We've been helping people find the right tires, wheels and performance parts since 1979. If you're looking for the best and most accurate information on all things tires, you've come to the right place.
A tire's most important job is to carry the load required of it, and the load range/ply rating branded on the tire's sidewall indicates how much load the tire is designed to carry (at a specific pressure). Whenever changing tire sizes or from one tire type to another, it's important to ensure...
A load index is an assigned numerical value that signifies a tire's maximum load carrying capacity. They're useful to help compare load carrying capacity of different-sized tires, and as you might expect, the higher the tire's load index number, the greater its load carrying capacity. Using the...
Since heat and exposure to the elements are the important factors that influence a tire's aging process, drivers can prolong their tire's life by minimizing their impact. Here are some tips for storing tires that will not be used continuously. Don't store a vehicle with weight on its tires...
Installing tires that are larger or smaller than what came O.E. (original equipment) is often an attractive way to enhance performance or style. However, most vehicles' speedometers measure speed based on tire revolutions - calculated from the original tires' size. So, changing the tires'...
In addition to the tire's brand and line names (tire model), there is a lot of information provided by the manufacturer on the sidewalls of the tires they produce. Some of the branded information provides the tire's basic dimensions and identifies the week it was produced. Other branding lists...
Sidewall Indentations / Undulations Fig. A: Vertical indentation on sidewall from rim to tread. A common byproduct of radial tire construction, sidewall indentations/undulations are more noticeable in tires with taller sidewalls or operate at higher inflation pressures. Fortunately...
Selecting the right 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...
Tires are subjected to one of the harshest environments experienced by any consumer product. In addition to being stretched millions of times as they roll through their life, tires are exposed to acid rain, brake dust, harsh chemicals and direct sunlight, as well as summer's heat and winter's...
In the United States, vehicle manufacturers are required to maintain an average fuel economy for the fleet of new vehicles they sell each year. In 2009, the government Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) mandate was 27.5 miles per gallon (mpg) for cars and 23.1 mpg for light trucks (including...
Sports cars are often described as vehicles that "stick to the road." Sports car tires make a major contribution to this phenomenon. These tires are very complex products meeting numerous, largely contradictory demands. Finding the proper structure that balances these demands for any given...
Large diameter wheels and wide, low profile tires go together and show up everywhere from America's new car showrooms to its roads, tracks and trails. So whether the vehicle came from the assembly line or was upgraded after it was delivered, Plus Sizing (also called "Inch-Up" sizing in other...
What's the difference between the tire sizes of P225/60R16 and 225/60R16? The obvious answer is the "P" in front of the first size, but just what does the "P" stand for and what does it tell us about the tires? P-metric sized tires are the ones with the "P" at the beginning of the tire size,...
Since tires play such an important role in establishing the personality of a vehicle, numerous vehicle manufacturers require their tire suppliers identify some or all of their Original Equipment (OE) tires with symbols or codes branded on the sidewalls that confirm the tire's original use. Some...
Vehicle manufacturers understand that there is little reason to spend millions of dollars developing the ride and handling qualities of a new vehicle's suspension if they are going to omit integrating the influence of its Original Equipment tires. This has resulted in either completely new tire...
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