Ok, here is something that I think most of us have handled in the past.
Have you ever pulled up to a stop sign, drove through a school zone, or got stuck in traffic, and noticed as you moved forward and a low speed 20-35 mph, it felt like your car was rocking, or wobbling side to side? but once you got to 35 mph and higher it went away? Just to start all over again when you slowed down to those low speeds? I have, and can tell you what to do.
This condition is called Belt Seperation, and occurs on the tread face of the tire. What to look for is a hump, or rounded curvy part of the tread face where the steel belts have broken and creates a (HUMP) or out of round (Bump)(bubble) on
center of the tread face (the part of the tire that has contact with the road)
Once you discover this is in fact the problem, you need to find a tire shop quick, because the tire is about to blow out. this is not a good thing when you are on a freeway, running 75 mph. you could loose control and roll your car, or hit another vehicle. SO GET THAT TIRE REPLACED QUICKLY, AND I MEAN FAST.
Hope this was of some help... Please post a comment or two so I have feedback.
HOW TO BUY THE RIGHT TIRES FOR YOUR CAR, TRUCK OR SUV. AND Q&A FEATURING TIRE CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS
Tuesday
HIGHWAY TIRE VS ALL TERRAIN TIRES
If you own a SUV, Jeep, or Light Pickup (1/2 ton) and are looking to get a little traction for when your at the beach, or live down a dirt road, and when it rains, you slip and slide up and down the road?
Do you spend all your time on paved roads? exempt the occasional dirt road? Ok. first, there are designatioins for this kind of tire, Highway tires are designed for 80/20. Confused? here it is in a nut shell, 80 means 80% paved road and 20 means 20% off road. (i.e. dirt roads, sand, etc...) the perfect tire for most vehicles, we all commute on paved roads most of the time. You only really need a SUV tire (all terrain)
if you are on dirt and sand about half the time. When buying a tire, we go back to the sidewall lettering, look at the tire size application, if it says P205/65R16 (P) means pmetric, which is a passenger tire. if it says LT215765R16 All Terrain, then it's good for Pickups or sport vehicles that spend more time off road then on. But if you have a road that is in bad shape and get stuck going up or down it, then a All terrain may be a option. we will get into more later.
tiretruth@gmail.com email your questions and I will give you answers asap.
Do you spend all your time on paved roads? exempt the occasional dirt road? Ok. first, there are designatioins for this kind of tire, Highway tires are designed for 80/20. Confused? here it is in a nut shell, 80 means 80% paved road and 20 means 20% off road. (i.e. dirt roads, sand, etc...) the perfect tire for most vehicles, we all commute on paved roads most of the time. You only really need a SUV tire (all terrain)
if you are on dirt and sand about half the time. When buying a tire, we go back to the sidewall lettering, look at the tire size application, if it says P205/65R16 (P) means pmetric, which is a passenger tire. if it says LT215765R16 All Terrain, then it's good for Pickups or sport vehicles that spend more time off road then on. But if you have a road that is in bad shape and get stuck going up or down it, then a All terrain may be a option. we will get into more later.
tiretruth@gmail.com email your questions and I will give you answers asap.
Sunday
THE SCARY SIDEWALL INFORMATION
In this section we will discuss what the sidewall tells you !! I bet your tire salesman won't offer up this info freely!! you may have to pry it out. Now lets generically explain.
Depending on your type of vehicle i.e. SUV, Pickup, Car, 18 Wheeler etc...there are many different applications for the different types of driving you doooo......
First lets take a good look at the DOT...(Department of Transportation) numbers. they will look like this: DOT OBX8 E20 (0410) OK I could go into a long technical term, but let's make it simple for ya. the first 4 alpha numeric numbers tell you where the tire was made, Bridgestone plant in dallas Tx. the middle numbers we will skip, being not important now, but the last four (0410) are VERY Important, they tell you WHEN the tire was made. in this case the tire was made the fourth week of 2010. (January 2010). Why is this important? the Department of transportation safety standards only allow a new tire that is up to 5 years old to be sold, for safety reasons, because the rubber starts to degrade after 5 yrs, you have probably noticed this, sidewall cracking, spider cracks all over the sidewalls. This is called dry rotting, and that is exactly what the tire is doing.
You would not put those tires on your Mini van or SUV and put your family at risk of injury, at 70 miles per hour when the tire fails, you are in trouble.
But you will find that when you buy new tires, these are the first to be sold so the Dealer can get them off there books, and not have to (Write them Off) and take a loss. Not all dealers are this way, there are a few good ones out there, I will tell you how to find them later. So always buy a tire if it is 2 yrs old or newer.
P215/60R16 94S M&S this is the tire size, speed rating and its classification
obviously P 215/60R16 is the size, 94S is the speed rating, which means the tire is rated upto 94 miles per hour. the S means passenger car. M&S means mud and snow. this is standard on all non performance tires.
Treadwear, traction, and temperature ratings are important too. the lower the treadwear rating, the faster the tire wears out. and the higher the rating, the more mileage you will get out of it. the industry standard is around (380 to 400) between 70 thousand miles to 80 thousand miles.
TRACTION RATING, is usually (B) industry standard for non high performance tires.
high performance means Police cars and corvettes, you get the picture.
TEMPERATURE RATING is still a (B) rating this is still industry standard. temperature ratings of A are designed to stay cool at higher speeds, like police pursuits and sports cars.
We will get into more soon. any questions email me at tiretruth@gmail.com
unitl next time........
