Summer Tyres in London

Summer tyres are what most cars in London leave the showroom on, and the compound is tuned to grip hardest above about 7°C, in the dry and in warm rain, and to wear slowly at motorway speed. Below that the compound stiffens and loses its bite, and you feel it first under braking in the rain, hence the 7°C rule, which matters across London and the towns around it.

Across the London area summer tyres do their best work, by the 7°C rule, from April to October or thereabouts in a typical year. The city's mild winter is where they struggle: once it is under 7°C the compound firms up and wet braking suffers on any road in London.

If the car is rarely out before the frost has lifted, or you run a winter set from autumn to spring, a summer set makes the most sense here in London. For a car that is used every day of the year, though, all-season tyres are the safer buy, and it costs nothing to compare the two in your size across the London area.

The 2 centres nearest the middle of London are 2.2 miles and 2.7 miles out, in SW8 and SW8; both take bookings for summer tyres, and every one of the 136 centres quotes them fully fitted, and the checkout lists them by distance from you.