Tyretraders.com: automotive products

Buying new tyres? What you need to know.

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Buying
new tyres ranks pretty far down on
the list of things most people want to do with their time and money,
right next to replacing a failed water heater. While you might
overspend on your next water heater, at least there will be a flow of
warm water to wash the pain away.  
 
Not
so with tyres. A poor choice of replacement rubber will haunt you
every driving day for the next three to six years. The wrong tyres
will pound your neck, assault you with constant whining, cause your
beloved sporty car to handle worse than a pickup, or scare you
witless when it rains. Plus, buying new rubber is intimidating for
the unprepared: tyres appear identical. Each manufacturer claims all
its tyres are superlative in every area. All cost more than you'd
budgeted, which was "nothing." And newer vehicles require
replacement components for their tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS).  
 
But
this process doesn't have to be so painful. These are our simple tips
to make the tyre-buying experience a little better.  
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(Not
sure whether it's time to replace the tyres? There's no consensus
among car- and tyremakers on acceptable tyre life, but keep a close
eye on tyres that have been on a vehicle, used as a spare, or stored
in a hot or sunny location for more than six years. For a tyre's
"born on" date, check the sidewall for an alphanumeric
series that begins with "DOT." The last four digits are the
week and year the tyre was made: "1209" means the tyre was
built in the 12th week of 2009.)  
 
When
you try to replace your tyres with the same model that came on the
car, you might run into sticker shock—original equipment tyres can
be expensive. However, car makers offer every vehicle with at least
two brands of tyres. Some Web surfing will reveal the alternate
brand. Keep in mind, though, that tyres developed for a different
trim level of your vehicle likely will be very different from those
on your model. The tyres for the sporty edition will ride harsher and
have little traction in snow. If you want to save money by putting
tyres from the base model on your sporty version, they may make it
handle like, well, the base model.  
 
You'll
also need to take tyre life into account. If you drive a sporty car,
20,000 miles is about all you can expect. Short tyre longevity is one
of the prices you pay for driving a vehicle with power and handling
once reserved for full-on race cars. Today, even conservative
cars, crossovers, and sport utility vehicles boast horsepower once unmatched by
ultrahigh-performance cars. In addition, safety, comfort, and
entertainment features have added hundreds of pounds to the average
vehicle. Unleashing those extra horses—and stopping and turning all
that weight—takes its toll on tyres.  
 
If
your original equipment tyres are not available, both online tyre
stores and the tyre manufacturer will suggest reasonable facsimiles.
They will not duplicate your experience exactly, but simply having
new tyres, much like a fresh hair style, will likely overcome the
differences. </div>
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There's
hope for those who are unhappy with the way their car rides or
handles. The trend of large-diameter wheels and low-profile tyres has
many accidental performance buyers complaining about ride comfort. A
switch from ultrahigh-performance tyres to those labeled "grand
touring" or "touring" might soften the ride a bit.
Check the consumer reviews at online tyre sellers. Know that the
change unavoidably will make handling less precise and reduce
grip.  
 
It's
easier if you want more performance from your car: Switch from the
original all-season tyres to
summer ones (or, as they should be called, three-season tyres).
They'll provide a lot more grip, wet or dry, at the expense of a
harsher ride and no traction in the snow.  
 
The
most important rule: Do your research before you show up. Your trip
to the tyre store will be far less intimidating if you first assess
your situation and budget, and then spend an evening surfing the
sites of tyre manufacturers, online tyre sellers, and especially your
local tyre store.  
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Buying new tyres? What you need to know.

Buying new tyres ranks pretty far down on the list of things most people want to do with their time and money, right next to repla...

Do you need all season tyres?

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Whoever
coined the term "all-season tyre" in
the late 1970s probably wasn't trying to mislead tyre buyers.
Instead, they were trying to play catch-up with Goodyear's hugely
successful Tiempo, a tyre that was wonderful "for all seasons,
for all year," <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUO0CX_qZU4" target="_blank">according
to its TV jingle</a>.  
 
