Belgium is compact, but a day out to Ostend, a weekend in the Ardennes on the E411, or a run up to Antwerp still deserves a two-minute tyre check before you leave. It's the cheapest breakdown insurance there is.
Pressures
Check all four tyres cold, using the figure on the sticker in the door shut or the fuel-filler flap — not the maximum printed on the tyre. If the car is loaded for a beach day or a trip away, use the higher 'full load' setting.
Tread and condition
The legal minimum tread in Belgium is 1.6 mm across the central band, but grip in the wet falls off well before that. Run your eye around each tyre for nails, cuts, cracking and bulges — a bulge in the sidewall means the tyre needs replacing, not repairing.
Age
Tyres harden with age even with plenty of tread. Find the four-digit DOT code (week and year) on the sidewall; many makers suggest replacing tyres over six years old, whatever the mileage.
Spare, kit and the legal bits
- Know whether you have a spare, a space-saver, or just a sealant kit — and that the kit won't fix a blowout.
- In Belgium you must carry a warning triangle and a reflective jacket, and have a fire extinguisher and first-aid kit in Belgian-registered cars.
- Check the spare's pressure too — a flat spare is no spare.
If you'd rather not change it at the roadside
If you do get a flat away from home, a mobile tyre service can come to you and repair or replace on the spot. We fit tyres in pairs, quote clearly before any work, and we don't tow.