Tires are the #1 safety item on a car!

[Racer88]

This is probably "Well, yeah... DUH!" for most folks here. But I thought it was worth mentioning anyway.

Good tires are THE #1 safety item / factor on a car. THE most important maintenance item when it pertains to safety. Yeah, it sucks that they aren't cheap. But how much is your life (or family's) worth? Skip the daily Starbucks.

Those four rubber contact patches are the ONLY thing that make your car: go, turn, and STOP.

Accordingly, it's VERY important to keep them properly inflated - to the pressures recommended by the manufacturer and printed on the placard on the driver's door jamb / pillar. The pressures may not be the same front vs back tires. Every car owner should have a tire pressure gauge. Just get one that you can read.... stick, analog dial, digital. I personally don't like the stick gauges.

Check pressures when the tires are cold (or ambient temperature)... Wait a few hours after you've been driving. Even sitting in the sun will be enough heat to alter the pressure. Check them in the garage or shade before driving or several hours after driving.

Proper pressure = proper / ideal / even contact patches. Ideal contact patches = better traction and control. Ideal contact patches also make for even tread-wear.

Check the pressures at least every other month. Better to check every month. Tires lose pressure over time. And your car's "low tire pressure" idiot light comes on only when a tire is very low. Also check them when the weather turns cold.

Secondly, to maximize the life of your tires, you should rotate them every 5k - 6k miles. Most modern car's oil change intervals are in that same range. So when you change the oil, rotate the tires. Typically the front tires wear faster than rear tires. Realize that when the tires are rotated (from front to back and vice-versa) that the pressures may need to be adjusted.

If your car is AWD (all wheel drive), it's even more important to rotate them on schedule. I can't exactly explain why or how (above my pay grade), but if the tire circumference varies too much from front to back, it can screw up your transmission / differentials. So, even wear on all the tires is more important with AWD.

One last thing: Do NOT trust your shop to inflate the tires to the proper pressures. MANY shops (including dealership service departments) get it wrong. Ask me how I know. Check the pressures yourself. Even after getting brand new tires, do not assume the pressures are correct. Check them!

 

[FrankenGlock]

Will counter with brakes being as important. No brakes, no stop, means bad wreck. Yes, tires are a critical component of braking and very important too. It's been said braking is all about tires and they are not wrong. Don't want a tire blowing out at interstate speeds so there's that. Would say that fewer people check their brakes than their tires since tires can be seen and brake pads are typically shrouded by the tires and brake rotors. Brake pad wear sensors are a real lifesaver as is a TMPS.

Lots of cars have staggered wheels and tires so they can't be rotated.

Rotating tires every 5k miles is not realistic for most. I rotate when I notice the rear tread starting to get lower than the front. Could be 5k miles but may be 10k or 15k miles. Some of my vehicles wear out the rear tires in less than 10k miles so I just replace them. Yes, it is typically more important to have the best tires in the rear as most vehicles do not have as much weight in the rear as the front.

My TPMS light pops up if the variance between tires is greater than a few pounds and I can check the pressure from the dash but, yeah, I check it often. Maybe not as often as I should so solid advice to check often and never trust a repair shop to get that right.

The part about AWD cars is grossly overstated. It depends on the AWD system. Some cars have an open differential so as long as the tires on each axle are close in diameter it's fine. True 4WD cars with locking differentials it does matter and can damage the differential.

Keep in mind, much of the advice you receive is to drive margins at tire and auto places. It's like the notion that you should change oil at 3k miles. Most manufacturers have moved to 10k mile intervals with synthetic oil and a good filter. It is still engrained in people that you are better with more frequent oil changes, and it is a waste of money and time.

You get what you pay for - yep, marketing ploy to justify greater margins. Really have to watch this one as it is easy to spend too much on a product with no greater return. Just because their marketing budget is way more does not make a better product. There are great tires at less than Michelin prices and there are great 1911's for way less than a Colt or other big-name brands. You've seen it with the Glock diehards who fall for their marketing ploy that somehow what Glock puts out is perfection. I've seen the perfection, and it isn't perfect. Sometimes, perfection didn't even nick the part. Meanwhile, those who build their own Glock based guns know ours are just as reliable, more fun to shoot, with way more character/better looks.

Do your research, read reviews, and go with what fits best for your needs.

 

[Racer88]

The part about AWD cars is grossly overstated. It depends on the AWD system. Some cars have an open differential so as long as the tires on each axle are close in diameter it's fine. True 4WD cars with locking differentials it does matter and can damage the differential.

