Getting Tires for Your SUV

Are you ready to hit the open road this season? Do you have a big vacation in the works, rolling over the highways and byways to the big city or to a beautiful camping spot in the mountains? Americans just love to take a road trip. There’s something in our spirit that longs to be free, to put the worries behind us and take off for the open spaces and new places of our country.

But if you are considering a road trip this year, you will probably want to take a minute and think about whether your SUV needs a new set of tires. Not only are tires that are in good shape important to you and your family’s safety while on the road, a new set of tires can also save you a lot of money in gas mileage. A new set of SUV tires will put your mind at ease while easing the strain on your wallet at the same time.

When you are buying tires for your SUV, the most important thing is to make sure you get tires that are the correct size for your vehicle. The weight of SUVs and the pressure they put on your four tires makes this consideration especially important with SUVs. Sizing SUV tires is easy once you know the coding system that is used to classify tires.

When you look up the size of tire you need in your owner’s manual, you will notice that this will be stated in a string of letters and numbers. This is the same information you will use to buy your new tires. Each of these digits or numerals provides different specifications for your SUV tire, including rim diameter, speed rating, and load rating. In other words, you will know the proper rating for the weight of your vehicle, for how fast you typically drive, and all other pertinent information.

The traction capacity of you SUV tires is an especially important consideration since this determines how well the tires will hold to the road. Such factors as the speed rating and its performance will have to be balanced against how well the tires do in slippery conditions such as rain and snow. Faster SUV tires will give you better performance but because the tread on these tires will not be as deep, they will not have as high a traction capacity. You will have to determine how much inclement weather driving you are planning to do. Of course, higher performance tires can be used during summer months with a change to snow tires made in winter.

SUV tires are typically bought in groups of two or in groups of four, although in some instances single tires will be bought. If the tires on your SUV have been well maintained with the proper air pressure and if the tires have been regularly rotated, then usually all four tires will wear at the same rate. For this reason, it is likely you will replace all four tires at once. Although this may seem expensive, having a complete set of new tires on your SUV will save you a lot of money on gasoline.

After you have determined the kind of tires you need for your SUV and the likely driving conditions you will encounter, you will want to start shopping around for a good price on SUV tires. Here a just a couple spots to get you started.

OnlineTires.com will provide you with a huge array of SUV tires for all your driving needs. They make finding the right sized tires easy with their handy quick search tool with which you specify your SUV’s make, model, and year. You can also search by size combination if you have that information handy. This retailer offers financing so that you can buy a full set of SUV tires when you need them and then pay for them across a number of months. At Online Tires you can pay by a variety if methods including all major credit cards and PayPal.

Another option for buying SUV tires is to search by your favorite brand of tire manufacturer. This way, you can comparison shop for Goodyear Tires, Dunlop Tires, Michelin Tires, or any of the many other top selling brands. Most tire manufacturer’s websites offer shipping directly to your home or to an installer. Alternatively, you can usually search by zip code for retailers offering the various SUV tire brands so that you can shop in person.

The bottom line is that you want a quality set of SUV tires at the very best price. Take a look around at the various tire retailers and then get out there on the open highway. Oh yes, the wind in your hair!