How do you know what the best tires are for your car? Most people just go to the dealer or to a tire company and tell them the kind of tires the car came with and install new tires from the same manufacturer. Sometimes the dealer will look it up in a database he has access to, while other times you will have to check the existing tires to see what they are. Size and manufacturer are the key bits of information.
Best Tires Fit Your Car
They have to be of the same size and width to fit your car and there are usually many different ones that can be installed. Some are made for summer, some are made for winter, but most people put all season tires on their cars unless you happen to be in a state or province were they make it mandatory to have snow tires installed in the winter time.
Tires also come with various load ratings and speed ratings. How do you know what speed and load rating to install on your car? The reality is you do not. Most people just need to rely on the dealer’s recommendation to install the best tires for their car. Or at least those that are rated for each make and model along with the type of driving that you do. Your car’s manual will have a section that will advise regarding the type to install.
Tire Sizes & Ratings
Our tires are P215 60R16 M&S! Whatever does that mean and how do you make a selection that will fit your car? The M&S is the easy part. This means Mud and Snow. Mud & Snow is supposed to be ok for both conditions in addition to summer time driving. They are generally ok, however if you want to have good traction, consumers should really consider winter snow tires with heavy tread meant for snowy conditions. M&S wheels are not great in heavy snow conditions and most people will install snow tires for the winter time if they drive every day in snow conditions for safety.
The remaining numbers are a bit more complex:
- 215 means the width of the tire face is 215mm (8.46 inches)
- 60 means that the size of the sidewall is 60% of the width of the tire face
- R16 means that the tire is designed to fit 16 inch rims
You can change the width of the tire. However you cannot change the rim size. If you do, the actual speed will be faster than what is shown on your speedometer. This depends on whether you add larger or smaller rim sizes. Your car has been designed for a specific size. Your car will have the best handling characteristics and the best gas mileage with wheels that meet these specs. Hence anything different will affect the car. Most people just have to tell the company they are dealing with the make and model of the car. They will add the right kind of tires.
Cheap Tires or Best Tires
There are tires that will last longer and will be able to handle higher speeds at hot temperatures. As a result longer lasting rubber usually cost more and make sense if you are keeping the car for a long time. If you planning to sell your car, you may not want to spend much money on new wheels. Of course this is another factor to take into account when you are buying wheels. Find the best for your car at the best tire price.
For more posts about buying tires and tire performance, click here.
December 5th, 2012 on 7:20 am
this post about the best tires is really helpful. thanks for providing this information. there is a lot more to tires than I was aware of. keep up the good work.