How well do you know your tires?
I mean, I know you drive on them every day,
but did you know that in some
cases your tires need some miles
on them to improve performance?
We're going to explain how that
all even makes sense as we answer
your car related questions.
We've got Mike Quincy here
from Consumer Reports with us.
He's talking tires, rolling resistance,
and overall car performance,
but you can text him any of
your car related questions.
Here's how you do it.
You text that number,
336-379-5775. You can get your question.
Answered in real time, all right?
So we're talking about tires and
we're talking about something I have
never even heard of this before.
What is rolling resistance?
Well, and it it sounds almost
like a physics lesson and and it's
basically the the definition is.
Rolling resistance is the energy
it takes to rotate the tires.
It's affected by the friction caused
when the tire surface meets the road.
You know a ^2 + b ^2 = C squared.
No one's going to be quizzed on this.
Basically you need to know that if you
have a a better rolling resistance tires,
you're going to save money
because you're going to save gas.
OK, so we should look for something like
that when we go buy a tire. I usually go.
What's the middle of the road price
and does it match my specs on the car?
But I need to ask this too.
So does getting the more expensive tire
with rolling resistance make a difference?
It can make a difference because in
Consumer Reports testing we found
that some of the more expensive
tires have done well in our ratings,
so you're going to actually save
money down the road if you if you
buy a tire with with with better
rolling resistance because you're
going to be saving all this money,
I guess there's a lot of factors
that go into buying tires.
I mean, you're talking about.
Handling dry and wet braking
how long they're gonna last.
A rolling resistance should always
kind of be the the one that that
that puts you over the the edge to
go from one tire to another and it's
all in Consumer Reports websites.
We have a ton of information on tires.
OK so when I'm looking at a tire it
will say rolling resistance on there.
It's either gonna say on on the sidewall,
or that is something that you can ask.
The tire salesperson.
You can also show up with the Consumer
Reports Tire report test to say
these are the ones I want because
they have lower roads distance.
OK, so do you think we should
sacrifice quality in other areas to
get the higher rolling resistance?
With any tire,
you have to make some compromises.
You might get a compromise with with
a a harsher ride, but more grip.
You might get better braking but
but but it they won't last as long,
so you really have to figure out
what is what is best for you.
The kind of car you have a lot of
times cars come with very specific
tires and it's usually good to
to go with sort of the original
equipment specifications that came
with your car when you bought it new.
OK, yeah, and you should look at that, right?
I've for sure before you buy a tire you
want to make sure that it's hitting.
All of the parameters that your
original tire hit. How does go ahead?
Oh exactly. I mean you when you go
to replace your tires, you can stay
in the tire sales people you know.
I always thought these tires were noisy.
What do you have that that is that
they can be a little bit quieter or I
want something to improve the ride?
Or you just say I want tires they're
going to maximize fuel economy because
really you can slice and dice all of
these different variations with your
tires when you go to replace them
all right and rolling resistance
does maximize your fuel economy.
Absolutely. Over over over the
lifespan of of of of of your tires
allowing lower rolling resistance
can save a few $100 over the.
I mean it really will add up.
OK, so how does aging of your tires
impact the rolling resistance?
Well actually when your tires are
brand new they have a higher rolling
resistance because there's so much
tread in them and they're probably a
bit softer over time the tires will
get smoothed out and you're rolling
resistance will will actually improve.
So you know that's that's something
to consider, but there's definitely
a lifespan of the tires there.
There's. There's definitely gets
the time when you need to replace.
All right, and let's talk about
that right away. Then when is
the time to replace your tires?
Well, from a scientific standpoint,
it's when you're seeing 430
seconds of an inch, which is how
do you explain that on television?
What basically you do is you take a
quarter and you put it in one of the
the the tread depths and you if you can
see the top of George Washington's head,
it's time to replace the tires.
OK, gotcha, and some people would say,
well, I only check my tires once every
year or something like that because.
They should last all year,
but that's not really what we should
be going with a yearly check.
No, absolutely not.
In fact, probably every week you
should test your tires, pressure.
The tire pressure is a big deal
when it comes to your safety
and performance of your car.
There's a placard inside your door
jamb that says with the recommended
pounds per square inch should be.
You also need to inspect the
white the the side walls.
Any indications of dry rot or
cracks or any kind of bulges?
That's an indication that.
You also should be thinking
about replacing your tires,
and I always wonder like you know
when you hit something right,
you've got like some kind of
something wrong with your tire.
Is it OK to just patch your tire or do
you necessarily have to get a new tire
every time something like that happens?
It really depends on the extent of
the damage. If you want to be safe,
you replace the tires,
but that that also can open up
a whole new kettle of worms,
because some cars like Subarus
that have standard all-wheel drive.
They recommend you replace
all the tires at once,
but you know that's that's
kind of an extreme situation,
but but you need to definitely
get a recommendation from a
tire installation expert.
OK, all right?
And Speaking of experts,
he's here to answer your questions.
We are getting a few in already,
so we'll be answering those
questions and much more coming back.
Right after this.