Seven Things to Know about Your Automobile Tires

I learned all about tires at an early morning BNI meeting today. We have a member named Frank and he runs a fantastic car maintenance and repair shop. Plus he talks in a language I understand, or at least, I think I do! Here is what I learned about tires today:

1) Tires have numbers printed on them, similar to a woman's measurements do (you know, 36-24-36?); they have letters that define the tire, too. The "D" part is not at all like the woman's breast measurement; it's telling you they are Digital Tires;

2) There are some other letters in the beginning of the order, but I cannot remember what Frank said, so maybe they are not all that important (?);

3) You can have tires that are fatter on the sides than the top and bottom. This point was hard for me to understand. I think this type of tire looks like this drawing in the tire store:

4) There is one number that will be 15, 16, 17 and I think it goes to 21 and this number represents the rim-to-rim radius measurement. I think when my boys were in high school, they wanted the higher numbered tires, for some reason.

5) If you like driving your car around on race tracks, you probably like a softer (rubber) tire as it will handle the curves better, but of course they won't last as long. If the tires are very hard, the ride is crappy but I think you get better gas mileage;

6) To save money and for safety reasons, you need to get your tires rotated on a regular basis. I don't remember what length of time "regular" is but I think it depends on where you live and how much you drive. If you like to do wheelies in the parking lot (like Frank) your tires aren't going to last as long.

7) Very Important Tip: Always check the pressure of your tires (again to save gas and to keep your family safe). Here is a picture of a tire gage (it looks like a pen without ink):

I know, I'm like the best female tire expert on the Internet. And, I was clearly listening and understanding every word at this 7 am meeting. You can ask me anything you would like. If I somehow don't know the answer, I can always can my favorite, friendly neighborhood mechanic, Frank, to get you a proper answer!

If you are lucky enough to live in the Phoenix area, you can go visit Frank at:

Feeney Automotive Service and Repair

602-971-1640

2630 East Bell Road, #4

Phoenix, Arizona 85032

(Really freak him out by telling him the 'Emtnester Tire Expert' sent you!)