Choosing the best tires for your sedan is not an easy task, because the wrong decision in the model, brand or type of tire can affect gas mileage, car handling and even tire wear. . To choose the ideal tires, Nevardo Porras, commercial engineering coordinator for Bridgestone Colombia, explains that the first thing to consider is the size specified by the manufacturer for each brand of car. “This information appears either in the vehicle manual or on the driver’s door.”
Porras explains that the tire measurement is made up of a series of numbers that indicate the width of its section in millimeters, followed by the height of the section or height of the sidewall, the type of construction of the tire, whether radial or diagonal. , and the rim diameter in inches: for example, 235/75R15 represents a tire that is 235 millimeters wide, 75 millimeters high (measured as a percentage), of radial (R) construction, and has a rim diameter of 15 inches. It is important to bear in mind that when installing a tire of another size, this can in some cases lead to a loss of driving comfort, variations in the speedometer reading and an increase fuel consumption.
How to choose a good tire:
Juan Gurumendi, representative of Michelin, mentions some factors to consider before buying tires.
• Type of riding: This also has something to do with tire choice. So, if our way of driving the car is more sporty, we will need tires with a lot of grip and stability.
• Type of roads we drive on: If we go on the highways regularly, we will need high performance tyres; while if we use the vehicle only in the city, we will opt for tires with low rolling resistance.
• Where we buy the tyres: This is very important, because depending on where we buy the tyres, we can be sure that they will be of good quality. Also, if we go to specialized sites, they will be able to answer all our questions, if we have any.
when to replace them
Many drivers don’t know when to change their tires. Sometimes it can be obvious at first glance, like punctures or visible wear, but not always.
• Look at the pattern of the wheels: If the tire is in good condition, the depth of the edges will be between 8 and 8.5 millimetres.
• Measure the tire tread depth: If you don’t have a depth gauge, a tool specially designed for this purpose, you can use a 1 dollar coin. If the rubber covers the edge where the letters are, the tire is in perfect condition; while in the opposite case, you must change the wheel of your car.
• Check the sides of the wheel: this part is usually rounder than the rest of the tire, so it tends to wear out sooner.