How to Buy New Car Tires

Series Summary

Major car tune-ups or vehicle overhauls are vital to the upkeep and maintenance of an automobile. A car is a complex machine made up of simple machines that have many different parts and processes which must be checked for breakage, leaks and wear. A mechanic does all of these tune-up checks when a car comes into the auto shop. However, many car owners learn how to check their cars to fix common problems without costly mechanic visits. A little automobile knowledge goes a long way in saving money, avoiding scams and keeping cars in top shape. In this free video series, an auto mechanic provides tips for fixing common car problems and demonstrates how to troubleshoot and perform maintenance on cars. Discover how to buy new car tires, replace a leaking radiator hose and clean fuel injectors. Learn about putting air in tires, changing disc brake pads and changing car brakes. With this auto repair advice, any car owner will be able to keep their vehicle in great condition.

Video Transcript

"Good afternoon. My name's Tom Brintzenhofe. I'm a certified master mechanic from Reading, Pennsylvania. Today we're going to talk about how to buy car tires. Now the easiest thing to do, and, you just can't walk anywhere and just say, "Hey, I want new tires on my car." That usually doesn't work. But, if you call your local parts store, the information you're going to need is...your tire size. It's always embedded in the side of the tire. This here particular tire is a 235/65/17. Now, I'll break this down to you real quick. The 235 is the width of the tire. The 65 is the height of the tire, from the rim to here. And the 17 is the diameter of your rim. Seventeen inch tire, two hundred and thirty five millimeters wide, sixty five high. Now, the differences between the different tires is real simple. Is what you want to do on the sidewall of this tire you're going to see a tread wear, anywhere from two hundred and eighty all the way up to seven hundred, eight hundred. And those numbers stand for the tread life of the tire. The longer...the higher the number, obviously, the more the tire is going to cost, the longer it's going to last. Traction and temperature are two other ones. And they're all...the best traction is a double A tire, the lowest, I believe, is a C. And when it comes to the...temperature tire, they run A, B and C. And that's how much the tire can actually withstand, temperatures at higher speeds. The other thing you need to pay attention to is, right here, is the R, is a radial. Well, most tires out there are radials, but they have Vs, Ws, and that's the speed rating for the tire. Each vehicle that's out there, the tire is made specifically for that vehicle, depending on how it's designed, suspension and handling. Some of the speed rated tires, the Vs, the Ws, the Z rated tires, the performance tires, a lot of times they're real small. Basically what you need to do, call your local...your local tire store. Give 'em this number, tell 'em what vehicle you're using, and they'll be able to tell you what options are out there. If you can't find the number that's actually on the vehicle, inside the driver's side door is a vehicle specific tag as to what tires go on that vehicle. But, what you want to do is give 'em that number. Tell 'em what you're looking to do with your tires, whether you want an off road tire, or a higher performance tire, or touring tire, and they'll give you your options there."