Tire Sizes

Are you buying a monster truck for your birthday, or a little convertible for your special someone? Do you need an eighteen-wheeler for your company, or a pick-up for your family? No matter what kind of vehicle you are buying, you will need to get the best tires that will ensure your safety on the road and a smooth trip to your destination. There are many different factors that go into choosing the right tires, and many of them depend on the size of your automobile, as well as the weather and road conditions that your tires will encounter.

Your tire may be rated according to the three T’s of tire manufacturers. Tread wear measures the ability of your car to resist wear and tear. Temperature resistance is a rating of your tire’s ability to withstand the deforming and destructive effects of heat. Traction is the grade of your tire’s ability to stop and respond to your brakes while you are driving on wet pavement. There are also many other factors that you have to take into account, such as tire age and manufacturing date, as well as the price of the tire that you want to buy.

The tire size is also an important factor to consider when you shop for tires. In general, the taller your tires are, the more clearance you will have under your car; the wider your tires are, the larger the surface area of your tire against the road, the higher your traction is. If you want to easily repair your car, clean it, or pick up things that have rolled underneath it, then you might want to go for taller tires. On the other hand, if you are more interested in traveling rain-soaked roads or on harsh terrain, then you can go for wider tires.

The size of the tires you select will also be limited by the lift laws in your state. If you decide to install tires in your rig larger than thirty one or so inches, you will then have to lift your vehicle. With larger lift, you shift the center of gravity of your car, and you might make it easier for it to meet accidents or roll over.

If you want to know exactly what the diameter of your tire is, then you will have to do the measuring yourself. Take a measuring tape and rotate it one revolution on your tire. Take the measurement, and then divide it, the tire circumference, by the number pi, which is approximately 3.14. The figure you arrive at is the tire’s diameter. Make your measurements when your tire is well-inflated: if you under-inflate your tires, they will wear out more on their outside edges; if you over-inflate them, they can wear out more on the center of their tread or circumference.

Your tire size is also coded, and you can find this code on the tire’s side wall. This code is alphanumeric, with a slash, and it can appear as P185/75R 82H. What do these numbers and letters mean? The first letter signifies the ideal automobile for the tire: a P stands for a passenger car tire, the LT stands for a light truck, while the T is a temporary, or a spare tire. The first three numbers after it signify the tire’s width, in this case, 185 millimeters.

After the slash comes a ratio of height to width, which, in this case if 75: this means that the sidewall of the tire is also 75 percent of the width of the tire. The R is the tire type. R stands for radial, while a B would stand for bias-belted. A radial tire has a fourteen-inch wheel rim diameter.

The last part of the code comprises the load index and speed rating. The 82 indicates, against a load-carrying capacity chart, how much weight the tire can bear safely. The last letter, the H is the tire’s speed rating, which would indicate maximum safe speed that the tire can travel when driven in ideal conditions. A Q tire can go up to 99 miles per hour, an S for up to 112, a T for 118, a U for 124, an H for 130, a V, for up to 149, Z for over 149, W for 168, and Y for 186. There are still many more ratings that you will have to learn about as you go shopping for tires. Just remember the basics about tire size and ratings, and you can get the best tire to suit your budget and needs.

Goodyear Tires
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goodyear_tires.php

Yokohama Tires
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Toyo Tires
In a bid to expand its presence in North America, Toyo Tires expanded its o...
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Michelin Tires
In 1888, Michelin was incorporated. Three years later, their removable pneumatic tire became the company'...
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Bf Goodrich Tires
BF Goodrich was probably singlehandedly responsible for maki...
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Nitto Tires
Nitto's performance tires are as follows...
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Firestone Tires
Since then, Firestone became the tire for all kinds of truc...
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