Great Deal Tires | Buying Guide

Professional Installation

How to Read Tire Label

Differences in Tires

Enjoy savings and peace of mind by having your new tires professionally installed by a trained mechanic.

Tires are not as simple as they might first seem!

Radial tires typically contain a steel belt, how flexible is this belt and why is flexibility important?
Tires are measured by their ability to carry load and travel at speed. Why is this important? Does your car have specifications on these measurements for tires?
If you are fitting different tires to the back or front axle, will your vehicle tend to over-steer or under-steer? What is under or over-steer? Should a vehicle tend towards one or the other?
How can you judge a tire’s tendency to be noisy?
How can you judge a tire’s tendency to brake well on wet roads?
Does wheel alignment affect tire performance?
What effect does a tire have on gas use?
What is wheel balancing and why is it important?

Is the price you pay for a tire a measure of its true value?

Is the tire fuel efficient? Will you spend more on gas over the life of the tire than you save on its initial purchase?
Will the tire meet my driving needs? The wrong tire may wear faster than you expect.
Is price a guarantee on the amount of tread, the quality of the tread rubber or the width of the tread on the tire?

Are there other factors I should consider in addition to the tire itself?

Should your vehicle be wheel aligned? Your old tires have a story to tell to an experienced tire professional.
What about wheel balancing?
How will the tires I am buying work with the ones I already have?
Are the tires directional and what direction should they be running?
What are my driving habits?
Safety?
Reliability?
Warranty?
Defective Recall?

There are many reasons to see your tire professional. One of them is how can you save money, your tire professional will help you determine the best, most economical tires for your needs.

Learn how to read tire information on the side of your car’s tires.

Before you replace the tires on your car, you need to at least know the size and speed rating of the tires. Fortunately this information is embossed on the side of tires, and below we show you how to read these details. Once you have this information, have a look at the tires we stock, to find your new set of tires.

P205/60R15 91H

The tire information may start with a letter or two, which identifies the type of vehicle suited to the tire. The letter ‘P’ means our example tire is suitable for a passenger car. If the tire information does not start with letters, it is probably not a car tire.

P205/60R15 91H

The first number indicates the width of the tire. Generally the measurement is shown in millimeters, though four-wheel drive tires sometimes show width in inches. Our example tire has a width of 205 millimeters.

P205/60R15 91H

The second number indicates the height of the tire as a percentage of its width. (This value is often referred to as the ‘aspect’ of the tire.) Our example tire has an aspect of 60, which means the tire’s height is equal to 60% of its width.

P205/60R15 91H

The letter after the height value indicates the construction used within the tire’s casing. Our example tire uses radial (‘R’) construction, while other tires may use belted bias (‘B’) or diagonal bias (‘D’) construction.

P205/60R15 91H

The number after the construction value shows the diameter of the wheel rim suited to the tire. Generally the measurement is shown in inches. Our tire is suited to a 15-inch rim.

P205/60R15 91H

The first number after the tire size is the load index of the tire. By referring to a separate load-index chart, the index value allows us to determine the how much weight the tire can support.

P205/60R15 91H

The final letter provides the speed rating of the tire, which is the maximum speed the tire has been designed to handle. The table below shows some common speed rating values, where we see that our example tire is designed to handle a maximum speed of 130mph.

While tires might all look the same, there are important differences in tires.

Tires might seem like round black things made of rubber. But in reality they are a highly technical, advanced product that must meet stringent standards of safety and performance.

Imagine the tires on a large passenger jet as it lands with hundreds of tons of impact at incredible speed. How about a Formula 1 racing car accelerating and breaking through hours of high performance—even they have tires changed when the road is wet or dry.

The tires on your car are required to meet the specifications of the manufacturer that are measured as speed and load ratings. This allows your vehicle to brake, travel and accelerate within the performance guidelines of the vehicle manufacturer.

Speed and Load ratings are tested and assigned according to the Department of Transportation.

Have you thought about how much tread a tire has? Do some tires have more tread than others? How about the width of the tread, is the actual footprint of a tire’s contact with the road the same for all tires of the same size? The decision on buying tires needs to consider what you really get for what you spend.