Car tips: Tyre buying made easy

By Chris Aaron 3 days ago

Words by Nooralia Zaharin, brought to you by Michelin

Replacing your cars’ tyres is usually an unwanted expense and often a confusing purchase experience especially for first timers. As a smart consumer, you want to make sure that you get the best tyre for your money.

These days, there are plenty of choices out there, but with a little guidance, you can get yourself a set of fairly-priced, safe and durable tyres for your vehicle.

The most important rule when buying a set of new tyres is to always do a little homework before you make your trip to the tyre store, as it makes it a less intimidating process if you first assess your situation and budget. Browsing through tyre manufacturer sites, online tyre selling and your nearest local tyre store is also recommended. This little bit of homework will help you make a wiser decision when purchasing your new tyres.

You also need to consider several factors that will help you decide what is best for your daily drive when making a purchase. Treadware for example, is an indicator of longevity. The wear ratings go from 100 to 600 and higher wear ratings mean longer life and better fuel economy. However, higher wear rating for longevity generally utilises harder rubber compounds that affect dry traction.

Traction is the key to safety. A common mistake is to select a tyre without considering its ability to grip the road. Traction grades provide a basis of how well tyres will stop on a wet surface. For the Malaysian climate where rain is a factor, it is better off paying a bit more by buying premium tyres that offers good wet grip.

Buying the right tyre for your intended speed is vitally important to safety, a tyre with a higher speed rating can dissipate more heat on long highway trips. If you were to spend less time on the highway, the speed rating might not be an important factor in choosing a replacement tyre. You can determine the speed rating by looking at the letter beside the load index in the alphanumeric code. The range is A to Z, with A being the lowest and Z the highest, but you’ll usually find a range that falls between Q to Z for most cars.

You should also consider your usage condition for your tyres. If you drive mostly on paved roads and highways, a smooth road tyre and street tyre should be on your shopping list. If you drive equally on paved roads, highways, and off-road, then all-terrain tyres should be a consideration. If you are driving mostly off-road and occasionally on paved roads/highways, then you might consider choosing an “off-road” tyre. However, bear in mind that 100 per cent off-road tyres do not offer optimum grip on asphalt, especially in the wet.

Another important factor in choosing a replacement tyre is the load rating. The load capacity number on the tyre-size code indicates the load-carrying capacity of that single tyre. When selecting replacement tyres, make sure you do not select a tyre with a lower load-carrying capacity than what’s currently on your vehicle.

Again, doing some homework, being well-informed, knowing what to look for, and what is required by a manufacturer in terms of their own specifications for buying tyres, will ensure that you have made a correct decision when purchasing this product and making the tyre buying experience less intimidating.