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Car & Truck Tires
Tires are truly where the "rubber meets
the road" for the performance, safety,
and handling of your car. For most people,
changing tires is a bother, necessitated
by trend wear (the time to change is when
there is less than 1/16" of tread left).
But for others, tires are a performance enhancing
accessory that can improve the handling of
their car. And for the rest, it's all about
looks.
If you're buying for value, consider
the
following:
- mileage
- traction
- warranty
Longer wearing tires cost more than tires
with shorter wear (but price and mileage
do not always correspond, so check the tire's
information). Longer wearing tires can make
sense if you plan to keep your car for a
while; if you time it right, you may avoid
having to buy another set of tires. However,
keep in mind that the natural elements (heat,
moisture, sunlight) do terrible things to
rubber (cause it to crack and harden, for
instance), so while the tread life may be
long, you may not have a chance to drive
it that long before the material itself becomes
a problem.
Traction is the enemy of tread
life because
traction means gripping the road,
and that
means wear on the tread. Similarly,
softer
ride and other performance capabilities
will
similarly affect wear of the
tire.
Do you need snow tires? Depends on the weather
you drive in. "All weather" tires
do not have the handling ability of snow
tires, so if you think you'll be driving
in snow, consider a second set of tires. |
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