now before it’s too late.

Either click through to our trademe listings or submit a comment on this page if you want a deal on these that doesn’t include the trademe fees!

The tyres are as below

215/70 r16 Yokohama Geolanders
225/65 17 Bridgestone ht687

When people check our prices they always think there is a catch, or something cannot be right. However a quick read of our trademe feedback always sets worried minds at ease, because they will soon see all our clients are not only satisfied with the purchase, they are pleasantly surprised!!!

Click through to our trademe listings on the link above this article near the top of the page, and if we have any stock left, we hope to soon be doing business with you!!!