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I have a couple of questions on this one.
My car is due for new tires. Ive ordered 4 pairs. These 4 pairs, however, were the cheapest pairs I could find($80/tire). The reason why I picked these was (1) if one of my tires get a nail on the sidewall, and it will, I have end up having to replace 2 or all 4 tires. A tire repair, done properly, is already $30. So if all my tires are valued at $150 at half life, I’d rather spend the $150 to get two new tires. Am I correct in this thinking?
My second question is, are cheap new tire brands safe to buy?
My third question is, what are your thoughts on tires.
My fourth question, how much does uneven tire wear affect the life of the transmission? Is rotating tires that important?
My last question, when I got two new tires on my front axles, it fixed all of the alignment issues I was having. That got me to think that the alignment is actually very hard to throw off and that alignments are not needed unless you replaced suspension parts. Am I correct in that thinking?
The problem with buying spare tires and storing them for eventual use is that tires have a limited shelf life. You should not drive on tires that are more than 8 years old (some people say 6 years). This is because the rubber in the tires degrades from exposure to atmospheric Ozone, sunlight; even from atmospheric Oxygen. If you want to preserve your spare tires as much as possible, store them in a sealed plastic bag in a cool area, in the dark. In the future, I would not buy extra matching tires to store for eventual replacement use, unless you tend to get a lot of flat tires (I don’t).
My experience with cheap new tires is that if they are not defective from the start (out of round or other geometry problems) they will generally be safe. One thing to keep an eye on is the sidewalls; look for signs of bulges. I also recommend reading reviews of any cheap brand of tire you might consider.
There are big differences in the performance of different tire brands and models. Big differences in grip (handling and braking power) dry and wet, big differences in noise, and differences in longevity and fuel economy (rolling resistance). The best (and generally most expensive) tires do well in all of these areas, though grip and longevity are usually a compromise (one for the other).
Small differences in tire wear on an axle are not important unless your transaxle has a limited-slip differential. A normal open-differential handles small differences in rolling diameter with no consequences.
I would say that you are correct about suspension alignment stability. Remember that potholes can also bend suspension components and alter your alignment. Also getting the alignment checked is a good way to check for suspension component wear if you have a good and trustworthy mechanic.
How come some cars with awd have different tire sizes out of the factory? I thought awd needs tires with same specs all around, especially threadwear.
If an AWD car has different tire sizes from the factory, they will have the same rolling diameter. The AWD system doesn’t care what the width and aspect ratio are, just the effective diameter. Ultra high-performance AWD cars will tend to have wider tires on the axle that has more weight and gets most of the power.
The rolling diameter is just the diameter of the tire adjusted for the distortion of the tire against the road due to the weight of the car. It is a bit smaller than the diameter that you might measure with the tire off the car.
Ohhhhhh I see.
So what happens if the rolling diameter is off? Would a low tread tire next to a high tread tire be enough to damage?
What I don’t get then is why do some cars want you to have the same tire sizes on all four wheels for their awd system if rolling diameter is important?
If you have a limited slip differential between the front and rear axles, it will always be slipping and wear-out quickly. Some newer vehicles with electronically controlled couplings between the front and rear will not be able to control properly (and their clutches will wear-out or overheat) if the 2 axles are always rotating at different speeds
If you have a limited slip differential between the front and rear axles, it will always be slipping and wear-out quickly. Some newer vehicles with electronically controlled couplings between the front and rear will not be able to control properly (and their clutches will wear-out or overheat) if the 2 axles are always rotating at different speeds
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