Tires are an important feature of your vehicle. If you have car tires that are worn-out or not suited to drive, you and your vehicle will be at potential risk. Most drivers don’t have much knowledge about car tires – how to purchase. For example, some of them buy tires according to price and availability and some others buy tires based on appearance or reputation of the company.
- A tire is an elastic material body that stores compressed air.
- The car tire supports the vehicle’s load and transmits the vehicle forward, backward and side-to-side and softens the load from road bumper.
- Today, tires are made of different components. Tires are built from the inside out rather than the outside in. The inner liner of the tire is very important to hold the compressed air.
To impart clarity on buying car tires, we are furnishing tips to be followed to buy car’s tire.
Tips to be followed while buying car tire
- Check your owners manual
- The manufacturer recommends the size and type of tires to be used for your vehicle. This information is found on the information placard.
- The information placard on your vehicle is permanently attached to your door edge, door post, glove compartment door or inside your trunk lid. It may have been painted over on older cars.
- If you don’t have an owners manual manufacturers, the dealer will sell you a replacement at a reasonable cost ask your dealer.
- Decode the tire code (on the sidewall)
- The most confusing part of tire buying is finding out the number code on the sidewall of the tire.
- While manufacturing the manufactures follows some standardized code in order to describe tires, and to identify them.
- For example of tire sidewall markings — P225/75R 20 95H M+S
- The first or first two letters indicate the tire’s purpose: “P” for passenger cars and “LT” for light trucks are the most likely letters you will find on side wall.
- Next is a three-digit number. This is tire’s width in millimeters from sidewall edge to sidewall edge.
- Then, a two-digit number gives the tire’s ratio of height to width. The smaller the number, the shorter the sidewall.
- Next letter, probably “R” represents the radial construction. For every tire, it’ll be a radial construction. It will differ for a classic car.
- The next two-digit number is the diameter (in millimeters) of the wheel that the tire is intended to fit.
- Next is an optional two – or three-digit number. This is indicates the tire’s load index number. The load index number represents the tire’s load-carrying capacity.
- Don’t install a tire with a lower load index number than your manufacturer recommends.
- Next letter is the tire’s speed rating. Follow manufacturer’s recommended speed rating.
- You should need to upgrade to a higher speed rating if you modify your vehicle for track use.
- Next letters, usually “M+S” or “M/S.” This stands for mud and snow, and applies to most radial tires.
- There are more numbers and letters which you don’t really need to worry about. They refer to the tire’s place and date of manufacture, the maximum inflation pressure, maximum load rating, composition, materials, tread wear, traction and temperature grades.
- Make sure to ask the seller as many questions as possible and get answers.
- Know the features on the tires and the code that indicates the feature on the sidewall.
- Check your spare tire
- Inspect a spare tire and replaced if they are damaged.
- Make sure that your using a full-size spare tire and you are replacing your tires with the same model and size.
- Check the wheels of your cars the wheels while buying car tire
- One of the most important options on vehicles now-a-days is a new set of rims.
- If your current wheels are worn or damaged buy a new set of wheels when your replacing tires.