Summer is almost upon us with the promise of long, hot, sunny days and you might be planning a series of staycations around the UK, from Consett to Dundee – two towns which are some 170 miles apart, but both of which have a lot to offer a holidaying family.

But wherever you are going – and wherever you are starting from – there are some rather prosaic things to be considered, such as the stage of your tyres. Fife Autocentre are expert tyre fitters and they have local garages extending in Glenrothes, Leven, Dunfermline, Dundee, Kirkcaldy, Stirling, Tillicoultry & St Andrews. This article reveals the best tyre care advice; directly from them – to make sure you can make the most of your summer staycation. This is what they said.

Technology Win!

Back in the day, tyre fitting was a brutal job, requiring muscle and sometimes even body weight to wrestle the tyre onto the wheel, but today it can be done effortlessly thanks to the wealth of mechanical equipment which can lift, turn and hold tyres and wheels at a touch, easing a new tyre onto its rim within mere seconds. Even the most die-hard Luddite mechanic has learned to embrace and love these time and energy-saving devices!

Double Checks

A double benefit of professional tyre fitting using the above technology is that as part of the fitting process, the new tyres can be tested to ensure that they are of a uniformly high standard which will remain safe on the UK’s busy road network. Once again, this replaced the age-old system of judging tyres by eye – a system that was only ever as good as the very fallible human mechanic who was on the job.

Expert Wheel Balancing

Professional wheel balancing used to be a time-consuming process, relying heavily on the expertise of the mechanic, a primitive scale and slow and careful adjustments until the mechanic felt they had the weight of the car spread over the four wheels as evenly as it was possible for a human to assess.

Today, and once again, harking back to the technological advances in mechanics, wheel balancing takes just a few seconds, as the equipment performs hundreds of calculations and weighs and reweighs the burden of each wheel over and over until they are as close as the machine can make it – and that’s much, much closer than a human can achieve! If your car is pulling to one side or seems to be tilting, bring your car to Fife Autocentre and they will fit new tyres in Dundee at their local garage. They also offer emergency mobile tyre fitting – where the experts will come to you (01382 205000)

Precise Tyre Alignment

Making sure that all four tyres are evenly placed on the axle and are all ready to draw the car forward in the same direction is a tricky and time-consuming job for a mere mortal human, but again is a doddle for a qualified tyre fitter with the right equipment. It can take just a few minutes to ensure that all the tyres are properly and precisely aligned, and the end result to you is reduced wear and tear, a lower fuel bill thanks to great efficiency, and a much more comfortable ride.

If it seems as though most of the work a tyre fitter does is automated or computerised, there may be some truth in that. However, many jobs have moved away from being lengthy and time-consuming manual labour to being computerised and seemingly effortless. However, this is not to say that just anyone can do the job of a tyre fitter: not only are they trained in how to do their job using computers and labour-saving equipment, but they are taught how to do it the old-fashioned way too, so they understand how the process works.

They are also highly educated as to the various pressures and strains that your vehicle undergoes while on the road – and all this knowledge helps them to do the best for your vehicle when you need their services!