{"id":286,"date":"2012-07-12T10:00:28","date_gmt":"2012-07-12T10:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gonitrotire.com\/nitrogen-tire-inflation-blog\/?p=286"},"modified":"2014-05-23T13:13:52","modified_gmt":"2014-05-23T17:13:52","slug":"3-things-you-need-to-know-about-buying-new-tires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gonitrotire.com\/nitrogen-tire-inflation-blog\/3-things-you-need-to-know-about-buying-new-tires\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Things You Need to Know About Buying New Tires"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"buying<\/a>It\u2019s inevitable that your tires will wear out<\/a> after a few years of usage. Sooner or later, they\u00a0will have to be replaced. The good news is that you have many options to choose from when it\u00a0comes to buying new tires.\u00a0You’ll have the opportunity to pick a set that’s best suited for your car. Of course, having many\u00a0options can be confusing to the uninformed buyer. Better arm yourself with the following tips\u00a0so that you’ll know exactly what to look for:<\/p>\n

1) Size<\/h2>\n

Bigger vehicles need bigger tires. For example, compact cars have smaller tires than SUVs. This\u00a0consideration is obvious and straightforward, but surprisingly, many people don’t get it right.\u00a0They don\u2019t give size much thought because they think it\u2019s easy to determine. After all, just\u00a0one look will tell you that a truck’s tire can’t fit on a two-seater sports car. However, a problem\u00a0can arise when tires seem to fit, but actually don’t. A few millimeters off is not obvious to the\u00a0naked eye, but it sure makes a difference in the car’s long-term performance. Precision is the\u00a0key here.<\/p>\n

Before buying a new set tires, check the specs of your car if you’re unsure about the exact size.\u00a0You can usually find the information you need in the manual that came from the manufacturer.\u00a0You can also look for the decal that has a listing of the tire specs on the glove box lid or on the\u00a0door jamb.<\/p>\n

If you don’t have the manual or the decal, you can refer to the sidewall<\/a> of one of your current\u00a0tires. You’ll see an alphanumeric code that begins with “P” running along its circumference.\u00a0The three numbers following “P” indicate the tire’s width in millimeters. Next, you’ll see a\u00a0slash, after which, you’ll see two more numbers that tell you the percentage of the tire’s height\u00a0compared to its width. The next letter, “R,” identifies the radial construction. The two numbers\u00a0after it represent the diameter of the rim in inches.<\/p>\n

These numbers should be enough to tell you what size to get for your new set of tires. As a\u00a0general rule, get tires with the same specs if your current tires have worked well for your car.<\/p>\n

2) Weight<\/h2>\n

Two tires can look the same, but they may have different load-carrying capacities. Again,\u00a0check your car’s specs to determine the maximum weight your tires should carry. The manual\u00a0and the decal have that information.<\/p>\n

The alphanumeric code on your tires has that, too. After the two numbers indicating the wheel\u00a0diameter, you’ll see another pair of numbers. This corresponds to the load index of the tire.\u00a0You can search for complete load index charts online to check the exact maximum weight that\u00a0corresponds to your tire’s numbers, or you can go here. As a general rule, a high index means a\u00a0high maximum load.<\/p>\n

Take note that tires should not just support the car, but the passengers and cargo inside it.\u00a0Thus, it’s not advisable to go for a new set of tires with a lower index than what your car is\u00a0used to. It’s best to stick to the load index of your current tires.<\/p>\n

You can also go higher if you know that your car will regularly carry a lot of people and\/or\u00a0stuff. Just make sure that the size and the other measurements match your car\u2019s when you buy\u00a0tires with a different load index.<\/p>\n

3) Performance<\/h2>\n

Ultimately, your tires affect your car\u2019s performance. It\u2019s best to think about how you use your\u00a0car when buying a new set of tires.<\/p>\n

If you know you\u2019ll be driving down some snowy streets, equip your car with all-season tires, or\u00a0better yet, with specialized snow tires. Summer tires won\u2019t be up for the job; don\u2019t even try\u00a0driving in winter with these on.<\/p>\n

If you drive fast, choose tires with a high-speed rating. You can determine the rating by looking\u00a0at the letter beside the load index in the alphanumeric code. The range is A to Z, with A being\u00a0the lowest and Z the highest, but you\u2019ll usually find a range that falls between Q to Z for most\u00a0cars. Again, refer to charts that are searchable online, but for a quick reference, you can check\u00a0this out.<\/p>\n

Remember that these are just guidelines to help you get started on your search for a new\u00a0set of tires. When in doubt, the best thing you can do is find a store that you trust. The\u00a0salespeople will be more than happy to entertain any specific questions you may have about\u00a0buying new tires.<\/p>\n

\"nitrogen<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s inevitable that your tires will wear out after a few years of usage. Sooner or later, they\u00a0will have to be replaced. The good news is that you have many options to choose from when it\u00a0comes to buying new tires.\u00a0You’ll have the opportunity to pick a set that’s best suited for your car. Of course, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[126],"tags":[138,103,53],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gonitrotire.com\/nitrogen-tire-inflation-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gonitrotire.com\/nitrogen-tire-inflation-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gonitrotire.com\/nitrogen-tire-inflation-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gonitrotire.com\/nitrogen-tire-inflation-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gonitrotire.com\/nitrogen-tire-inflation-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=286"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.gonitrotire.com\/nitrogen-tire-inflation-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":794,"href":"https:\/\/www.gonitrotire.com\/nitrogen-tire-inflation-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286\/revisions\/794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gonitrotire.com\/nitrogen-tire-inflation-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gonitrotire.com\/nitrogen-tire-inflation-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gonitrotire.com\/nitrogen-tire-inflation-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}