Preparing For the Warm Season and Choosing Summer Tires

The Car Owner

Is in the throes of choosing summer tires less often than when buying another pair of sneakers. As a rule, this happens every 3-5 years. Naturally, depending on the intensity of use of the car, this period may vary in one direction or another, but there is another factor. It will be about the quality of tires and, accordingly, the correctness of their choice.

But first,

Let’s see what the legislation tells us on this topic. So, if we are talking about passenger summer tires, then the “Technical Regulations on the Safety of Wheeled Vehicles” (TRTS) prohibits the use of tires with a residual tread height of less than 1.6 mm. Tires designed for winter conditions have a stricter norm: 4 mm.

It Is Not Difficult To Check It:

You can use a regular ruler or caliper, or you can use special wear marks that are on almost every modern tire. They are usually marked on the sidewall with the TWI index or applied directly to the tread elements as a percentage of residual depth. That is, if you see the number 40, then you can not think about replacement due to wear.

If there are 20 percent left, it’s time to take care of changing the rubber. There are other indicators of tread wear, but in any case, the law requires tire manufacturers to install a sufficient number of clearly visible marks. In case of doubts about your own measurement skills, it is better to entrust this to the specialists of tire centers.

In Fairness,

Let’s say that it is not worth bringing tires to the maximum possible tread. It is much easier to puncture such a tire or damage it upon impact than a new one or with little wear. Moreover, the greater the wear, the greater the likelihood of loss of control, especially on wet roads.

But even with minimal wear, the tires should not have holes, swellings, cuts and tread delamination. These tires also go to waste. Foreign inclusions are not allowed – nails, self-tapping screws, etc.

There Is Another Important Point.

Some manufacturers believe that the maximum life of tires should not exceed five years, although a number of them advocate 10 years of service from the date of issue. However, when they talk about 5 years, most likely, we are talking about the warranty period of the tire.

Nevertheless, it is still worth paying attention to the age of the tires. The fact is that the rubber compound from which they are made is a multicomponent substance subject to drying. Unfortunately, this is not a school rubber eraser that can be revived by soaking it in kerosene or gasoline. A dry tire does not hold the road well, wears out faster, and microcracks that appear upon impact can lead to its deformation or rupture.

So which tries to choose if you are convinced that the old ones are worn out?

First of all – suitable for your car in terms of size, load index and speed. Most likely, there will be several possible options, and all of them are indicated both on the sticker of the central pillar of the doorway on the driver’s side of the car, and in the car’s instruction manual. In general, the TRTS stipulates that vehicles must be equipped with tires according to the vehicle manufacturers’ operational documentation. And it is better not to deviate from these recommendations.

The tire size is tied to the wheels you have, and with a landing diameter of 16 inches, you will not be able to put 17-inch tires. There is one more rule: the smaller the diameter of the disc, the higher the profile of the tire used.

In addition, when operating a car on bad roads, an inevitable decrease in comfort will follow. So in the case of driving on surfaces with different qualities, it is better to stop on tires with a higher profile.

The Tire Market Is Huge And Offers Models For Every Taste And Budget.

These are European, Korean, American, Chinese and even American brands. Which of them is preferable – to decide, of course, the buyer. But there is a nuance.

Every self-respecting brand produces tires both for the domestic market and for export to various countries and regions. The lines of the same Japanese or Finnish manufacturers for themselves or for Russia can be completely different. But this does not mean that they are worse or better.

The fact is that the “right manufacturers”

Have the composition of the rubber compound adapted to the climatic conditions of a particular region. And sometimes even to the quality of the asphalt. So, there is no point in trying to buy tires made conditionally for Spain or the USA, unless we are talking about models for “super premium” (and even then not always). Each line is made for a specific market.

By the way, most of the leading brands have built their factories in Russia, but this is not a reason to say that the quality of products differs from imported ones. The standards at such enterprises are the same all over the world, respectively, and quality control is identical. What may alert is the degree of localization of production or the use of local materials and components for the manufacture of tires.

As a rule,

We are not talking about rubbers, but about tire carcass materials. The same textile cord or bead wire may be locally produced. But they exactly meet all brand standards, so you should not worry about it.

By the way, in 2018, the tire Michelin X-Ice North 4 DOT 22 WC 0K1X 0218 in a joint test of winter studded and non-studded tires (12 studded and 11 non-studded, 205/55R16), conducted by the well-known Finnish company Test World Oy, took the first place. Moreover, what I would especially like to note is that this tire was produced in Russia.

Another thing is that some tire manufacturers have several price ranges, from budget to premium.

The difference is not only in price, but also in the loads that these tires can withstand, road holding, carcass materials and rubber composition, as well as mileage before wear. It is about the mileage, and not about the time of use, which we have already mentioned. Yes, as a rule, an expensive tire requires less weight for balancing, that is, it is better dynamically adjusted.

Another point that is often overlooked is the tread design of the tire itself. By the way, it is a product of the company’s intellectual property, protected by law and included in the cost of the tire. Of course, the pattern affects the grip properties in various conditions, but it should be borne in mind that a simpler one can be much more effective.

It all depends on what kind of roads you drive. Buying a high-speed tire with symbolic lugs, knowing that every weekend before the start of winter you will go to the country, is probably not worth it.

Also choose tires of the premium segment for an inexpensive car with an engine power of up to 100 hp. hardly makes sense. There is no particular benefit here if the owner rolls 50-60 thousand kilometers in five years. After all, the service life is about the same.

But if the annual mileage is greater, then you can think about a higher price range: such tires, with certain characteristics, will cover more kilometers. In this case, the costs may pay off.

In any case,

It is worth looking at the results of tire tests in reputable, specialized media, better than domestic ones. Moreover, testing tires of exactly the desired size. And at the same time monitor the reviews of the owners. But all this will not be dogma.

For example, the tire receives the highest scores for smooth running, low noise, reduced fuel consumption. At the same time, it does not show itself in the best way in high-speed maneuvering. But the total score allows her to lead.

At The Same Time,

A model with good braking or handling performance on wet surfaces may end up at the bottom of the list due to the same noise or increased fuel consumption. If 100 g / 100 km or a couple of extra decibels are important, choose according to this criterion. But such a decision will make you pay more. In general, it is best to choose the priority properties of the tire for yourself and build on them when buying.

Having decided on these details, you can move on to the nuances. The tread pattern of a tire can be asymmetrical or directional. In the first case, the tire is always installed with the side marked Outside facing out. The fact is that the inward-facing side of the tread not only differs in pattern from the outside, but is also softer in itself, since the inside of the tread experiences different loads than the outside, especially in corners.

In the second,

The Rotation marking and the arrow indicating the direction of rotation of the tire are important. Such models have proven themselves well on wet surfaces, but wear out faster. In addition, when rearranging such tires, problems arise. Without reborning, changing the side of the tire installation will not work. There are also very rare options when the tread is non-directional and at the same time symmetrical. But these are now almost non-existent.

So when do you do all this? Let’s return to the legislation of the countries of the Customs Union. The technical regulation states: “It is forbidden to operate vehicles equipped with tires with anti-skid spikes in the summer (June, July, August)”. Summer tires or летни гуми are prohibited for all three winter months. But these terms can be adjusted by the regional government bodies of the Customs Union member states due to the large number of climatic zones.

Tire Manufacturers Association

Therefore, the Tire Manufacturers Association makes the following recommendation. Change shoes after the winter season only when the average daily temperature is above +7 degrees for 7-10 days in a row.