Spare Tire Covers

Not only do Spare Tire Covers look great, they protect your spare tire from the sun and other wear and tear caused by the elements. Wheel Covers are a fantastic gift idea as well. You may not be aware but you can actually by wheel covers online through Amazon, I have included some below so you don't even need to go out the door to buy them. Check however that they are going to fit the size of your tires.

Here are some of the most popular Spare Tire Covers...

Tweety Tire Covers




American Flag Patriotic Tire Covers



Back Off! Type Wheel covers



And for more check out our other Tire Covers Below

Discount Tires - How to find them

When trying to find a Discount Tire for your car you need to approach the process similar to the manner that you would buy anything. Doing your homework first can save you a great deal of grief, time and money.

Determine your exact requirements
Do you require one tire or two? What kind of driving will you be doing? What is the size and speed rating of the tires?

Ring around for prices
Its good idea to pick 4 or 5 local Tire suppliers and call each one of them. Try and get a feel for the market price of what you are looking for and remember to try and compare apples with apples - there can be large gaps in both quality and price when it comes to Tires. Ask for the Salesperson's recommendation as well as a couple of other options that they may be able to offer you. Write it all down before you call the next shop.

Check that the price includes fitting, balancing and any applicable taxes for your area.

Visit the Discount Tire store
Once you have a fair idea of what you are looking for drive into the store and check it out one more time. Ensure that there are no "hidden" extras that you need to be made aware of - you may for instance decide that you want to get a Wheel Alignment as well, but make up your mind before you enter the store. If whilst you are there - salesperson tells you that other work needs to be done, get it all written down and go away and do some more homework first.

Rotate Tires – extend tire life with rotation

Modern day cars require regular rotation of their tires to ensure maximum tire life as well as even wear.

How often should I rotate my tires?
Most vehicle manufacturers recommend that you rotate your tires every 5000 – 10000 miles. One easy way to stay on top of it is to simply ask your workshop to do it every time you service your vehicle.

How should they be rotated?
With modern radial tires they should be kept on the same side of the vehicle that they already are and simply swap the front to the back and vice versa. The old days of diagonally swapping tires is long gone – that was for old style cross ply tires not for modern radials.

Won’t my workshop do it anyway?
A good workshop would pick up on this anyway, however it never hurts to check and make sure.

What will happen if I don’t rotate my tires?
If you own a front wheel drive car in a very short amount of time you are going to chew out your front tires. Front wheel drives wear the front tires 2 to 3 times as fast as the back tires so it is important to keep on top of your rotation cycle. Rear wheel drive cars are not as bad however it still pays to rotate them as it will even out the wear on the tires.

Should I rotate my spare tire?
My advice is to leave it as is, that way for one you can always count on having a spare that is in good condition – also in a lot of cases the spare tire can actually be on a different rim or even a different size altogether. If it is the same size and specifications you can wear out the four tires on your car and then buy 3, saving the best one of what’s left for a spare.

If you are not sure about the best way to rotate your tires please contact your workshop or vehicle manufacturer for specific information relating to your vehicle.

Buying Tires - Information and Advice

There are a few things that you need to do when looking at purchasing tires for your vehicle. This article looks at the main points to remember.

Requirements
You need to confidently know what you are looking for in a tire, otherwise it is easy to get confused. By this I mean are you looking for a high performance tire that demands outstanding traction in wet weather or are you looking for a safe, high mileage tire that will fit your family station wagon and not break the bank. I recommend that you forget retreads altogether - don't even consider them.

Size
Sizing of tires can get very confusing, make sure you write down ALL the numbers related to the size of the tires on your car as well as the speed rating. EG 225/60 HR15

225 - this is the width of the tire
60 - this is the profile (as a percentage of the width)
H - this is the speed rating of the tire - H = 210 km/h (don't buy a tire with a lower rating than your current tires.)
15 - this is the size in inches of your wheels

Some metric tires have different ways of measuring parts of the tires, however to avoid confusion what we have written here will cover 95% of the tires out there - check with your tire professional or mechanic if you are unsure.

Pricing
Prices can vary a lot from shop to shop - you also need to check that the price includes fitting/balancing and any applicable taxes. Wheel Alignment is NOT normally included in the price of a tire so you need to check this out as well, its recommended to get this done when purchasing new tires so that your tread does not get worn out prematurely.

Technical Jargon
Don't let salespeople bamboozle you with technical jargon, just ask them to explain themselves in simple language - remember not everyone is a tire nut!

If you have any questions you can ask them by submitting a comment to this article.

Flat Tire - how to make sure it gets fixed safely

Its always scary getting a flat tire fixed, how do you know that the guy has fixed it properly and that its not going to happen again?

Well here are some things that you can look for - I would suggest getting a flat tire fixed while you wait and if possible ask if you can watch. (from a safe distance of course). The process should go something like this..

The leak will be identified
The tire fitter will inflate the tire and either be able to obviously see the leak or they may need to place it in a tub of water to spot the bubbles, they will then mark the leak normally with white tire chalk.

Tire removed from Rim
The next step will be the tire will be deflated and removed from the wheel. If they try and fix it just by plugging it from the outside without removing the tire and inspecting it stop them right there and either ask them to check it properly or take it somewhere else. There is always a danger that the tire has been run on flat and may be damaged on the inside.

