By Sejin Kim

Selecting the right tyre is not as easy as it sounds. When buying tyres, one has to pay attention to several different factors to get the right result. Choosing the right tyres is important for a great driving experience and for your safety. Given below is a small guide for you that will help you select the best tyre for your car.

Not replacing all tyres

Normally, people would go and buy one tyre, as not all get damaged at the same time. However, experts prefer to buy all four tyres together as it has several benefits. Not only will you be able to gauge the performance of your tyres in a better way, but you’ll also enjoy a better driving experience when all the tyres are identical.

However, buying four tyres when only one is damaged is an outlandish thought. You don’t necessarily have to spend extra money as you can get the right tyre by paying a little bit of attention. If you only want to buy one, two or three tyres, you should try to get them from the same vendor, so that there is no risk. Replace your old tyres with new tyres that exactly match the others. Selecting them is not very difficult when you have the right knowledge.

You can go to an auto shop and ask the seller to produce identical tyres. The make, shape, size should all be identical.

Replacing all tyres

However, when you are replacing all four tyres, it isn’t that easy. You don’t necessarily need the same brand as you can experiment with newer and better tyres. Given below is your guide to the perfect tyre:

The size

The size of the tyre depends on the size/weight of your vehicle. Never undersize, and overlook this factor. No matter how good a tyre is, if it is overloaded, the performance will not be good.

The tyre’s diameter is another thing that you should pay attention to. You can stay within 3% of the original diameter (cars and vans). SUVs and pick-ups can handle up to 15% change in diameter. The change doesn’t sound huge, but it’s important to remain in limits for good performance and safety.

A system called “Plus Sizing” is available that helps people decide the right diameter for their car. The right diameter is important for accurate speed and the information that goes into the computer, regarding speed and other data.

The technicalities

All the tyre labels have a number on them, for example: T180/60R 12 74 Q. The T stands for “truck”. The other variations include LT (light truck) and P (passenger vehicle).

The number after the first letter is the width of the tyre in millimeters. The number decreases as the tyres get shorter or narrower. The other letter, R, tells the type of the car. In the example above, it is a radial tyre.

Once you know the width and the type of the tyre, it is important to know if it would fit your vehicle. The number after R, 12 in the example, is the diameter of the rim.

The number after this, 74 in this example, tells the capabilities of the tyre when it comes to handling weight. In our example, the tyre can carry 827lbs, which means that four tyres will easily carry a 3308lbs vehicle. This point should never be neglected. If you have a heavier car, you will have to buy a tyre that can handle heavy vehicles. An extract of the chart is given below.

Load Index       Maximum Load (Lbs.)

74        827

75        853

76        882

77        908

You can check the complete list at an automobile shop.

Now, the last letter, Q in the example, is the speed rating. It indicates the maximum speed the tyre is capable of carrying. If you plan on going wild with your car or taking it to racing tracks, you will have to buy a tyre with higher capabilities. An extract is given below:

Speed Rating   Test Speed (maximum speed)

Q         Up to 160 km/h

S          Up to 179 km/h

T          Up to 188 km/h

U          Up to 198 km/h

Always remember these points when you go to buy a tyre. The weight of the vehicle, the purpose of the tyre/car should always be clear.