Tyre Fitting and Puncture Repair in Hackbridge | KITH Cars Garage, South London

Tyres are the only part of the vehicle in contact with the road. Everything else, the brakes, the steering, the suspension, all depends on those four contact patches to do their job. A tyre with 1.7mm of tread can pass a roadside check. A tyre with 4mm of tread stops several metres shorter in the wet. That difference matters. At KITH Cars Garage in Hackbridge, tyre fitting is charged at a flat rate of £20+VAT per tyre including the balance, regardless of size or brand.

Budget tyres from manufacturers like Landsail, Sailun and Triangle meet the legal requirements and pass the relevant safety tests. They are a reasonable choice for low-mileage vehicles or cars used mainly at low speeds in town. Their wet braking performance is measurably worse than mid-range and premium alternatives in independent tests. For motorway use or wet-weather driving, that gap matters.

Mid-range tyres from Goodyear, Dunlop, Falken and Hankook cost more than budget options but deliver noticeably better wet grip and considerably better longevity. The additional cost over the life of the tyre typically works out lower per mile than a budget tyre that wears faster.

Premium tyres from Michelin, Continental, Pirelli and Bridgestone consistently test at the top of independent wet braking comparisons. The stopping distance advantage over budget tyres in wet conditions can be several car lengths. On a modern car with good brakes, the tyre is often the limiting factor in emergency braking. Premium tyres are particularly worth considering on heavy vehicles or performance cars.

Tyre balancing uses a computerised machine to identify heavy spots in the combined tyre and wheel assembly, then corrects them with small adhesive weights on the rim. An unbalanced tyre produces a vibration through the steering wheel at certain speeds, typically between 50 and 70 mph. Balance is included in the fitting price.

Puncture repairs follow British Standard BS AU 159. The tyre must be removed from the rim and inspected from the inside before any repair is made. The puncture must be in the central 75% of the tread. A two-piece repair is applied from the inside. We do not do plug-only repairs from the outside because they do not meet the standard. Any sidewall puncture requires tyre replacement. Sidewalls flex under load and a repair will not hold.