Everything you have ever wanted to know about tires

Tires are a very important component on your vehicle.  They are what keeps the car in contact with the road and when you think about it the contact patch, or area actually touching the ground, is about the size of your hand depending on the vehicle.  Today's tires are made of synthetic rubber, natural rubber, fabric and wire, along with carbon black and other chemical compounds. They consist of a tread and a body. The tread provides traction while the body provides the structure that contains the compressed air. 

THE PARTS OF THE TIRE

Tires are made up of many different parts and you may hear some terms when you are looking to purchase or need to repair tires:

Tire Belts

Refers to the rubber-coated layer of cords located between the tire’s body plies and tread. Belts are commonly made of steel, but may also be constructed of fiberglass, rayon, nylon, polyester, or other fabrics.

Tire Tread

The tread of a tire or track refers to the rubber on its circumference that makes contact with the road or the ground. As tires are used, the tread is worn off, limiting its effectiveness in providing traction.

Sidewall

The sidewall provides lateral stability for the tire, protects the body plies and helps keep the air from escaping. 

Bead
The bead is a loop of high-strength steel cable coated with rubber. It gives the tire the strength it needs to stay seated on the wheel rim and to handle the forces applied by tire mounting machines when the tires are installed on rims.

Tire Body Plies

This is the tire itself, made up of several layers of plies. Plies, like polyester cord, run perpendicular to the tire's tread and are coated with rubber to help bond with other plies and belts to seal in air. Plies give tires strength and resistance to road damage.

TIRE SIZES AND WHAT THEY MEAN

The second most common question we get about tires is "What do all of those numbers mean?"  Here is a breakdown on how to understand all of those numbers.

Let's use the example

P225/75R16

P:  tells us the tire is a P-Metric tire, referring that the tire is  intended for Passenger vehicles.

225: The first three-digit number in the tire size refers to the tire width measured in millimeters from sidewall to sidewall

75: The two-digit number after the slash mark in a tire size is the aspect ratio. The 75 means that the height is equal to 75% of the tire's width. The bigger the aspect ratio, the bigger the tire's sidewall will be.

R: The letter "R" refers to the construction of the tire and stands for Radial, which means the layers run radially across the tire.

16: The final number tells us the size of the wheel that the tire is intended to fit. This tire is made for a wheel with a 16" diameter.

TIRE MAINTAINENCE

To help your tires last longer you should follow these simple rules

1. Maintain the proper tire pressure.  Having the correct air pressure in your vehicle's tires lets your vehicle perform in the most efficient way possible.  This is found in the owners manual or on the tire placard on normally located on the driver's door jam.  Do not go by what is on the tire, that is the max tire pressure.
2. Rotate your tires.  Front tires tens to wear out more quickly than rear tires.  By rotating tires every 5,000 miles you promote a more even wear pattern
3. Have an alignment check. Uneven tire wear is often attributed to the vehicle being out of alignment.  Alignments should be performed once a year or when purchasing new tires. 
4. Tires should be replaced either when the tread gets down to the wear indicators built into the tire or when it is 2/32 of an inch.