If your answer is more focused on a brand or particular design, your answer is not on track. Other factors such as the weight your car can handle, the maximum speed can reach or the date on which they were manufactured tires are the real indicators on which you should focus on to make your purchase, so give yourself the security required to walk the world.
A van or camper does not require the same as a normal car tires, much less a truck rims need the same small one. Logically, for each type of cars there are specific wheels. Knowing them by according to certain canons can be crucial to your safety.
The consequences of carrying wheels that are not right for your vehicle are many and some worrying ranging from increased fuel consumption, an increase in the stiffness of the management faster wear on them, until loss problems vehicle power and tire adhesion to the road. Also, using wheels that are not right, they can deform, tear and damage very easily, increasing the chances of a traffic accident.
Therefore, it is critical to any preventive driver learn how to buy the perfect tires, plus it will perform preventive maintenance to avoid premature wear. The following article will show you how to buy and care for them.
How to buy the perfect tire for your vehicle?
The first thing to do is read the owner’s manual of the car, to see what kind of tires does it needs . This is done because the manufacturer entered in the manual the exact reference tire for which the vehicle was designed to facilitate the purchase of new tires when they need to be changed, which can withstand without any problem specifications vehicle (weight, engine power, braking power, etc.).
If you do not have this manual, you should approach a center of reliable services for an expert to tell you exactly what tires you should buy.
Date of manufacture
An important fact to keep in mind when buying new tires for a car, is the date of manufacture thereof, which shall not be more than six months, as they are some old tires and have not been used, because the rubber in contact with the atmosphere begins to degrade, it becomes hard, brittle and does not have the same capabilities to transmit the forces of acceleration and braking.
In the right part of the DOT code found enclosed within an oval, the date of manufacture of the tire. It is a 4 digit number which indicate the week and year the tire was manufactured. In the example above, we have that this tire was manufactured in week 48 or last week of November 2000 (4800).
All tires must have the date of manufacture visible, so that the owner knows how new or old they are. You need to know this date, since the state of the tire is not in itself a reliable indicator of its health.
DOT Code (reference tire)
The DOT code is a specific reference for each vehicle and you should consult the owner’s manual of each carriage. This code is provided in each wheel well:
Where:
MXV3-A: reference tire (brand)
P: Mean passenger or passengers. It means that this tire is for private cars. To load the letters LT vans are used.
195: Bandwidth of the tread of the tire (in millimeters).
65: Percentage (%) of the width of the tread from the top of the rim. For this case, the height of the rim would be 65% of 195 mm. in total. The height is about 127 mm.
R: Rim type is radial R and D is diagonal or conventional type.
15 : Diameter of the wheel in inches.
91: Is the load index that supports the vehicle (in lbs)
H: Speed Rating: high speed bearing wheels of a vehicle by a continuous time (in kilometers per hour).
For the above example, the number 91 indicates the vehicle withstand 615 kilograms (adding weight to be put to the vehicle including passengers and cargo and the letter H indicates that the vehicle tires resist up to 210 kilometers an hour travel ).
Remember to be careful with the tires you buy in times of promotions and discounts. When there are usually promotions tire rims or very old, or indicators of load and speed very low, which may impair the safety of which are mounted on the vehicle.
How to take care of a car tire?
Now that you’ve bought tires for your vehicle, you must learn to care for them. Generally, these have an approximate lifespan of four years. However, depending on use and care you give to your car, this period may be shorter.
To care for them, it is recommended that you make them a consistent conscientious maintenance and periodic. Every day, before turning on your car, make a visual check for four tires and see if they have holes or cuts. Also, when you put fuel in your vehicle calls for calibrated (fill air) with a preferably metal gauge, it is more accurate. Check them also when they receive a blow.
Alignment and Balancing
To find out what condition are the tires on your vehicle, it is necessary that every 6 months or when the vehicle has traveled 15,000 miles, placing an alignment and balancing your car. The alignment is performed in the direction but directly influences the tires because the angles allow the tread perfect contact with the floor. When alignment is not cared rim rests on the sides, which is the weakest part of the tire, damaging them.
Alignment is the adjustment of the angles that the tire should have with respect to the body and parallel to the vehicle to achieve this way, smooth and safe driving vertical and horizontal lines. It is advisable to do it every 15,000 miles (or every six months if the vehicle goes through difficult places (hollow roads, dirt roads, etc..). Also, you must realize when you change any element of the steering or suspension of your vehicle you will need to check the tires as well.
For its part, the rolling is a procedure that searches the tire and wheel have a weight evenly distributed around the perimeter to avoid vibrations, deformations, noise and premature tire wear. This diagnosis should be made when a strange noise in the tires every 6 months or every 15,000 miles.
Safe driving
When you drive your car safely and efficiently, your tires can extend their operating time. Keep the following tips:
- No brake or the vehicle starts abruptly.
- Constantly check the tire pressure. Cold verify it once a week.
- Calls calibrated tire every time you put fuel in the vehicle. Remember to calibrate the spare tire.
- Do not drive at high speeds especially on dirt roads.
- Do not drive by Cupped streets at high speeds.
- Avoid fast turns on curves and corners.
- Avoid to park on sidewalks and drive over the berms of the road, potholes or other obstacles, so that the tire does not spoil against them.
- Performs regular check of your tires. If noise or a problem, have the system serviced immediately by an authorized service.
- Avoid the most contact with stones or glass, as these may lose rolling cart, produce scratches on the rim and weaken its integrity.