They’re black, round and made of rubber. If this sums up your knowledge of tires, then you might want to read further. Tires have been the topic of all sorts of misperceptions and misunderstandings for years.  

A common misperception is a good tread pattern is needed to provide good traction on dry roads, This is false. The tread pattern you choose for your tires should be consistent with your type of driving. You don’t want to use mud tires if you’re driving on paved roads. This would cause an extremely loud and uncomfortable ride. Conversely, you don’t want to have a standard passenger tire on your truck if you’re planning on conquering the swamps of Northern Florida. The role of tire tread is to act as a squeegee on wet roads to remove water from under the tire and channel it through the grooves for improved wet traction. Tell your local tire store expert how you drive and they will recommend the best tread design for your situation.

Talk to some of the old gear-heads and they will tell you to never rotate tires from side to side, only front to back. This misperception has it’s roots in the old design of the “bias ply tires“. Bias ply tires were constructed by layering textile cords one bead to the other in a 30 degree angle. The more modern and common “radial” tire is reinforced with steel cable belts that are assembled parallel and run from side to side. Cross rotating a radial tire from one side of the car to the other is acceptable.

A costly misperception about tires is the need to purchase speed rated tires. Most sports cars come equipped with tires capable of handling speeds in excess of 149 mph. These tires are “speed rated” and are usually made of softer rubber. The estimated lifespan of these tires is usually only 25K miles or less. They’re also very expensive. Ask yourself this common sense question - How often do I drive over 149 mph? If you answered, not very often, then you don’t need speed rated tires. Save your money and buy a good all season radial.

Tires are constantly changing and evolving. What was once common automotive knowledge is now regarded as a practice of the past. What ever happened to “truing” your tires? If you know this answer, you understand and are thankful for the new modern tire.