Michelin say DON’T change your tyres until they hit the legal limit

Michelin are advising car owners not to change tyres when they wear to 3mm, but to keep them until they hit the legal limit of 1.6mm.

When it comes to safety, most of us listen to good advice, especially when the advice comes from the makers of a product meant to keep us safe.

So when tyre manufacturers appear to speak with a single voice on tyre wear and advise us to dump our expensive tyres as soon as they’re worn down to 3mm, most of us listen, rather than being cynics and thinking “well, they would say that, wouldn’t they, when it lines their pockets?”.

But now Michelin has come out and said exactly that, declaring categorically that there is no good reason to change tyres until they are worn down to the legal limit of 1.6mm.

Michelin say all tyres should be designed and built to work effectively throughout their life, and rejects calls to change tyres before their useful life is over.

They go on to say that it’s an unacceptable financial burden on motorists, and running tyres to the legal minimum would mean an extra 30 per cent of useful life for the tyres, and big savings for car owners

Not only that, but as tyres wear they create less rolling resistance thereby improving economy as the tyre ages, and keeping tyres longer reduces manufacturing impact on the environment too.

Frankly, it’s a compelling argument from Michelin; either they’re calling out all other tyre manufacturers for conning car owners in to spending more on tyres than they need to, or Michelin is the only tyre maker who’s willing to guarantee their tyres are as good at the legal limit as t 3mm tread depth.

Whichever it is, it’s a compelling argument to buy Michelin.