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...
The maximum load and maximum inflation pressure are required to be branded on the sidewall of tires sold in North America. Tire pressures are normally measured in "pounds per square inch" (psi), Kilopascals (kPa), or bars of pressure (bars). At sea level, Earth's atmosphere is pressing...
Note: If you bought a Tire and Wheel Package your tires and wheels arrive mounted and balanced and are ready to install on your vehicle. If you are installing the package yourself, please read "Tire & Wheel Package Installation." Also, read "Proper Lug Nuts or Lug Bolts" for additional...
Michelin's C3M process for manufacturing tires gives them an innovative edge...but what is the C3M process, and how does it work? That's still a secret. However, the C3M process has become an integral part of Michelin's manufacturing capabilities, with even greater levels of quality and...
The ability of a four-wheel drive and all-wheel drive vehicles to divide the engine's horsepower between its four tires is especially useful on loose or slippery surfaces such as sand and dirt, as well as on wet, icy or snow-covered roads. However it's important to remember that in order to...
Tire and wheel manufacturers continually develop new manufacturing methods to enhance the uniformity of their products because radial runout, lateral runout, force variation and imbalance can affect a vehicle's ride quality. Match mounting tires on wheels is a process where a tire's installed...
Hydroplaning happens when one or more tires is lifted from the road by a wedge of water that gets trapped in front of and under a tire as the vehicle drives through water. Hydroplaning most frequently occurs during heavy rainstorms when water creates puddles on the highway or expressway. In...
The term "blowout" is generally used by drivers to describe a bursting tire accompanied by a rapid loss of air pressure. While one might assume that all blowouts are caused by too much internal pressure bursting a weak spot in the tire, the main reason for them is just the opposite. Most...
Tires are manufactured by assembling components made of rubber, fabric cord and steel wire that are cured together in a mold. Under intense heat and pressure during the curing process, the rubber reaches a near liquid state before vulcanization takes place finalizing the tire's exact size,...
The contact patch of a tire that’s inflated with pressurized air is also called its tread footprint. The contact patch is the result of the vehicle’s weight pressing its round tires against the road, requiring their treads to conform to relatively flat surfaces. A tire’s...
Though tires may look simple on the outside, they are actually complex laminate structures made up of over 100 individual parts. The individual parts of a tire include steel, textiles and multiple rubber compounds, and they must all work together to achieve many, often conflicting, performance...
Regardless of its size, every tire's load capacity, durability, traction and handling is dependent on using the right inflation pressure for the application. Since both too little and too much inflation pressure sacrifices some of the tires' performance, maintaining the "right" inflation...
Most modern passenger car and light truck tires feature size designations that indicate the tire's dimensions in a combination of metric, mathematical and English systems. While this unusual combination of millimeters, percentages and inches is a byproduct of the evolution of global tire...
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