Tyre guide · Everyday cars
Know your tyres before you buy.
Hatchbacks, sedans, SUVs, utes and vans. How to read the sidewall, pick the right type for the driving you actually do, and know when it’s time to replace — in plain language.
01 Reading the sidewall
Every tyre tells you its size. Here’s how to read it.
Take a common size for a mid-size hatch or small SUV. The same pattern applies to every passenger tyre sold in Australia.
Example size
Where to find your size
- The tyre placard — a sticker in the driver’s door jamb, glovebox lid or fuel flap. It lists the approved sizes and pressures.
- Your current tyre — the code is moulded into the sidewall. Check all four; they should match.
- The owner’s manual — the specification page lists every factory size and the matching load and speed ratings.
02 Tyre types
Pick the tyre for the driving you actually do.
Most everyday cars fall into one of five buckets. The right choice is about your commute, your car and your budget, not the fastest-looking tread.
Touring & comfort
For hatchbacks and sedans doing the school run, the commute and the weekend shop.
- Quiet, smooth ride and long tread life
- Strong wet-weather grip at everyday speeds
- Lower rolling resistance, so a little less fuel
Typical sizes 185/65R15 – 225/50R17 · speed T–H
Performance
For sportier sedans, hot hatches and anyone who values steering feel.
- Sharper turn-in and shorter braking distances
- Softer compound wears faster and rides firmer
Lower profiles 40–45 · speed V–Y
SUV & crossover
Highway-terrain tyres built for heavier cars that spend their life on sealed roads.
- Reinforced for the extra weight and higher centre of gravity
- Quiet on bitumen, capable on gravel driveways
Look for the H/T or highway label · load 100+
Ute & van
Light-truck tyres for work utes, vans and anything that tows or carries a load.
- Stiffer sidewalls and higher load indexes
- Marked “C”, “LT” or with a load range letter
Commercial sizes 195R14C – 265/60R18 LT
EV & hybrid
Electric cars are heavier and deliver torque instantly, which wears ordinary tyres faster.
- EV-rated tyres carry more weight and wear slower
- Foam-lined variants cut cabin noise
Look for an EV mark · check the higher load index
03 Load & speed
Two small codes, one big safety rule.
Your placard sets the minimum. You can always go higher on load or speed, never lower — it affects insurance as well as safety.
If a previous owner fitted a lower rating, the placard is still the rule. The placard is also the only source for your correct pressures — the number moulded on the sidewall is a maximum, not a recommendation.
04 When to replace
Tread, age and damage. Any one of the three.
Tyres wear out three different ways, and the newest-looking tyre in the car park can still be the oldest.
Tread depth, side by side
Most tyres have small raised bars inside the grooves. Once the tread is flush with them, you are at the limit. A $5 depth gauge takes the guesswork out.Worn edges point to under-inflation or alignment; a worn centre means too much pressure. Fix the cause before the new set goes on.
Sidewall cracking is age. A bulge is a broken internal cord — replace it now, it can fail without warning.
New shakes through the wheel, or a car that drifts on a flat road, usually means a tyre or wheel issue rather than the suspension.
Longer stops and a lighter steering feel in the rain is the tread telling you it can’t clear water any more.
Read the age, too. The last four digits of the DOT code are the week and year of manufacture — 2325 is the 23rd week of 2025. Have tyres inspected from six years and replace them by ten, regardless of tread. A car that sits in the sun ages its tyres faster than one that drives every day.
05 Looking after them
Four habits that make a set last years longer.
None of these take more than ten minutes, and together they are the difference between 40,000 and 70,000 km from the same tyres.
Check cold, to the placard figure, including the spare. Under-inflation is the number one cause of early wear.
Front tyres wear faster on most cars. Swapping them front to back evens it out — ask for it at every second service.
A kerb strike or pothole can knock the alignment out. If the steering isn’t straight or the edges are wearing, get it checked.
New tyres are balanced when fitted. If you feel a shimmy through the wheel at 80–100 km/h, a re-balance usually fixes it.
Check before you drive, or within a couple of kilometres of home. Tyres warm up and read higher on the road, which is why the servo gauge after a highway run can mislead you.
06 What’s included
Buy online, fitted locally, nothing added at the counter.
Choose a workshop or mobile fitter at checkout and your tyres ship straight to them. Every price includes GST.
By an accredited fitter in the network, at a price shown before you pay.
New valves and a computer balance with every tyre fitted.
Your old tyres are recycled through the fitter — no disposal fee.
Across Brisbane, Melbourne and surrounds from our own warehouses, tracked from dispatch.
07 FAQ
The questions we get most weeks.
Straight answers. If yours isn’t here, the support team is a message away.
Do I have to replace all four tyres at once?+
Not usually. Replace in pairs on the same axle so grip matches side to side. On all-wheel-drive cars check the manual — many require all four to stay within a few millimetres of each other to protect the drivetrain.
Can I fit a wider tyre than the placard size?+
Small changes are often legal if the overall diameter stays within the allowed tolerance and the tyre clears the bodywork, but the rules differ by state. Stick to the placard sizes unless a fitter confirms the alternative.
Are cheaper tyres actually worse?+
The gap is mostly in wet braking and tread life. A mid-range tyre from a known brand is usually the sweet spot for a daily driver; the premium tier earns its money on performance cars and long highway commutes.
What does the pressure on the sidewall mean?+
That figure is the maximum the tyre can safely hold, not the pressure your car needs. Always use the placard pressure for your car and load.
How long does fitting take?+
About an hour for four tyres at a workshop, a little longer for a mobile fitter at your home or work. You choose the slot when you pick the fitter at checkout.
Do new tyres need to be run in?+
Take it easy for the first 100 km or so. A release agent from the mould sits on the surface of new rubber and needs a little wear before full grip arrives, especially in the wet.
Find tyres that fit your car.
Type your size from the sidewall, or pick your make and model and we’ll show what fits — with GST-inclusive prices and fitting shown up front.