Car tires are frequently regarded as a minor component of the vehicle. This is completely false. Tires are critical for driving safety because they are the only component on your car that makes actual contact with the road surface. People generally do not know much about tires. They are a lot more than rings of rubber wrapped around the car wheels.
Nowadays, new types of tires are emerging in the market. Injection molding China companies are manufacturing rubber tires using a rubber injection process. In this scenario, a lack of knowledge about tires can make purchasing new tires a daunting task. It’s easy to become perplexed when faced with a bewildering array of brands, sizes, and tire types to choose from.
Determining The Health Of Your Tires
It is important to know when it’s necessary to replace or upgrade your tires. Checking whether your tire needs to be replaced is a simple task that anyone can perform. These signs will help you determine the correct time to replace the tires.
The tread depth of a tire will have significantly decreased as it approaches the end of its lifecycle. This reduces the tire’s grip, which can result in a loss of control over your vehicle. The tire also becomes more prone to punctures as the tread thickness decreases.
Treadwear indicators, which appear as rubber strips between a tire’s grooves, are found on the majority of tires. When these become visible, the tire must be replaced. If you can’t find the tread indicators, insert a coin headfirst into the grooves on the tire’s surface. If the top of the head is visible, the tire is worn out.
Replacing vs Upgrading
Original equipment (OE) or stock tires are the tires that come on a new vehicle straight from the factory. Any other tire that can be obtained as a replacement is referred to as a replacement tire. OE tires may need to be replaced either due to aging or wear and tear. You can also decide that you want a new tire that provides more of a specific function.
Plus-sizing, or tire upgrading, is a performance-oriented driver’s practice of replacing their original equipment wheels with wider, larger wheels. Drivers generally upgrade their tires for enhancing the performance and aesthetics of the car. When done correctly, it also provides superior handling.
A lot of factors like tire width, rim diameter, aspect ratio, speed, and load index should be taken care of before upgrading tires.
What is Tire Pressure?
PSI(Pounds Per Square Inch) unit is used to measure tire pressure. It is a measurement of the amount of air in the tire. A tire gauge is all you need to check your tire pressure. A built-in tire pressure monitoring system in newer cars frequently informs the driver if a problem is detected. The manufacturer’s recommended tire pressure can be found in your vehicle owner’s manual.
Car tires that are underinflated or overinflated are equally as harmful as those that are worn out. Incorrectly inflated tires reduce gas consumption, alter handling, increase stress on steering components, and result in early tire wear.
Types of Different Tires
On the basis of season, tires are classified into the following three types:
- All-Season Tires
Modern cars are equipped with all-season tires, which are designed to give adequate all-around performance throughout the year and in all weather conditions. That means a comfortable ride and respectable handling, as well as quiet operation, good wet-weather traction, and modest snow competence. These tires are further divided into the following two subcategories:
- High Performance: These tires provide a better steering response than regular all-season tires. They have a more solid grip on the road and provide a sportier driving experience. These tires are designed for sports cars and drivers that are more aggressive.
- Grand Touring: These tires feature a lower profile than high-performance all-season tires, but they provide a better driving experience. However, they have less handling ability than high-performance tires.
- Summer Tires
Tires are designed to provide dry and wet weather traction in mild to warm temperatures. They highly improve steering reaction, enhance cornering traction, and allow your car to stop at a significantly lesser distance. They have a weak grip and behave inconsistently on icy roads.
- Winter Tires
Winter tires are designed to provide optimum grip in snow and icy winter weather, and no other tire category can equal their traction in those conditions. A four-wheel-drive car equipped with all-season tires cannot compete with the stopping and turning capabilities of a comparable two-wheel-drive vehicle equipped with four winter tires.
While winter tires are meant to work well in cold weather, don’t expect them to handle warm weather properly. All season tires or summer tires should only be used in this case.
Factors Affecting Tires
Knowing about different factors affecting tire types can help you a lot while making decisions about replacing or upgrading tires. This information is generally printed on the sidewalls of your vehicle’s tires. With these factors, you can get a rough estimate of tire quality and its potential.
Here are some factors explained in detail:
- Tire Size
Tire size is commonly indicated in a short series of numbers and letters for cars and light trucks. The first number specifies the tire’s width in millimeters at its widest point. The number after the slash is the aspect ratio, which tells you how tall the sidewall is about the width. The sidewall will be taller if the number is higher.
- Speed Rating
It not only indicates how fast they can go safely for an extended time but also the tire’s total performance ability. Tires designed for high-performance vehicles have a greater speed rating than those designed for everyday family sedans and SUVs.
Conclusion
This article covered some general and important topics related to tires in detail. Having basic knowledge about tires, their types, and factors affecting tire types is very important for a driver. With this knowledge, one can make various decisions related to tire replacement and upgrading.
