A Guide To Choosing Car Tyres - By: Mark Thomas Walters

One particular area of vehicle maintenance that many people fail to fully consider is their vehicle's tyres. Getting your choice of tyres right will mean thousands of miles of trouble free motoring (at least in terms of tyre problems), get the selection wrong and you could indirectly be the cause of a dangerous road accident.

Choosing the right tyre boils down to what you use your car for and what weather conditions you usually drive in. Lets take the example of a sports utility vehicle (SUV). An SUV has particular design characteristics that are shared with off-road vehicles, the main one being the ride height and wheel size. However, SUVs are designed with the intention of the car being used for on-road driving. This means that you must fit tyres that will suit this purpose (unless you plan on using the car as an off-road vehicle).

Choosing the correct on-road tyres is not an easy task. If you live in an area that enjoys dry, warm weather, then you should fit tyres that work best in those conditions, though bear in mind that if wet weather does arrive, you must consider a tyre that can cope with standing water. All weather tyres are advised for most drivers due to their ability to work relatively well in most conditions.

Deciding on cheap economy tyres purely on the basis of price is a mistake. Ok, so it might save you a bit of money in the short terms, but in the long term it may end up costing more. Better quality tyres have more grip, better all-weather performance, reduced road noise, and less rolling resistance, the latter meaning increased fuel economy. Poor quality tyres means longer braking distances, poor water displacement capability, increased road noise, increased wear rate and more rolling resistance; you do the math.

In summary, you must be acutely aware of the road conditions you usually drive in and also bear in mind that cheaper doesn't mean better. The last factor to consider is the size of the tyre that you should fit to you vehicle. On every tyres sidewall is a sometimes confusing list of numbers that tells you the dimensions and capabilities of the tyre. The list of number will probably look something like this: P155/55R 15 82V. Now the first letter is the type of vehicle, in this case P for passenger; the following number is the tyre width in millimeters, then follows the depth of the tyre wall, then the type of tyre, again, in this case, R for radial. The next number is the size of the wheel, then the load capacity index, and the last letter is the speed rating of the tyre, V dictates up to 149 mph. If that is still confusing, refer to the cars owners manual for guidance.

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