Purchasing New Tires

Posted by Cindy on September 1, 2009

One may have many questions when it comes to replacing their tires.  There are many companies that offer discount tires and they would be able to answer any questions one may have.  Tires are rated by speed, and some my wonder about the effects on the handling of one’s vehicle should they replace their tires with those that have a lower rating.  The problem with replacing the speed rated general tire, is that unless they are the tires meant for that make of car originally, the capabilities of the speed of the car will not be able to be maintained.

When speaking of high performance vehicles such as race cars, this will affect the overall handling of the vehicle and could prove to be dangerous.  The size of tires is another concern.  When replacing current tires it is never wise to mount tires that are smaller than the originals.  This goes for the carrying capacity of the tires as well.  Tires should always be replaced by those of the same dimensions.  One can ask any tire salesperson for the answer, but it should also be located on the sticker that is in the driver side door panel.  Should one only be able to afford to replace one Cooper tire at a time, it is recommended that they be placed on the back wheels.

One reason is that the traction on the new tires will be greater.  Especially if one drives in rainy or snowy conditions, this traction is better to have on the back of the vehicle.  This will help to cut down on the instances of either hydroplaning when one hits a puddle, as well as to decrease the possibility of a fishtail.  Tires are an important component to the safety of ones vehicle.  The handling of one’s car will be greatly affected by the tires one has mounted, and careful considerations must always be made when replacing tires.