Still,
near-universal confusion sprung from the name all-season. Most people
have the mistaken belief that all-season tyres are better in
spring showers and fall rains than regular tyres. (Regular tyres have
become known as summer or, more accurately, three-season tyres.) I've
found many tyre-company employees, automaker engineers, and car
writers who don't know the correct answer, either.  
 
Here's
the truth: "All-season" doesn't mean the tyre has great
performance in all seasons. It means that the tyre is a
compromise—the designer traded wet grip to gain some mobility in
snow, give drivers tyres that could provide adequate year-round
performance, and save them the trouble of changing their tyres before
and after the winter.  
 
But
"some mobility in snow" is not the same thing as "good
grip in snow." The snow traction of all-season tyres varies from
great to almost none. And an all-season tyre has less damp-road grip
than an otherwise equal summer tyre from the same manufacturer. So
winter is the only season when an all-season tyre offers more
traction than a summer tyre. If you live where it never snows, the
three-season regular tyre always holds the traction advantage. </div>
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Rain
and Snow</h3>
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Another
bit that adds to the confusion: A tyre's ability to disperse deep
water is independent of its all- or three-season designation. Stay
with me: On damp or lightly wet roads, it's your tread rubber, often
called the compound, that's the main factor in determining traction.
Stickier and softer compound is better for both dry and damp
pavement.  
 
But
in deep water and at high speeds, a tyre's ability to stay in contact
with the pavement (tyre engineers call it hydroplaning resistance)
depends more on the tread pattern: the lateral and longitudinal
grooves. Tread patterns that are excellent at dispersing water can be
found on both all-season and summer tyres. Not-so-good tread patterns
are found on both too. Lastly, wear matters a lot. If underinflated
or half-worn, a tyre with a wonderful compound and a great tread
pattern may not match a mediocre tyre that's brand-new and inflated
to the vehicle manufacturer's specifications.  
 
Summer
(or regular or three-season) tyres have inadequate snow traction for
the same reason they provide great damp-road traction: their soft,
grippy tread compound. That compound starts to harden at subfreezing
temperatures. An all-season tyre trades the summer tyre's damp-road
grip for the ability to remain flexible at well-below-zero
temperatures. </div>
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What
to Buy</h3>
 
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If
you're seeking replacement tyres that will increase traction on wet
and damp roads, switch from your original-equipment all-season tyres
to summer tyres. The opposite is true, too. If your performance car,
all-wheel drive or not, is terrible in the snow, the fault can almost
certainly traced to its summer tyres.  
 
When
looking for summer tyres to replace not-so-grippy all-season tyres,
see if the maker of your original tyres offers a summer tyre with the
same model name, but without the A/S (all-season) suffix. That's your
best bet. If your car came with summer tyres and you fear getting
caught in a snow shower, you're in luck if the maker of your original
equipment tyres produces an all-season version of that model. 
 
If
those choices aren't available, check for new options at online tyre
stores. There is no tyre industry standard or government
specification for all-season, summer, or three-season tyres. tyre
companies make their own assessments, and those assessments are far
from uniform among manufacturers. So read the reviews online. Ignore
the outliers and look for a general agreement.  
 
While
it may or may not be true that clothes make the person, the right
tyres can make a mediocre car excel, and the wrong tyres can turn a
beauty into a beast.  
</div>

Do you need all season tyres?

Whoever coined the term "all-season tyre" in the late 1970s probably wasn't trying to mislead tyre buyers. Instead, ...

