If your tires need replacing, and you’ve never replaced tires before, you may not know how to find the right new tires. Because we’re in Tampa, we don’t need tires that can handle snow or ice, however, we need tires that are good in water and good for our car.
Know Your Car’s Tire Needs
There are many sizes of tires. You need to know what your car requires. You can find that information inside the driver’s side door or on your current tire itself. The code will have a combination of letters and numbers that are easily decoded. It might look something like this: P215/65R15 95H. Here’s what each part of the code means:
- P – passenger car (can be LT for light truck, SP for special trailer, T for temporary for spare tires)
- 215 – tire width in millimeters
- 65 – aspect ratio of tire (height to width)
- R – radial tire (if there is no letter assume it’s a cross-ply tire but B and D are other codes)
- 15 – wheel diameter in inches
- 95H – load index and speed symbol (95 doesn’t mean 95 pounds or tons, it is a code that corresponds to about 1500 pounds. H means 130mph and other letters have other top speeds)
Although you don’t have to get tires with the exact same code, you will need to make sure you choose tires that will fit on your rims so you’ll need to look at the first part of the code carefully. You can click here for more information on each part of the code you found on your tires.
Quality
What you can’t tell from the code on the tire is the quality and performance of the tire. A quality, high performance tire has a lot of engineering put into it. Better tires have been proven to have better stopping distance. You will also notice a difference in how the car feels and sounds when you’re driving, especially at high speeds. Quality tires can also have longer tread life and provide you with better gas mileage.
Ask Our Tire Experts
We can help you find a quality tire that fits your car that is also in your budget. We know that replacing tires can be confusing, but we want to help. Come by Oldsmar Automotive for a free quote on tires for your car or truck. We’re conveniently located at 3166 Tampa Road in Oldsmar. You can also call us at (727) 784-3501 and let us know the tires you’re consider and we’ll let you know if we have or can order them and the cost.
Leave a Reply