Car Tires

Choosing Tires for Winter Driving

Choosing tires for winter driving, is of utmost importance when in many areas the presence of ice and snow on roadways creates a deadly hazard. It is not a difficult process if you have the necessary information.

The very first thing you should do is check your vehicle owner’s manual, to find the manufacturer specifications for the types and sizes of tires recommended by them.

Next, mount the appropriate mud and snow tires on your vehicle to help guard against the slickness of winter roads, these tires can be used anywhere as long as they do not have metal studs on them.

If you live in an area where ice is common in the winter, be sure to use the metal-stud tires that are available and keep your other tires(if they are in good condition) for the end of winter season as these metal stud tires are only allowed during the winter season and are banned in 10 states.

Another key to remember, is to make sure that all of the snow tires you equip your vehicle with are of the same size, type and tread. This is particularly important if your vehicle is front wheel drive where using mismatched rear wheels may result in a loss of traction when braking on the icy roads of winter.

When choosing tires be aware that equipping your vehicle with over-sized tires that are larger than those recommended by the manufacturer, make result in difficulty steering and can rub the fender wells or suspension underneath.

As a rule, snow tires are manufactured with large empty areas in their tread so that they will have more traction on snow than normal tires, where regular all season type tires are more concerned with marrying a quiet ride with a modicum of traction.

Another time tested method that can be used when conditions warrant is the use of tire chains. Installing tire chains can increase traction as much as 200%. Again, make sure that these chains are of the right size and type for your particular tire as the wrong chains can cause the tires to fail.

Following the preceding tips on choosing tires for winter driving, will help you to safeguard yourself and your family in any winter season.

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Tire Chain Store

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Snow Tire Store

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Radial-ply Tires

A radial is a pneumatic tire that has a radial-ply casing, and the ply cords extend to beads that are laid at approximate right angles to the centerline of the tread.

The radial-ply tire is a particular type of automobile tire that was originally developed by Michelin, and because of it’s advantages over any other types, the design has become the standard for almost all automotive tires.

The tires end up being made up of more than just rubber, as those tires would be far too flexible and weak, but instead are reinforced by a series of plies of steel and nylon cords within the rubber tread.

This casing is made up of various layers divided between the tread and the sidewall at the surface of the tire, and the liner and various plies and belts underneath those layers.

The fabric of the tire used to be built up on a flat steel drum, with the cords crisscrossing each other at an angle from the direction of travel, and this they called cross ply or bias ply tires.

With the plies turned up around steel wire beads, and then the combined tread and sidewall would be applied, creating the new tire to be put into a curing device and shaped into the mold.

This shaping process would cause the cords in the tire to assume a distinctive shape from bead to bead, the angle under the tread went down about 36 degrees from the top, and this was called the Crown Angle.

In the sidewall region, the angle was 45 degrees with bead remaining at a standard of 60 degrees, and the low crown angle gave this design rigidity to support the tread with the high sidewall angle giving comfort.

Being a little bit more aware of radial tire construction may just help to make you a bit better at deciding on what brand of radial tires might best suit your needs, with this radial tire information, and comparing prices at various local outlet retailers and auto parts stores.

Summary Description.

1. longitudinal steel belt
2. radial structure
3. circle wire
4. rim
5. tread band
6. lateral wall
7. heel joint

Description=

Cross-section diagram of a tire (tyre) showing the plies. Numbers 14 and 16 are bias-plies and number 12 is a radial ply.

|Source=http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?patentnumber=3672423

|Date= April 7, 1970 |Author=Dudu)

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Car Tire Accessory Store

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All-Wheel Drive Tires

What do you want to see? A blur of forest and land slide by as you spin in all directions with mud surrounding your truck as if you’ve become engulfed in a tornado that’s comprised strictly of earth and water, is certainly a compelling option. And, that’s right, it can be an option.

But, there’s something else that perhaps, unfortunately, cannot be ignored. Sometimes you need to get to work. And unless your office is conveniently located well off the highway, by way of some little known and covered path, well then you may need to consider the handling and driving of your vehicle under multiple conditions.

Its not always glamorous, but the fact is your four-wheel drive tires are probably going to ride upon reasonably dry, smooth surfaces. But, that’s not to say that you can’t be ready for anything.

More practical purposes for having a 4×4, and the 4×4 tires that go with it, are things such as slippery conditions due to snow or mud, depending on where you live and drive. But this is why you can have it all with All Terrain tires, as used with your 4×4.

You can cut down on the discomforts of riding on mud or off road tires, such as noisy street driving that may seem as bumpy as if you are actually off road and also undesirable aspects, such as potentially greatly reduced fuel efficiency.

But, yet, be ready for when you know (or more importantly when you don’t know) you are going to want good traction and grip from your all-wheel drive tires. The name says it all, you’re going to be able to tackle all terrains and yet not wish you had something different on your 4×4. Let’s hear it for all terrain tires.

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