Autofit (Ipswich) Ltd. Blog » tyres

PREPARING FOR WINTER

Ingrid Ward — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 12:57:28 +0000

Despite the mild weather we have been experiencing here in East Anglia I am sure that the cold winds will soon find our lovely little corner of England; so with that thought in mind I thought I could go through some of the checks you can make on your car to keep you safe.

Winter Checklist Windscreen - Check the level in your washer bottle and make sure it has enough additive in the water to prevent it from freezing.
Battery - Drive into Autofit for a free winter battery check, the cold weather can reveal any weakness in your battery.
Anti-freeze check - Drive into Autofit to check the levels in the radiator and the freezing point of the coolant.
Air conditioning is not just for summer! - A little know fact is that your air conditioning will clear your screen faster than the heating system,this is because of the dry air it produces.An added bonus of using the air conditioning system is that it keeps both the pump and the seals lubricated .
Tyres - Drive into Autofit for a free check of your tyre pressures and tread depths to make sure that you are ready to tackle the icy roads ahead. Winter and all season tyres are becoming more popular,especially for people who live in the country and need to stay mobile for as long as possible.
Tests have shown that not only are winter tyres vastly superior in the snow but that the best outperform a quality summer tyre when the roads are wet and near freezing. (Please see my previous blog on winter tyres for more information). Please also note that winter tyres are a legal requirement in many European countries.
Please feel free to ring Autofit for any further advice 01473 723325. Stay safe this winter.

Winter Tyres

Ingrid Ward — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 13:58:37 +0000

After the terrible weather last year there is a lot more interest in the use of winter tyres in the UK, so I thought it should be a subject for discussion. Winter tyres are not designed to be used only with snow! They are actually designed to function at temperatures of 7C and below which is the point when summer tyres start becoming hard and lose their grip. They are designed with a chunky tread pattern to maintain better contact on ice and snow. The rubber compound used remains flexible and soft in low temperature which helps maintain grip. There are also "All Season " tyres which are made with the same rubber compound as winter tyres but with a less chunky tread, to minimize road noise and wear. Most tyres sold in the UK are summer tyres. You can see what type of tyre you have by looking at the markings on the sidewall of the tyre. A snowflake or snow topped mountain indicates a winter tyre, if there is also a sun symbol then the tyre is an All Season tyre. In Europe people have 2 sets of wheels for their car and simply swap them over with the seasons, this is fine but you do need to have somewhere to store the spare sets of wheels and with most homes owning more than one car this could be a problem! Autofit can supply and fit winter tyres to your car so if you are interested please give us a call and we will be happy to advise you.

Watch out for Potholes!!!

Ingrid Ward — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 20:02:04 +0000

Driving around Ipswich at the moment has become more like an obstacle course as I desperately try to avoid the huge potholes, which have been created by our wet and freezing winter. I am beginning to wonder if the local council funds are going to be able to fill them all in?

I have had a quick recce into google to find out exactly why potholes appear where they do and am happy to share my new found knowledge with any one who is interestd. First of all you need to have rain and a surface through which it can penetrate, followed by sub zero temperatures. As we all learnt at school, water expands as it freezes and pushes everything out of its way with incredible strength. When it thaws it leaves little pockets under the tarmac which then break through as potholes when the traffic traffic drives over them. Unfortunately for us, these potholes can inflict very expensive damage to your tyres, wheels,wheel alignment and suspension so please drive carefully when you see one on the road ahead of you. We have had 2 unfortunate customers who have had to buy new wheels due to buckling from impact with a hole. Meanwhile I ponder on the timing and costs of getting all these holes filled in but until they are please drive with caution.

First Bite

Ingrid Ward — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 07:45:23 +0000

Well here I am, L plates on the keyboard and ready to learn. I am not sure yet where I am going with this space but at the moment I am hoping for a relaxed environment in which to open up the mysterious and oftening frightening environment of your local garage!

Let me introduce myself and my workplace.

I am Ingrid and my workplace is Autofit in Britannia Rd, Ipswich. Autofit is a very busy local motorist centre where we do all the usual garage stuff of tyres, servicing, Mots and so on. My other half, Kevan and I started Autofit when I was very pregnant with my third son. We had given up all security in the job market to start our own adventure, determined to make a success of our dream. Our vision had been to run a garage based on honesty and approachability. 23 years later and we are still here and I am looking to pushing us into the 21 century via the internet and social networking. However, I will have to learn as I go on since this is all a very new concept to me. Please forgive me all the errors on my way but feel free to help develop any ideas for the format of this blog. Also pass the word around that I am here; where you can ask any car related questions you wish and need never feel stupid. If I do not know the answer I will either try to find out or direct you in the right direction.

Interesting fact to follow......

When you buy your tyres have you ever wondered what all the numbers involved in the tyre size mean ? e.g 205/55R16 87V 205 is the size in millimetres across the tread of the tyre. (If you were a bird it would be the size of the top of the tyre you could see!) 55 is the size of the side wall of the tyre, as a percentage of the first figure. i.e. 55% of 205 in our example. This is how fat or thin the tyre looks from the roadside, the lower this figure is the thinner and sportier the tyre looks (and also the bumpier ride) R stands for radial and all modern tyres are constructed in this format, vintage cars often run on a crossply construction. 16 is the size of your wheel and is in inches!! (this is the hole in the tyre) 87 is the load bearing index and there is a table of weights it refers to. V this is the speed rating and there is a table for this too. So, time to sign out. Please feel free to add a comment or question. Humour is always good so please share with us any funny moments with your car, or garage.......