Have you been driving your car tires for more than five years or 20,000 miles or are starting to notice the bars becoming more apparent on your tire tread? If so, it is time for you to replace your tires with a set of new ones.
The question is: Which tires should you get?
With all the tire makers and brands you have to choose from, this choice can be tough, which is why it helps to have a tire comparison guide.
Here are some basic tire comparison steps to help you find the right tires for your vehicle to run on.
1. Assess your vehicle and driving needs. Before you do any comparing, you have to determine first what you are looking for in your tires, or basically what kind of driver you are. Both will help you narrow down your options later on.
2. Compare the different types of tires available. Know that tires come in different types, namely:
Performance Tires – Max performance (MP), High performance (HP) and Ultra high performance (UHP) tires are known for being stylish and sporty, able to go at high speeds while still maintaining low noise and riding comfort. They have very good traction, as well.
Touring Tires – These are standard passenger tires that are designed for riding comfort, with some of them built for fuel efficient and long tread life. There are luxury touring tires and standard touring tires available.
All-season Tires – These tires are intended to be used all year long, with equally good traction on dry and wet roads.
Summer Tires – These tires have very good dry traction but may not do well on wet roads.
Wet Performance Tires – These tires are designed to resist hydroplaning and have efficient water drainage for better traction and braking on wet roads.
Winter Tires – These tires are made of a special compound and usually have multiple grooves to adhere to muddy, icy and snowy roads.
3. Compare the different brands. Once you know what type of tires you need, the next step in tire comparison is to find out which companies offer them or which brands are available so you can compare them against each other.
You can check out tire reviews or look at tire test results, tire ratings and tire comparison charts online. These will give you an idea on how tires perform especially in the areas of wet traction, dry traction, comfort, tread life or tread wear, tire noise and responsiveness.
4. Compare prices. After knowing what brand you want to get, you can now look for where you can get them. You can check with tire discounters to get the top brands at low prices or visit various tire outlets to get the lowest price estimate.