Tire Care Tips

Tire Features

In shopping for tires, 遵循汽车制造商的建议是选择最适合您的轮胎的万无一失的方法. To understand the characteristics of your tires, the main features to consider include: tire size, tire class, and tread type.

Size – The size of tires is indicated by a number of factors including section width, aspect ratio, and wheel diameter. 遵守制造商的规格将确保最佳的适合和性能为您的车辆.

Class -你选择的轮胎类别应该取决于你如何使用你的车辆和你在哪里使用它. In areas that experience a variety of weather conditions, an all season tire is a great choice, but if you live where snow and ice are a problem, you will need a winter class. If you value comfort and responsiveness, a touring class tire will meet your needs.

Tread – Tread type should be selected based on the type of roads or terrain you travel. Tread patterns available include multi-directional, asymmetric, directional, all-terrain, highway, and more, each offering distinct performance benefits.

As tire experts, we will make your shopping easy! 韦德1946官方将帮助您找到最好的轮胎，以匹配您的车辆建议, driving style, and budget.

Tire Maintenance

Protecting your tire investment begins with proper maintenance. Well-maintained tires not only promote longer wear and tread-life, they substantially improve the safety of your vehicle.

• Tire Pressure – Correct tire pressure is essential for reliable handling, effective traction, and optimal tire life. 适当充气的轮胎将确保车辆的重量均匀分布, resulting in even wear. 温度变化和漏气等因素会影响胎压，因此经常检查胎压很重要.
• Tire Rotation – Tire rotation is a key factor in assuring even tread wear. Depending on the type of vehicle and your specific tread wear pattern, different types of rotational patterns will be most beneficial. 由汽车专业人员轮转轮胎将提供这项服务，并有机会在其他问题变得严重之前发现它们.
• Wheel Alignment -车轮对中不当导致的问题包括车辆操控和转向不良, as well as uneven and rapid tread wear. Many factors can effect alignment, including a minor accident, which may not cause visible body damage. Checking your alignment regularly will prevent a host of problems down the road.

Your vehicle manufacturer manual will provide guidelines for proper maintenance. You can count on us to help you take care of your tires and your vehicle, and provide expert auto services when you need them.

Tires 101

Introduction

On the road, 每个司机和乘客的安全在很大程度上取决于轮胎的质量. Despite that fact, 轮胎可能是一般人在需要修理或更换之前不会考虑太多的东西. For every vehicle owner, it is worth taking a little time to learn about tires. While our Tires 101 section will not make you a tire expert, 它将为您提供一个基本的轮胎概述，让你更好地熟悉你的轮胎.

今天轮胎背后的技术结合了工程和化学的进步, as well as a solid understanding of physics. The newest designs offer the best performance, ride comfort, fuel efficiency, safety, and reliability. Today’s tires are also developed to meet specific vehicle demands, or to perform well in certain climates.

Tires are comprised of many different elements, which are assembled in a TBM, or Tire Building Machine. After assembly, tires are cured and finished to precise specifications. The basic components of a tire include:

• Bead -轮胎的强度来自胎头，胎头是一圈高强度的橡胶涂层电缆. 这种强度允许轮胎保持安装在轮辋上，并使其能够承受安装轮辋时安装机器的压力.
• Body Ply – tires are comprised of multiple plies or layers of fabrics, which are rubber coated to seal in air and promote tire element bonding. Types of fabric may include polyester cord and Kevlar. The number of plies a tire body has is indicative of its strength.
• Belt Package -钢带子午线轮胎包括钢带，这加强了区域下的胎面. 钢带的好处包括更大的抗穿刺性和更好的路面接触.
• Sidewall – providing lateral stability, 轮胎侧壁保护轮胎，使其具有良好的耐磨性和环境因素. 侧壁还提供了一个厚橡胶区，在其上凸起的识别字母和装饰特征被塑造.

Tire Specifications

If you have ever washed your vehicle or checked your tire pressure, you have probably noticed that there is a code on the side of each tire, which looks something like this: P205/55R16 89H. 这个看似随机的字母和数字组合可以告诉你很多关于你的轮胎, if you know how to crack the secret code. Actually, there is no secret — this code of specifications is, for the most part, universally the same for all tire manufactures. The alpha numeric system reveals the tire type and its performance characteristics.

P205/55R16 89H Type of Tire

轮胎的种类和用途由代码中的第一个字母表示. Letter designations include P primarily for passenger vehicles, T for temporary spare, LT for light truck metric, C for commercial, and ST for special trailer service. Euro-metric tires do not include this first letter descriptor.

P205/55R16 89H Section Width

Before the slash mark, and following the first alpha character, the section width of the tire is listed in millimeters. 这是从侧壁到侧壁的最宽点，所以数字越大表示轮胎越宽. In this case, the tire has a width of 205 millimeters.

