Auto Pilot - November 2015

Tires 101: Don't Dread the Tread

Autopilot 1115

Most people view the tires on their cars
as a necessary evil—
black rubber mystery tubes there to basically keep
their pretty
rims from touching the pavement.

Because of the advancements in both tire technology and construction, tires have become fairly maintenance free, other than the occasional driveway glance for tread depth or tire pressure check.

I often get asked, “What’s the best tire?” Honestly, there is no generic “best.” It really depends on what and where you drive. For instance, the tires I expect to keep me safe at 200 MPH on the banking at Daytona in the Porsche are far different than the tires on my daily driver. In many ways, the daily driver is a much more demanding environment for a tire, as race tires only have a couple jobs: 1. Stick like glue to the road, yet last to the next pit stop. 2. Don’t explode under the tremendous heat and load a racecar places upon them. We don’t ask them to last 30,000 miles, grip well in the rain (we have rain tires for that), survive a curb scrape in the grocery parking lot, give a quiet comfortable ride, or even allow us to drive to safety when flat. But modern street tires are asked to do all that and more. Plus, they must be able to be sold at a price point that is palatable to the average consumer. The tire industry has a super tough job.

Tires can make the single greatest difference in the way your car handles and drives. Put inexpensive, poorly constructed tires or mismatched tires on even the finest luxury automobile and the driving experience will be terrible. On the flip side, I have had the opportunity to “fix” many a car that was headed to the classified ads to find a new home, simply by putting four new tires on it.

One example is a friend’s Audi A3. The car rode harsh, felt “unsettled,” and the tires were noisy. She was about to trade it in when a glance at the rubber revealed two different brands of inexpensive tires, neither well suited for the car. My recommendation was four, new, mid-priced tires from a well-known European company. She tried it and the results were night and day better. She still owns the car and is happy with the drive.

Tire shopping is one of those areas where a little consumer knowledge will pay great dividends both in your shopping experience and your pocket book. I always recommend supporting your local tire dealer/tire store, but walk in with an idea of what you might want and what that should cost. One of the greatest resources I have found is Tire Rack (tirerack.com). Their website will allow you to search tires by your car make and model and look at actual customer reviews for your same car.

Another relatively new, but becoming widespread, tire type is the “run flat” tire. These are manufactured by several companies and allow you to do just what the name implies: Continue to drive to a safe location on a tire that is flat with little or no chance of further car damage (other than the flat tire, which is already toast). If you think your car has run flats, next time you are in for service ask the service advisor to confirm, or look in that magic glove box book (the factory owner’s manual) for driving tips and maintenance requirements.

Stop thinking of your tires as those dirty black things that you hope stay inflated and that you dread to buy. Perhaps it’s time to start thinking about your tires more like little black dresses for your rims—a necessary part of the wardrobe that helps accentuate beauty in the center.

Jay Ramowski is a commercial helicopter pilot, automotive consultant and professional driver based in Charleston. Jay brings an easygoing love of all things mechanical and a particular passion for cars and the people who drive them. Have questions? Email Jay at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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