Summer is here and it’s hot outside. Nowhere is this more obvious than on a large stretch of dark pavement. If you think it’s hot, your tires do too. When the pavement starts melting, the excessive heat can lead to premature tire failure. Here’s a few tips on how you can keep your tires in great shape, no matter what the thermometer reads. Know the Pressure Under-inflated tires deform the tread profile and drastically increase rolling resistance, friction, and heat. Proper air pressure is the si [...more]

There are countless articles and blog posts discussing the dangers of driving on worn out tires.  Still, many drivers don't have a clue how to tell if the problem they are having is due to tire wear or some other issue. The video shows you close up what various wear patterns look like, what causes them, and gives suggestions on how to deal with the problem.

A question for the ages, “How long should my tires last?”  The answer, of course, is, “it depends.”  The life of your tires depends on the tire itself, how you drive, where you drive, and a lot of other factors.  One reason you may not have considered is that if you move to a different climate, odds are you will need to change tires. Starting with that one, individual tires are designed with certain weather conditions in mind.  Some will perform better in rainy conditions, while some are design [...more]

Cars speak to us, but a lot of the time, we can't hear them.  Every single time something breaks and you get stranded on the side of the road, waiting for a tow truck, your car warned you.  It sounds odd, but if you speak Car then you're aware of it. But the majority of us don't speak Car, and those little bumps, rattles, and noises could be anything.  There is one way that you can brush up on what your car is trying to tell you: the tires.  The wear on your car's tires speaks volumes about its [...more]

When it comes to replacing your tires, unless you are a mechanic or very familiar with tires, you are likely to go with whatever the tire dealer gives you. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially if you go to a trusted dealership. However, if you would like to be more involved in the process and have a greater understanding and input on what tires go on your vehicle then understanding tire ratings is a good place to start. To create a standard for tire quality and performance the Nationa [...more]

Vehicles are one of those great inventions that we tend to take for granted. Kind of like cell phones until we loose reception and then we don't know what to do. Cars are great until we blow a tire and are left wondering what happened. Unlike cell phones we do have a good deal of control over whether or not they work. With proper maintenance your car will run smoothly and you'll be able to identify the problem and take care of it before it blows up in your face.   One of the biggest probl [...more]

You might think that the most popular question car owners have about tires is how to know which tires to buy. A more pertinent question is how to know when to replace car tires. Do you know? The most obvious indication that it is time to get new tires for your car is when the tires experience a blow out. There may be times when accidents or road debris lead to a blow out and those cases are impossible to avoid. However, many blowouts are a result of driving on tires that should have been replac [...more]

Tires are made of a number of different components: sidewall, inner tube, liner, belts, piles. While each of these is important to the overall performance of the tire, drivers generally look at the tire's tread in order to measure how fast their tires are wearing down. Understanding why tread wears at all is a matter of understanding how tires work. The biggest enemy of tire tread aren't sharp objects or road debris. It is heat. Tires are made of rubber and when you expose rubber to heat, the t [...more]