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Understanding the Tire Ratings for Your Vehicle

With winter coming on strong, the person that has a vehicle is more than likely considering the types of tires that they have on their car and if they are ready to handle the roads ahead that may be a bit slicker than what they are used to. And even for those that may not be faced with harsh winters, they may find that their tires are just not as good as they once was, thus they are in the process of finding new tires that are going to fit their needs. However, for most people they think that every tire is the same that is not exactly the case as each tire is a different size, and they are going to find that there are other ratings on the tires that are meant to help them choose a better tire. So how can you understand all this information? 

First off, the size of the tire is the combination of letters and numbers that are written on the side of the tire. You can find the size of your tire by bending down and looking at this, which is a good idea since you want to make sure that you are getting tires that fit the vehicle. Most companies can give you a size based off of the make and model of your vehicle. However, if you have made changes and upgraded then you may have a different size of tires that you will need to make sure that you are checking for.

Secondly, the next rating that you are going to find that is given to you is the speed rating. This refers to the amount of speed that the tire can take without blowing out or having other problems. Most people do not let this be the deciding factor on what tire that they buy. However, it is a good number to note as some tires can go many miles faster in all conditions since they are built to handle this.

The next number that the person will see is the load index. This refers to just how much weight each and every tire can take before the performance of the tire is affected. For most passenger vehicles this is not something that they are worried about. However, for those that drive trucks and other vehicles that routinely haul things, then they may find that they are having to pay close attention to this detail in order to get tires that can handle the job.

Traction is something else that people are going to want to notice and this refers to how well the tire is going to stop when on wet pavement. They will find that the ratings go from AA, A, B and C, with C being a poor traction control tire. Temperature grades are also given the ratings of A, B and C. Though the person may not be concerned with this, as most tires that are rated C are those that are still safe to use as mandated by federal law.

Overall, when buying tires it is not as simple as buying one the first thing that you find. You need to make sure that you are taking into consideration all the ratings to get a tire that best fits your individual needs.