Depending on your type of vehicle i.e. SUV, Pickup, Car, 18 Wheeler etc...there are many different applications for the different types of driving you doooo......
First lets take a good look at the DOT...(Department of Transportation) numbers. they will look like this: DOT OBX8 E20 (0410) OK I could go into a long technical term, but let's make it simple for ya. the first 4 alpha numeric numbers tell you where the tire was made, Bridgestone plant in dallas Tx. the middle numbers we will skip, being not important now, but the last four (0410) are VERY Important, they tell you WHEN the tire was made. in this case the tire was made the fourth week of 2010. (January 2010). Why is this important? the Department of transportation safety standards only allow a new tire that is up to 5 years old to be sold, for safety reasons, because the rubber starts to degrade after 5 yrs, you have probably noticed this, sidewall cracking, spider cracks all over the sidewalls. This is called dry rotting, and that is exactly what the tire is doing.
You would not put those tires on your Mini van or SUV and put your family at risk of injury, at 70 miles per hour when the tire fails, you are in trouble.
But you will find that when you buy new tires, these are the first to be sold so the Dealer can get them off there books, and not have to (Write them Off) and take a loss. Not all dealers are this way, there are a few good ones out there, I will tell you how to find them later. So always buy a tire if it is 2 yrs old or newer.
P215/60R16 94S M&S this is the tire size, speed rating and its classification
obviously P 215/60R16 is the size, 94S is the speed rating, which means the tire is rated upto 94 miles per hour. the S means passenger car. M&S means mud and snow. this is standard on all non performance tires.
Treadwear, traction, and temperature ratings are important too. the lower the treadwear rating, the faster the tire wears out. and the higher the rating, the more mileage you will get out of it. the industry standard is around (380 to 400) between 70 thousand miles to 80 thousand miles.
TRACTION RATING, is usually (B) industry standard for non high performance tires.
high performance means Police cars and corvettes, you get the picture.
TEMPERATURE RATING is still a (B) rating this is still industry standard. temperature ratings of A are designed to stay cool at higher speeds, like police pursuits and sports cars.
We will get into more soon. any questions email me at tiretruth@gmail.com
unitl next time........
ALL POINTS BULLETIN KILLERS ON THE LOSE !!!!
Hello everyone, lets start with a simple but true fact about vehicle tires. The two #1 KILLERS OF TIRES.
1. AIR PRESSURE !!! Inside of the drivers or Right Rear Passenger door you will find a plackard with your tire size and recommended air pressure, for both front and rear tires. This is usually 32 pounds pressure (PSI) front 33 psi rear, but I have seen it as high as 44 psi. Use these settings, they are designed to give you that comfortable ride that you liked when you bought the car, and will extend the life of your tires. Remember a tire that is rated for 70 thousand miles will only last for about 25 to 30 thousand miles if you do not keep a uniform air pressure in all your tires. We will get into more on air pressure later.
2. ROTATION !!! YOU MUST ROTATE YOUR TIRES EVERY 5 THOUSAND MILES. not rotating your tires will cause them to start CUPPING out on the shoulders, give you a rough ride and cause tire failure in about 15 thousand miles or so. Steel Belted Raidial Tires were constructed with Yep Steel Belts across the tread face interlaced, unlike the old Nylon tires a steel belted tire will start to wear faster and shorten it's life cycle in half if not rotated regularly. A GOOD KEY TO REMEMBER TO ROTATE YOUR TIRES IS EVERY OTHER OIL CHANGE. We will get into more on rotation later.
1. AIR PRESSURE !!! Inside of the drivers or Right Rear Passenger door you will find a plackard with your tire size and recommended air pressure, for both front and rear tires. This is usually 32 pounds pressure (PSI) front 33 psi rear, but I have seen it as high as 44 psi. Use these settings, they are designed to give you that comfortable ride that you liked when you bought the car, and will extend the life of your tires. Remember a tire that is rated for 70 thousand miles will only last for about 25 to 30 thousand miles if you do not keep a uniform air pressure in all your tires. We will get into more on air pressure later.
2. ROTATION !!! YOU MUST ROTATE YOUR TIRES EVERY 5 THOUSAND MILES. not rotating your tires will cause them to start CUPPING out on the shoulders, give you a rough ride and cause tire failure in about 15 thousand miles or so. Steel Belted Raidial Tires were constructed with Yep Steel Belts across the tread face interlaced, unlike the old Nylon tires a steel belted tire will start to wear faster and shorten it's life cycle in half if not rotated regularly. A GOOD KEY TO REMEMBER TO ROTATE YOUR TIRES IS EVERY OTHER OIL CHANGE. We will get into more on rotation later.
Saturday
About this blog
Hi, I am Dan, and I designed this page because I know how hard it can be to pick the right tires for your vechicle. All the salesman wants is to sell the most expensive tires in the store, not really caring about your needs, as long as the "SALE" is made, it's all about the MONEY. That being said, here's a little background on me. I have been in the TIRE BUSINESS for the last 15 Yrs. I am CERTIFED through (TIA) TIRE INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION as a COMMERCIAL TIRE SERVICE TECHNICIAN. I am CERTIFIED through TECH international as a FLAT repair SPECIALIST. I have a CERTIFICATE through the GOODYEAR University for COMMERCIAL PRODUCT APPLICATION and am a GOODYEAR Eagle Performance SPECALIST. And I have years of experience Selling Truck and Car tires, not to mention installing, Adjusting, and warranting tires. So if you have questions, I can HELP, I want you to have the right tire for your car or pickup, or even 18 wheeler.
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