Discount Tires For
Your Vehicle
 Selecting the
right discount tires for your vehicle is an important decision. Your
safety, as well as driving enjoyment over the next years and thousands
of miles will be determined by this decision. The information provided
here and the advice/recommendations from the experts at The Tire Rack
will ensure you select discount tires that match your vehicle...and the
way you drive it!
"How many tires do I need?"
Since tires affect the personality and performance of your vehicle, all
four tires should be as identical as possible or handling problems may
arise. If your tires don't match, it is possible that one end of your
vehicle won't respond as quickly or completely as the other, making it
more difficult to control.
Consider the following:
JUST ONE TIRE?
If your tires have a lot of remaining tread depth, but you need to
replace just one that has been damaged by an accident, road hazard or a
vandal, you should replace it with a tire that exactly matches the
others. Select a replacement tire of the same brand, line, size and
speed rating. While there may be a less expensive tire available, it
wouldn't be a bargain this time because it would be different than the
other three tires on your vehicle.
A PAIR OF TIRES?
If two of your tires have a lot of remaining tread depth, but you need
to replace the other two because they were damaged or have worn out,
you should replace them with a pair of tires that come as close as
possible to matching your existing tires. While identical new tires are
desirable, others of the same size and type can also provide good
results. Only consider selecting new tires that are from the same tire
category as your existing tires. New tires should be installed on the
rear axle.
While your vehicle is being serviced ask your mechanic why one pair of
tires have worn faster than the others. Was it caused by a lack of tire
rotation, out-of-spec wheel alignment or loose mechanical parts? Once
the problem has been found, it can be corrected before it damages your
new tires. Keep in mind that your ultimate goal is that all of your
tires always wear out at the same time so they can be replaced as a set.
A SET OF TIRES?
If all of your tires are wearing out together, you have the greatest
flexibility in tire selection. If you were happy with the original
tires, simply replace them. If you want longer treadwear, a smoother
ride or more handling, there are probably tires that will help you
accomplish that. Review the tire category types until you find a
category description that describes a tire that fits your needs.
Once you know how many tires you will be replacing, determine size and
type by answering the questions below:
What is the right size for my
vehicle?
Buying the correct tire size can get complicated, especially if you
decide to upgrade from your vehicle's Original Equipment size. The
expert sales team at The Tire Rack is always ready to offer performance
and fitment advice. Call 888-541-1777.
A tire's first requirement is that it must be able to carry the weight
of your vehicle. No matter how good a tire you select, if its
capabilities are "overworked" just carrying the load, it will have
little reserve capacity to help your vehicle respond to quick
emergency. So when you are in the selection process, make certain that
your new tire's size is designed to carry the weight of your vehicle!
Don't undersize.
The other size consideration is overall tire diameter. Since many of
the functions of today's vehicles are highly computerized, maintaining
accurate speed data going into the computer assures accurate
instructions coming out. And an important part of the speed equation is
your tire's overall tire diameter.
For cars and vans, staying within a ±3% diameter change is
desirable. Pick-ups and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) are usually
engineered to handle up to a 15% oversize tire. Most tire dimensions
can be calculated. For more information review the Tire Tech article,
"Calculating Tire Dimensions." While at first a ±3% diameter
increase or reduction in tire diameter may sound very limiting, in most
cases it allows approximately a ±3/4" diameter change.
Additionally to help with the selection of substitute sizes, a system
called "Plus Sizing" was developed. We use Plus Sizing to take into
account the diameters of the available tires and the wheels, and then
helps select the appropriate tire width that ensures adequate load
capacity. Maintaining the tire's overall diameter helps maintain
accurate speed data going into the computer.
Do I need summer tires, winter
tires, all-season tires…?
Do you drive your car only in sunshine, or also through rain and snow?
Do you drive your light truck on the road, off the road, or are you the
one responsible for clearing the land to build the roads? To
successfully meet each of these driving conditions requires a different
type of tire.
Ask yourself these questions to determine which performance category
you should choose from:
WHAT IS THE WORST DRIVING CONDITION I WILL ENCOUNTER?
If you use more than one set of tires and wheels (for example, summer
tires in summer and snow tires in winter), you can select tires that
exactly meet your diverse needs. If you use one set of tires for every
season, you may get good performance under many conditions, but you
will compromise your vehicle's performance when the conditions are at
their worst.
So the important thing to do is to select your tires so that they match
the worst driving condition you expect to encounter. When you're stuck
in the snow or in the mud because your tires don't have the appropriate
capabilities, you'll curse their limited performance in your worst
driving condition...and you'll quickly forget how smooth and quiet they
were at other times!
