It’s Fall Y’all!

With the first official day of Fall behind us, much of the U.S. is seeing cooler temperatures. What does that mean for your tires and why does the low tire pressure symbol always come on during this time of year?

When the outside temperature drops, so does tire inflation pressure. The air inside your tires condenses therefore taking up less space. Tire pressure decreases about 1 PSI (pound per square inch) for every 10°F the temperature drops. You probably see the Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) warning light come on when you start your vehicle after the first big cold front. You probably also notice that the warning light turns off once you have driven a couple miles and the vehicle starts to warm up. Whether the light goes off or not, your tire pressure needs to be adjusted to the door placard specs. If you have plus sized your tire you will need to consult the manufacturer or tire dealer to ensure your PSI meets the load carry capacity of the vehicle specs. This is easy to do yourself or you can ask your local tire shop to check your tire pressure, many offer it for free.

As a rule, regardless of season, tire pressure should be checked monthly. Do not wait for the light to come on or for your tires to “look low”.

Whether you’re buying a new pair of jeans, golf clubs, or tires, there is always a quality spectrum for the product in mind. Quality impacts price, but is it always worth it? Can you get the same quality tires for less?
Absolutely.
Quality isn’t the only factor that impacts price.
When you understand all the considerations around tire price, you can choose the best product for you. Elements include: lifespan, handling, name brand, tread, braking, and more.
Lifespan
Durability, or a range of factors that influence the tires expected lifespan, is one of the most critical elements that impacts price. Though softer rubber tires perform better, it wears faster. Harder rubber will outlast a softer rubber tire. So balance is key.
To counteract this soft/hard tire dilema, tires are designed to have reinforcement through sturdy sidewalls. It’s more challenging to examine this with your eye, as the steel tire frame is covered by the tread. So talk to the sales person or do your own research about the construction of the tire before choosing the right quality tire for you.
Handling
Handling is a major part of tire performance and therefore affects the price. From a driver perspective, handling is a measurement of how the vehicle responds to driver commands. These considerations are steering, accelerating, and braking.
Handling is linked to safety, driver pleasure, and overall vehicle performance. It is a major element that is commented on by vehicle thought leaders and industry media.
Even though variables outside of the tire itself impact handling, like vehicle type and size, the pavement type, weather conditions, temperature, and driving assistant systems – tires play a major role. The tire is the end of the kinetic chain. Where the rubber meets the road. Higher quality tires handle better.
Name Brand
Just like every product you buy, name brand is a major component to price. People buy a brand just because they have heard of it before, or seen their commercials on TV. But as we know, there are so many other aspects to the overall tire quality besides name brand.
The industry has evolved to include plenty of tire brands that are of equal performance and of identical quality to the name brands. These alternatives simple have not had enough time to develop the brand reputation that the existing name brands have. One day these will easily become as well known.
In the meantime, you can experience a great deal and walk away with an excellent product for half the costs.
Thread
As discussed in our article about when to buy new tires, tread is one of the most important considerations in the tire arena. Tread keeps your wheels firmly on the road in rainy / snowy / muddy conditions, maintains air pressure, and avoids blowouts.
Therefore, tread thickness and pattern impacts the bottom line. Thicker tread with wider water grooves will dramatically increase your ability to handle in inclement conditions and ultimately keep you and your family safe. Loudness is an adverse effect of thicker tread – thick treads means loud tires.
Even though tread is a consideration, it isn’t as influential as other variables.
Braking
No matter how safe of a driver you are, everyone finds themselves in an aggressive braking situation from time to time. Because of this, a shorter braking distance is always preferred. Each tire has an estimated braking distance.
Tires are not generally designed for braking distance, which could be something parents choose for inexperienced drivers. This element is just result of the overall tire design, and important to some buyers.