Before you set out on your holiday this year, it is worthwhile taking the time to check your car is up to scratch rather than breakdown on the trip with children, or elderly parents in the car.

The extra weight of luggage and passengers can add to the strain when travelling distances and a few simple checks, giving yourself time to fix any problems, will reduce your pre-holiday stress and make you more confident of the hours ahead.

Tyres and wheels summer checks

Checking your tyres is very important. We all know how many potholes litter our roads in Sussex and any tyre problems should be easy to spot. We recommend checking your tyres every two weeks, but when there is much to think of, you might make a mistake and forget.

Take a look for cuts, bulges and gouges. If you are not sure, bring your car into one of our garages at Newhaven, just off the ring road, or at Southwick, Brighton. We will give your tyres a free check for your peace of mind.

If you are not sure of the legal tread, it should be 1.6mm across the middle two-thirds of the tyre around the whole circumference. You can do a rough check with a 20p coin. The coin’s outer band is approximately 1.6mm, so if you can see some of the band, you need a new tyre. At Arrow Tyres, we will also check your tyre treads as part of our free customer service.

Finally, check your tyre pressures and also that of your spare tyre. You can do this on most petrol stations’ forecourts with a specialised gauge. It will read in either PSI (pounds per square inch) or Bar, the metric equivalent. The reading should be confirmed by looking inside your driver’s door or passenger door for the tyre pressure chart. If you don’t have a sticker inside either door, your tyre pressures can be found in your car handbook.

Happy summer driving from all at Arrow Tyres Services in Newhaven and Southwick, Brighton.