WHAT ARE THE TYPICAL DRIVING CONDITIONS I WILL ENCOUNTER?
If you only drive around your neighborhood and a "long trip" is one
that's just down to the corner convenience mart, almost any tire will
do. But if you drive your vehicle on congested city streets and
expressways during rush hour you will be better served by more
responsive tires. If you drive extensively on the interstates you will
want quiet, smooth riding, long wearing tires. Or if you like to drive
quickly on twisting roads or through the mountains you will want good
handling tires. And if you drive on the track or in autocross events,
you will want the best competition tires available.
BALANCING THE REQUIREMENTS OF YOUR DRIVING CONDITIONS.
If your worst driving conditions and your typical conditions are
similar, one set of tires will be all you need. If you live at the edge
of the snowbelt and infrequently get snow you may want to select an
all-season tire. If your SUV is used as the family's station wagon and
driven on the road all of the time, overly aggressive light truck tires
aren't for you (unless you really like the "look").
If your worst driving condition occurs frequently (you drive through
snow all winter) and is dissimilar to your typical driving condition
(you commute to work on the expressway during the week and spend your
weekends at the beach), you may want to consider selecting two sets of
tires for your vehicle. Each set will be designed to master the
specific conditions without compromising your driving satisfaction at
the extremes. While purchasing two sets of tires may appear expensive,
the set you're not using won't wear while you are using the other set,
and combined they'll provide longer total wear than either set could
individually!
How do I compare price vs. value?
Why is it that the price of fuel for our vehicle seems relatively
inexpensive while the cost of its tires seems high? (Of course you
already know that The Tire Rack tries to keep your tire costs as low as
possible!) If we keep track of our total costs we will find that
typical total fuel costs for just 10 to 20 thousand miles of driving
actually exceed our tire costs. And believe us, we've found that the
quality and performance of our tires has a lot more to do with our
driving satisfaction than our fuel does.
We think that much of the misperception has to do with the fact that we
buy fuel one tankful at a time, and don't really look at its total cost
for thousands of miles. Our tires are paid for "up front" and then last
for tens of thousands of miles.
When you are selecting new tires and find one that is perfect, although
more expensive than another tire that appears to be a close second;
consider evaluating your situation by comparing "how much per mile"
each tire will cost. If you plan to drive your vehicle another 30,000
miles and are considering the "perfect" tires at $100 each, and the
other at $90 each; you may be surprised to find out that the cost of
the "perfect" set costs just 1.3¢ per mile...while the close set
costs 1.2¢ per mile. Will saving the $40 today make up for not
having selected the "perfect" tire that you will be driving on for the
next two years?
When should I replace my tires?
Find out if your tires pass the "Penny Test."
THE LAW
According to most states' laws, tires are legally worn out when they
have worn down to 2/32" of remaining tread depth. To help warn drivers
that their tires have reached that point, tires sold in North America
are required to have molded indicators called "wear bars" across their
tread pattern from their outside shoulder to inside shoulder. Wear bars
are designed to visually connect the elements of the tire's tread
pattern and warn drivers when their tires no longer meet minimum tread
depth requirements.
COMMON SENSE
However, as a tire wears it is important to realize that while its dry
traction and handling will improve…its ability to perform in rain and
snow will diminish. At 2/32" of remaining tread depth, resistance to
hydroplaning in the rain at highway speeds has been significantly
reduced and traction in heavy snow has been virtually eliminated.
If rain and wet roads are a concern, you should consider replacing your
tires when they reach approximately 4/32" of remaining tread depth.
Since water can't be compressed, you need enough tread depth to allow
it to escape through the tire's grooves. If the water can't escape fast
enough your vehicle's tires will be forced to hydroplane (actually
float) on top of the water, loosing traction.
If snow covered roads are a concern, you should consider replacing your
tires when they reach approximately 6/32" of remaining tread depth to
maintain good mobility. The reason that you need more tread depth in
snow is because your tires need to compress the snow in their grooves
and release it as they roll. If there isn't enough tread depth, the
"bites" of snow your tires can take on each revolution will be so small
that your traction will be reduced. Because tread depth is an important
element for snow traction, winter tires start with deeper tread depths
than standard all-season or summer tires. Some winter tires even have a
series of wear bars molded in their tread pattern indicating
approximately 6/32" remaining tread depth.
Recommended
Tire and Wheel Package Resources
 TireRack.com - Great
selection of the hottest tire and wheel packages available anywhere.
You can also find suspension and brake products to help make your
vehicle perform it's best.- Racerwheel.com
 - This is
vehicle customizing heaven. Almost anything you need to give your
vehicle that special look. Great tire and wheel packages with low
prices.
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