That's because most "AWD" cars are not actually AWD. Subaru and Audi "Quattro" are actually full-time AWD. Honda, Toyota, and most others that are LABELED "AWD" are actually "part time" AWD that activate only when wheel slippage is detected.

https://www.tirerack.com/upgrade-garage/do-all-4-tires-need-to-match-on-an-allwheel-drive-or-fourwheel-drive-vehicle

It's like the notion that you should change oil at 3k miles. Most manufacturers have moved to 10k mile intervals with synthetic oil and a good filter. It is still engrained in people that you are better with more frequent oil changes, and it is a waste of money and time.

Most of the manufacturers I've seen are at 7500 for oil changes. Subaru recommends 6,000. I do it at 5000 with full synthetic. For "severe use" cut that in half.

My TPMS light pops up if the variance between tires is greater than a few pounds and I can check the pressure from the dash but, yeah, I check it often.

Generally TPMS systems are set to light up at 25% below optimal pressure (or almost 9 psi for your average 35psi tire).... which is quite low, IMO. By the time the light comes on, it's likely been running low for quite some time.

Of course I agree about brakes. But even the best brakes won't work with shit tires.

 

[MikedaddyH]

Counter-Counter point : Tires,Brakes and Suspension work as one unit or system.
My Dad use to say , " Never go cheap on what touches the ground, Tires or shoes."
As for the AWD, I have a couple of DSM's, 60/40 front/rear split. Tire contact and grip are what's important. Nissan has a 10/90 split that has a variable shift towards the front tires in turns. That's what made the GTR's so great in the 90's.
Just Sayin'

 

[ThePoison1]

Tires and suspension,, my main concerns on my older Camaros.....
Leaving Flagstaff going east on I-40 is this 2 lane stretch of highway, barb wire on each side and you can see for a few miles down the road...
I use to put my foot down and all I prayed was that my tires and suspension were good....
120-130 mph going downhill it's the "little things" that count... lol

 

[MikedaddyH]

Road repair is what are tax dollars are being spent on. But the lowest bidder is doing low quality work. It kills our cars suspension.

 

[Racer88]

Road repair is what are tax dollars are being spent on. But the lowest bidder is doing low quality work. It kills our cars suspension.

Not here in Florida. My brother who lives in Taxachussetts MARVELED at how smooth our roads are here.

Likewise, I've been up there in NY, NJ, MA.... Their roads suuuuuuuuuuuuuck. Holy crap, they're bad.

Where my brother lives, there are no street signs. I mean the signs that tell you which street it is. Like "Main Street" and "Lake Drive." Thankfully, most of us have navigation in our cars or phones. But before that, he had to give me directions by landmarks. Crazy. I asked why there were no street signs. He told me, "Because people here steal them to use them as decorations in their home." WTF?? Classy.

I'm so glad I don't live up there in those crazy liberal states where they tax the shit out of you and refuse to maintain the roads.

 

[MikedaddyH]

Not here in Florida. My brother who lives in Taxachussetts MARVELED at how smooth our roads are here.

Likewise, I've been up there in NY, NJ, MA.... Their roads suuuuuuuuuuuuuck. Holy crap, they're bad.

Where my brother lives, there are no street signs. I mean the signs that tell you which street it is. Like "Main Street" and "Lake Drive." Thankfully, most of us have navigation in our cars or phones. But before that, he had to give me directions by landmarks. Crazy. I asked why there were no street signs. He told me, "Because people here steal them to use them as decorations in their home." WTF?? Classy.

I'm so glad I don't live up there in those crazy liberal states where they tax the shit out of you and refuse to maintain the roads.

We have constant road repair here in AZ. The population is moving here faster than the cities can expand. The freeways are good but the street infrastructure can't keep up on the outskirts of the suburbs.

 

[Racer88]

We have constant road repair here in AZ. The population is moving here faster than the cities can expand. The freeways are good but the street infrastructure can't keep up on the outskirts of the suburbs.

Population growth? We're #2 in the country both numerically and by percentage, and our roads are great. Arizona is #8 and #10 respectively.

 

[One Ping Only]

"If your car is AWD (all wheel drive), it's even more important to rotate them on schedule. I can't exactly explain why or how (above my pay grade), but if the tire circumference varies too much from front to back, it can screw up your transmission / differentials. So, even wear on all the tires is more important with AWD."

This subject is HUGE for those who own Jeep Grand Cherokee's. The size disparity between front and rear tires have caused MANY transfer case failures in that model....esp with those who swap out two tires on the cheap (pair of new fronts ONLY, for example.) It's pretty well documented.

 

[MikedaddyH]

Population growth? We're #2 in the country both numerically and by percentage, and our roads are great. Arizona is #8 and #10 respectively.

View attachment 30831

The snow birds are leaving now. About a million plus in the winter. Plus the illegals and the Californians refugees. Those numbers are not on any charts but the people are here.

 

[Racer88]

The snow birds are leaving now. About a million plus in the winter. Plus the illegals and the Californians refugees. Those numbers are not on any charts but the people are here.

Snowbirds aren't counted in the census here.