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10 Tips for Choosing the Right Tires

Don't wait until it's too late to start shopping

It's a toss-up as to which is more unwelcome, purchasing tires or getting a full physical exam. There may be more pain buying tires because most people wait until it's urgent—or even critical—to start shopping. Here are some tips on how and when to select tires.

Don't Mess With Success

If you like how your car rides and handles, match exactly the tires already on your car. The tire company spent about $750,000 to develop a combination that meets your expectations. Why change?

Something Else

If you're satisfied with your current car/tire combination, but the exact replacements are too expensive or not available, find what other tires were original equipment on your car. Car manufacturers normally have at least two tire suppliers for each model and the tires are usually very similar. Maybe the other brand is on sale.

Which Season?

For performance-oriented drivers unhappy with their car's dry or wet grip, it's easy to make a huge improvement: Switch from the all-season rubber now on your car to high- (or even ultra-high-) performance summer tires. All-season tires give up wet and dry traction in exchange for enhanced mobility in snow. An otherwise equal all-season tire has less grip—dry or wet—than its summer-tire counterpart. Some use the term "three-season" rather than "summer." It's more accurate.

Accidental Performance Buyer

Are you a comfort-oriented driver who wound up with a car riding on large-diameter wheels and spine-pounding low-profile rubber? Or maybe the pothole-plagued roads in your area have caused bent wheels and damaged tires. If so, consider purchasing smaller-diameter wheels and installing higher-profile tires. With help from a tire dealer or a "tire size conversion calculator" found on the Internet, you can select a tire that maintains the same overall diameter but has a taller sidewall: A 225/55R17 and a 225/50R18 have virtually the same diameter, but the former's sidewall is almost a half-inch taller. If a lower trim level of your car came with smaller-diameter wheels, it should be simple to go from, say, 18-inchers to 17s.

Switch Category

If you'd like to make a small improvement, select tires from a different category. Switching from, for instance, a "touring" tire to a "performance" tire will firm up the ride, enhance steering feel and, likely, improve grip. Visit the websites of the tire manufacturers and mail-order tire dealers to find the category of your current tires, as well as possible replacements.

The Cure

If your car suffers from a shake, wobble, or pull and your mechanic can't find the cause, it may be your tires. The best technicians can misdiagnose these issues as problems with alignment, shocks, or wheel balance. Even if the outside of the tire is shaped perfectly, misaligned inner components can cause a variety of baffling problems. A new set of top-quality tires may be the cure.

Time For A Change

When your tires wear down to 4/32nd-inch of tread, it's time to start shopping. While the law says 2/32nd-inch is the minimum, tires lose ability to adequately channel deep water well before that. Measure tread depth by inserting a quarter—Washington's head down—into the most shallow groove. If the tread is about even with the top of George's wig, there's roughly 4/32nd-inch remaining. Also, if your tires are more than six years old they need replacing regardless of tread depth. Rubber and other material in tires deteriorate with time.

Match Game

If you're replacing less than four tires, match the ones on your car exactly, right down to the part number, and put the new tires on the rear. Grip, ride, and other attributes can vary radically between seemingly identical tires. Often, the difference is that one was designed for a car company that highly values wet grip, while the other was developed for a manufacturer that puts more emphasis on fuel mileage. When one of these performances is enhanced, it unavoidably diminishes the other. Placing the new tires on the rear will help prevent a spinout if you hit deep water while turning or braking. A puddle hardly noticed by a new tire will lift a half-worn tire completely off the pavement. If those half-worn tires are on the rear, the car may spin out.

Beasts of Burden

Especially for SUVs and pickups, make certain your new tires will withstand the weight of your vehicle and everything you carry. First, find the load index of the original equipment tires. Look at the tire sidewall or owner's manual for an alphanumeric code immediately to the right of the tire size: With a P265/70R16 104S, the 104 is load index. A larger number (i.e., 110) means the tire can carry more weight when properly inflated.

Watch Out

When comparing advertised tires prices, look out for hidden costs such as mounting, balancing, new valve stems (which you need!), and disposal fees. Also be wary if the tire dealer attempts to steer you away from the name-brand tire you've selected: Often, there's a higher profit margin on less well-known brands.

Tires may not be the most entertaining things you buy for your vehicle, but they are the most critical.