Tire Inspected for Damage
The tire should now be carefully inspected for any damage that might have been caused. This could be sidewall damage or any number of things - it needs to be examined carefully.

The puncture repaired.
The best method I know of for fixing a tire is using a mushroom like patch that has a patch on the inside and is pulled through so also protects the tread of the tire. (will stop moisture and air getting inside the tread and steel belts of the tire.). The technician will grind away a smooth area of the rubber inside the tire and apply a Glue. After leaving it for a couple of minutes the patch (preferably mushroom shaped) will be applied.

Tire re-inflated and Re Balanced.
After placing back on the rim/wheel assembly the tire will be re inflated and then it should be rebalanced before placing back on your vehicle. Sometimes the technician will say that it doesn't need to be rebalanced as they have placed it back in the same position however just say you would like it checked anyway just to be sure.

Once this has been done and the wheel placed back onto your vehicle you are ready to roll, make sure you check the pressure of your tires regularly and remember to get them looked at if they lose more than a pound or two a week.

Again if you have any questions feel free to ask and we will respond - you are asking someone that has over a decade of experience fixing tires so chances are we can help you out.

Wheel Alignment - Facts of Tracking

There are some things that you need to be aware of when it comes to Wheel Alignments. For many years I worked as a wheel alignment technician doing car, light truck and heavy truck wheel alignments.

Wheel alignments are a specialized job and I recommend that when you are considering getting your vehicle aligned that you try and find a wheel alignment specialist rather than just your local tire shop unless you are sure that they have an experienced and competent technician as well as up to date and calibrated equipment.

A wheel alignment from technical perspective consists of three main areas, the most common of which is Toe in and Toe out.

Toe
In many of today's modern vehicles this is sometimes the only part of wheel alignment that can be easily adjusted. Toe is the most common form of tire wear. In the diagram below this is a birds eye view and shows an example of toe in if the tires were tending the way of the arrows.

toe : birds eye view

Camber
Camber is if you are looking at the wheels front on amount of negative or positve degrees that they are sitting at. Most race cars for example have quite a bit of negative camber as this can assist when cornering at very high speeds. On many cars this is not easily adjustable however it is always measured and any issues should be pointed out to you.

camber: front on view
Castor
The last measurement in regards to a basic wheel alignment is castor. Castor is in laymans terms whether one wheel is physically further ahead or behind the other. Often for example if you crash into a kurb this could push the left hand side castor angle back behind the right hand side. Again not actually adjustable in many of todays cars however should be measured and issues reported to you.

You should ask for and receive a print out of the wheel alignment before and after specifications and report. Check they have the right vehicle details and that any variations from the specifications have been either addressed or explained. A common misunderstanding by vehicle owners is that all parts of a wheel alignment can be adjusted on every car and this is simply not the case.

Camber of the Road
Another thing to bear in mind is that most roads have a camber of their own heading sloping towards the edge of the road. Most roads are not flat so expecting your car to drive in a perfectly straight line is not always a reasonable explanation. In New Zealand we drive on the left hand side of the road and most cars should and will pull slightly to the left. This is actually very safe because it reduces the chance of drifting into oncoming traffic if the driver is not paying attention.

If you have any questions you are welcome to ask them.

Used Tires - Things to watch out for when buying second hand Tires

There is nothing wrong with buying used tires as long as you are careful. These would be some of the more common misconceptions and pitfalls that could cause issues when buying a used tire.


Sizing
People get confused by tire sizing and it is no wonder really - its pretty bizarre. The basic tire size is made up of 3 measurements and if one of them isn't mentioned you should not assume what it is - it pays to check.

Width - this is the section width of the tire for example a 195/70 R14. This means the tire is 195 millimeters across the width of the tire.

Profile - The sidewall height is represented as a percentage of the width so a 195/70 R14 means that the sidewall or profile height of the tire is 70 percent of the width. Often the profile is not mentioned and that normally means that the tire is a standard 82 or so percent. Never assume though as this is a common misunderstanding that can occur when buying used tires. There is nothing worse than buying something that simply does not fit - ask the person selling the tire to read you all the numbers on the sidewall to make sure!

Rimsize - The other number mentioned is the Rim size in this case a 195/70 R14 has a Rim size of 14 inches.

Rubber Cracking
A good thing to check when purchasing a second hand tire is for any perishing or cracking of the sidewall and tread rubber. It is wise to give the sidewall a good flex and make sure there are no cracks or chords visible. It is normal to have very fine surface perish lines if the tire is not brand new however make sure they are no more than that.

Lumps Bumps and Repairs
If buying a secondhand tire it is prudent to ask if there are any obvious repairs that have been done to the tire. Although if a repair has been done properly there should be no issues if there are any problems with the repair moisture and air could have seeped into the casing of the tire which could potentially cause issues further down the track. No repairs is great!

Uneven Wear or Scalloping
Sometimes the tires you are looking at may be unevenly worn due to an alignment or suspension problem with the vehicle the tires were previously on. Although they may still be structurally sound for ideal driving I would recommend that tires with even tread wear are purchased. Also if there is any scalloping of the tread road noise and poor handling are potentially going to be a problem.

Its important to be as educated as you can be when buying secondhand items that your life literally depends on so don't be afraid to ask plenty of questions and make sure your used tire purchase is a safe and economic one!