A tire's most important job is to carry the load required of it, and the load range/ply rating branded on the tire's sidewall indicates how much load the tire is designed to carry (at a specific pressure). Whenever changing tire sizes or from one tire type to another, it's important to ensure...
Why do we change our tires and wheels? Aside from necessity, most of us do it for performance, comfort and style. But to be sure our tires are performing properly and that we're rolling comfortably and in style, we'll need to correctly install our new tires and wheels. Here's a few tips from us...
Proper wheel installation requires the wheel-attaching hardware (lug nuts or bolts) be tightened to the recommended torque specification for the vehicle make, model and year. Torque specifications are usually found in the vehicle's owner's manual.* Proper torque requires using the correct...
Tire Rack's Tire & Wheel Owner's Manual contains tips on installation and care. Download the PDF If you need to download a copy of Adobe's Acrobat Reader it's available free from Adobe for a variety of computer platforms.
Since heat and exposure to the elements are the important factors that influence a tire's aging process, drivers can prolong their tire's life by minimizing their impact. Here are some tips for storing tires that will not be used continuously. Don't store a vehicle with weight on its tires...
Installing tires that are larger or smaller than what came O.E. (original equipment) is often an attractive way to enhance performance or style. However, most vehicles' speedometers measure speed based on tire revolutions - calculated from the original tires' size. So, changing the tires'...
In addition to the tire's brand and line names (tire model), there is a lot of information provided by the manufacturer on the sidewalls of the tires they produce. Some of the branded information provides the tire's basic dimensions and identifies the week it was produced. Other branding lists...
Selecting the right tires for your vehicle is an important decision. Your safety, as well as driving enjoyment over the next years and thousands of miles will be determined by this decision. The information provided here and the advice/recommendations from the experts at the Tire Rack will...
In the United States, vehicle manufacturers are required to maintain an average fuel economy for the fleet of new vehicles they sell each year. In 2009, the government Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) mandate was 27.5 miles per gallon (mpg) for cars and 23.1 mpg for light trucks (including...
Sports cars are often described as vehicles that "stick to the road." Sports car tires make a major contribution to this phenomenon. These tires are very complex products meeting numerous, largely contradictory demands. Finding the proper structure that balances these demands for any given...
Large diameter wheels and wide, low profile tires go together and show up everywhere from America's new car showrooms to its roads, tracks and trails. So whether the vehicle came from the assembly line or was upgraded after it was delivered, Plus Sizing (also called "Inch-Up" sizing in other...
What's the difference between the tire sizes of P225/60R16 and 225/60R16? The obvious answer is the "P" in front of the first size, but just what does the "P" stand for and what does it tell us about the tires? P-metric sized tires are the ones with the "P" at the beginning of the tire size,...
Vehicle manufacturers understand that there is little reason to spend millions of dollars developing the ride and handling qualities of a new vehicle's suspension if they are going to omit integrating the influence of its Original Equipment tires. This has resulted in either completely new tire...
The maximum load and maximum inflation pressure are required to be branded on the sidewall of tires sold in North America. Tire pressures are normally measured in "pounds per square inch" (psi), Kilopascals (kPa), or bars of pressure (bars). At sea level, Earth's atmosphere is pressing...
Note: If you bought a Tire and Wheel Package your tires and wheels arrive mounted and balanced and are ready to install on your vehicle. If you are installing the package yourself, please read "Tire & Wheel Package Installation." Also, read "Proper Lug Nuts or Lug Bolts" for additional...
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