P205/55R16 89H Aspect Ratio

Following the slash mark is the aspect ratio, 用百分数来表示轮胎从胎头到胎面顶部的高度. 这里的数字是55，这意味着轮胎高度是205毫米截面宽度的55%. The height of this tire would be 133.25 millimeters. A lower number indicates a lower tire profile

P215/70R16 100S Tire Construction

The construction of the tire is indicated by the letter following the aspect ratio. The most common designation is R, which stands for radial construction. Other less common construction types for modern passenger cars may include D for bias ply construction and B for belted tires.

P205/55R16 89H Wheel Diameter

结构规范后面的数字是轮胎的尺寸，以英寸为单位. The example tire would be designed to fit a 16-inch wheel. Tire sizes on modern vehicles typically start at 13-inches and go up to 18-inches, but custom package wheels can be 22-inches or even larger.

P205/55R16 89H Performance Index
The tire performance index usually follows the wheel diameter, and represents the tire’s load and speed ratings. In this case, the 89 load index represents 1,279 pounds (per tire), and the speed rating of H represents 130 mph. 在没有限速公路的国家，速度等级往往更为显著.

Common Speed Ratings

Letter	Max. MPH
L	75
M	81
N	87
P	93
Q	99
R	106
S	112
T	118
U	124
H	130
V	149

Measuring Tread Depth

A Penny for Your Treads?

足够的胎面深度是影响车辆操控性和牵引力的重要因素. In fact, tire tread depth is so important, US law requires tires to have plainly visible tread wear indicator bars. However, these bars can be difficult to see until the tread is well worn. The easiest way to measure tire tread depth, and be assured of the safety of your tires, is with the tried and true penny test.

How to Take the Penny Tire Thread Test:

• Hold a penny so that “In God We Trust” appears across the top. Place it into five different sections of the tire grooves, taking note of the visibility of Lincoln’s head.
• If you can consistently see the top of Lincoln’s head, this means that the treads are excessively worn, and it is time to go shopping for a new set of tires.
• 如果林肯的头顶(到前额发际线左右)一直覆盖着整个胎面凹槽, the tread is in good shape and your tires probably do not need replacement.

Monitoring tread depth and wear is an extremely important step in car maintenance, not only to make sure that tire tread is in good shape, but also to check for symptoms of other problems such as:

• Over inflation of tires – extreme wear in the center of the tread
• Under inflation of tires – excessive wear on tire shoulders
• Poor wheel alignment – uneven tread wear

Protect your tire investment and stay safe on the road. Remember – a penny saved is a great tool for checking your tread depth!

Types of Tires

In choosing tires, it is important to consider factors such a quality brand and solid value, but it is also essential to select the right tires for your type of vehicle. 在选择轮胎时，驾驶条件也是一个重要的考虑因素. 几种类型的轮胎可供选择，以适应各种车辆和所有的驾驶条件.

All Season Tires

全季轮胎是一种广泛使用和最受欢迎的轮胎品种，承载S和T速度等级. Sedans and minivans commonly have all season tires as standard. 全季轮胎的开发，以应付大多数情况下，从干燥的路面，潮湿的天气和中雪. Characteristics of all season tires include a comfortable and quiet ride, reliable handling, as well as long tread life. 所有季节的轮胎是一个很好的选择，大多数司机，除了冬天是严峻的. For year-round traction in most climates, all season tires are an excellent choice.

Winter Tires

胎面有抓握边缘，可以更好地处理冰雪，使冬季轮胎与所有季节轮胎区别开来. 通常，冬季轮胎是由一种柔软的橡胶化合物制成的，在极冷的温度下仍能保持弹性. 冬季轮胎不适合在空旷的路面上行驶，因为它们的抓地力不如全季轮胎，而且磨损得更快. Winter tires should be used during extreme cold weather driving conditions. 冬季轮胎应使用在一组四个平衡处理和最佳抓地力制动在雪地和结冰的条件.

Summer Tires

在温和的气候和季节中寻找性能最好的轮胎的司机会发现夏季轮胎的性能水平高于所有季节轮胎. Summer tires, as the name implies, are not at all suited for driving in snow and ice, but on dry and wet roads in mild temperatures they offer solid handling. This is because the softer compounds used in summer tires, unlike those used in winter tires, become harder in colder temperatures. While the performance is enhanced with summer tires, they tend to have shorter life span and more rapid tread wear.

Run-Flat Tires

缓爆轮胎是一种自支撑型轮胎，可用于轻型卡车和乘用车. Developed with much thicker sidewalls than conventional tires, 即使轮胎完全瘪了，也能支撑车辆的重量. 跑气轮胎能够在没有气压的情况下以50-55英里/小时的速度运行50-200英里(取决于轮胎)，同时保持几乎相同的乘坐舒适性和操控性. Since any loss of air pressure would not be detected by the driver, 使用漏气轮胎的车辆必须配备胎压监测系统. If run-flat tires are driven too long without the proper tire pressure, they may become irreparably damaged.