6 Common Tyre Myths Debunked

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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Tyres
are arguably the most important component
on your vehicle. They are, however, among the least understood
features. Allow me to list and pop a few common misconceptions about
tyres.  <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">1.
The tyre-pressure monitoring system (TPMS) in my new car makes sure
my tyres are adequately inflated.  The
truth: TPMS isn't required to issue a warning until pressure is 25
percent below the vehicle manufacturer's recommendation. That's "well
below the pressure required for safe driving," according to AAA
and "barely adequate to carry the vehicle's maximum load,"
says the Rubber Manufacturers' Association. TPMS is intended as a
last-minute warning before imminent tyre failure, not as a monitor to
make sure your tyres are properly inflated.  Buy
a quality tyre gauge and set your tyre pressure to at least the
vehicle manufacturer's recommendation, which is found on the driver's
door jamb. I'd rather you set your tyres 3 or even 5 psi high rather
than 1 low. tyre-pressure gauges can be inaccurate, and tyres leak as
much as 1 psi per month. Higher pressure improves hydroplaning
resistance and, if you're like many folks, you may not bother to
check your tyres again for six months.  <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">2.
When replacing
only two tyres,
the new ones go on the front. </div>
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 The
truth: Rear tyres provide stability, and without stability, steering
or braking on a wet or even damp surface might cause a spin. If you
have new tyres up front, they will easily disperse water while the
half-worn rears will go surfing: The water will literally lift the
worn rear tyres off the road. If you're in a slight corner or on a
crowned road, the car will spin out so fast you won't be able to say,
"Oh, fudge!"  There
is no "even if" to this one. Whether you own a front-,
rear- or all-wheel-drive car, truck, or SUV, the tyres with the most
tread go on the rear. Don't believe it? <a href="http://youtu.be/--Hb5kQCaTg" target="_blank">Watch
this</a>.  <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">3.
A tyre is in danger of bursting if pressure exceeds the "max
press" number on the sidewall.  The
truth: The "max press" number has nothing to do with a
tyre's burst pressure. The "max press" and "max load"
numbers indicate the pressure at which the tyre will carry the
maximum amount of weight. A new, quality tyre will not pop at an even
multiple of the "max press." I'm sworn to secrecy about the
exact burst pressure, but I wouldn't hesitate to double the "max
press" of any new passenger-vehicle tyre on a new wheel. But
hitting a big pothole at super-high pressures may cause a
failure.  <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">4.
The "max press" is where the tyre offers its maximum
cornering grip.  The
truth: If you didn't read the previous point, do so now. Many law
enforcement officers cling rigidly to the misconception that the "max
press" is secret code for maximum at-the-limit traction. It's a
coincidence that many low-bidder tyres offer increased grip at 40 or
more psi. But that's all it is: a coincidence. If I were going to
race a stock ex-cop Ford Crown Victoria on street tyres on a
road-racing circuit, 45 psi front, 35 psi rear wouldn't be a bad
place to start. (The tail would be, in Nascar lingo, too loose for
safe street driving.)  <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">5.
Low-profile tyres fitted on large-diameter wheels improve
handling.  The
truth: The short sidewalls of low-profile tyres enhance
the tyres' response when the driver first turns the steering wheel.
That gives the driver the (often false) feeling the tyre has tons of
grip. But after that initial movement, it's the tread compound—the
stickiness of the rubber—that determines how well the tyre grips
the road. Also, the combination of a large-diameter wheel and
low-profile tyre is usually heavier than the original equipment. This
means the suspension may not be able to keep the tyre in touch with
the pavement.  <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">6.
All tyres with the same designation are exactly the same size.  The
truth: Think all 225/35R19s (or whatever tyre size) are exactly 225
millimeters wide and their sidewalls are exactly 35 percent as tall
as the tyre is wide? Not exactly. And unlike what's commonly believe,
these designations are not about
production tolerances.  All
the tyres of a specific part number or stock keeping unit (SKU) can
be can be slightly wider or narrower than the nominal width and their
profile can be slightly taller or shorter than the stated percentage.
Why? A wider, taller tyre puts more rubber on the ground, which is
good for a performance tyre. A shorter, narrower tyre uses less
material, thus reducing costs in a business where profit margins
almost never break into double digits. So tyremakers might scrimp a
bit here and there. It's a bit like how a 2 x 4 is not, in fact, 2 by
4.</div>

6 Common Tyre Myths Debunked

Tyres are arguably the most important component on your vehicle. They are, however, among the least understood features. Allow me ...