Coronavirus and tyre bay

There’s been loads of gossip around the legitimacy of tyre changes during the epidemic. Obviously, it all depends on the country that you look at, since there are no paneuropean solutions and recommendations here. However, you need to remember that if you introduce some safety procedures at your tyre bay, you are perfectly good to go with the work. 

Temperatures are getting increasingly higher. It’s not rare to see values around 15 or 20 degrees Celsius. More and more people want to change tyres in their cars. This should not come as a surprise – after all, using winter tyres at temperatures like that could be dangerous. As a specialist, you surely know why. But – just as a reminder for your clients – we prepared a short list of reasons why seasonal tyre changes can be beneficial. 

Winter tyres vs summer tyres – differences

First thing that distinguishes them is the amount of natural rubber. The winter tyres have larger contents of the natural rubber, which means that they are softer. This means, when the temperature drops below 7 degrees Celsius, winter tyres can still provide secure grip and handling. That’s why winter tyres provide better driving experience on snowy roads.

Also, the structure of the winter tyre’s tread is much different from summer ones. They have grooves that disperse water and snow. 

Thanks to these grooves, winter tyres are able to disperse mud or snow. the winter tyres create something like a water film, providing much better handling. 

Can you drive winter tyres in the summer? 

Summer starts a few weeks from now but temperatures are getting higher everyday. Many a time these are values similar to those in July or August. So, the question really makes sense. 

Honestly? Driving a car with winter tyres on during summer is not that dangerous as driving during winter – there is no risk that the car slips. 

Trouble is, driving in that way is less comfortable than in case of summer tyres. The differences in the structure mean that summer tyre would handle it much better. 

They wear out much quicker

Don’t forget that during the summer, the winter tyre wears out quickly. As a result, it may lose the shape quickly. It means much worse grip while speeding. Also, when it rains, winter tyres are quite a bad choice. 

Braking distance is affected!

And there is one more thing you need to think about. The warmer it is, the longer is the braking distance for the car with winter tyres on. It can be several meters! THat’s enough to cause an accident!

Enough about tyres. How about changing them? 

Here’s a few tips you have to consider while providing tyre changing at your company.

First up, try to book cars for certain hours. You know (more or less) how much time it might take to change tyres in a particular car. Do it in the following way: 

• 09:30 – Skoda Octavia
• 10:00 – Toyota Camry
• 10:30 – Citroen C8

And so on.

It’s about your safety. The less people are inside your garage the better for you. Don’t forget that the safe distance between people is 1.5 meters. The same pertains to your working spaces – for instance, the spot with tyre changer/wheel balancer. 

Number of people inside

There are some country-specific regulations regarding the number of people inside the company’s headquarters. For instance, in Poland it is 3 people per every payment point. 

Tyre fitting outside

Door-to-door or mobile tyre fitting are currently the safest ways to run a tyre business. We’d discuss both of them below.

Door-to-door – what it’s about?

You go to the client’s, pick their car up, fit new tyres and drive it back to the spot. Quite a few car companies have that service up their sleeve. 

Obviously, there are some clients not too willing to pay for that. But – you would find those eager to pay the few EURO more. And that’s still better than keeping your tyre bay shut, right? 

How much should you take for that service? That’s difficult to say. You can always check with other tyre bays in your surroundings. 

Mobile tyre fitting

This is another good idea at these difficult days. All you need for that is a car-derived van that fits: 

• wheel balancer
• tyre changer
• compressor
• air jack 

We got a few clients who work in that manner. And we know that their cars can fit even larger units, like the balancer WT-770, compressor and tyre changer M-221-3D. And that’s all inside a car sized like FIat Ducato! 

Mobile tyre fitting – safety 

It’s really easy. Book a date with the client. They leave you the car at an agreed-upon spot. You change tyres, leave the car. Get paid by the client – with a card/bank transfer. 

Safety precautions 

Don’t forget to have

• disposable gloves
• alcohol-based disinfectants 

All of these things should be available at an easily-accessible and visible spot. 

Be sure to clean the following surfaces: 

• keyboards
• door handles
• buttons 

Do it at least two times a day!