Published on : 03 July 20193 min reading time
Choosing the tires for your car should not be done lightly. Of course, if you have just bought a sedan equipped with 18-inch rims, then the bill when changing the four tires can be quite expensive.
However, you should not only look at the price, at the risk of ending up with a vehicle that is unsafe or even dangerous for you, your passengers and other road users.
Technical constraints to be respected
You have no choice and you will have to comply with certain characteristics specific to your vehicle. Load and speed ratings to be respected are indicated by the manufacturer, and if it is possible to opt for tires with higher ratings, you will be outlawed by mounting tires with lower ratings.
Choose according to your living space
You won’t choose the same tires you used to live in a mountainous region with many poor dirt roads, or in a big city with perfectly smooth roads. We will also have to worry about the level of rainfall. Some tires react very poorly on wet roads and are, on the contrary, more efficient than others on dry roads.
Vehicle type and driving style
If you drive a sporty vehicle, and you like country roads and the feeling of control, then you will certainly have to choose “high performance” tires. They will ensure the safety of your vehicle on the road. On the other hand, if you spend your time in town in traffic jams, and brake every 15 metres, then you will have to choose tires made of a softer rubber. They will last much longer withstand this treatment, and you will travel more kilometres before you have to change them.
The risks of a first price tyre
If you are used to driving with good quality brand tires, then you will immediately feel the difference by choosing “low cost” tires. Of course, the economy at the time of replacement will be significant, but at the expense of performance.
This will increase the risk of aquaplaning, make the vehicle’s behaviour more random, and generally increase the braking time. In short, your vehicle will not provide you with foolproof safety. The longevity will also be less and in the end, you will have made very few savings in the long term, since you will have to replace your tires more often.
So take the time to analyze your driving style, your type of vehicle, but the places where you drive the most. The budget is necessarily a criterion to be taken into account, but the tire is not an element that is chosen because of its price. Performance is to be favoured, and very often, we will save money by choosing a more expensive tire that we will keep longer, and which may even allow us to consume less fuel.