Tips & Guides

How Close to Sidewall Can a Tire be Patched?

Updated: December 19, 2022 by Emrecan Gurkan Leave a Comment

A damaged tire can be fixed with a patch. Some might not know this but tire patching is liable to regulations. Therefore, inaccurate tire patching might invalidate your car insurance in case of an accident. Due to avoid this, the location of the damage can be one of the biggest decision-makers in repairability. Especially, the distance to the sidewall. But, how close to the sidewall can be tire patched? Let’s see!

If you’d like to read technical articles –> https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0307904X05002507

In summary, any damage that occurs on the center section of the tire can be patched. That means the entire length from shoulder to shoulder can be patched.

The reason behind this is simple. Even though the tires look like only contain rubber, they comprise steel and nylon as well as rubber. These materials are playing a huge role regarding keep tires’ integrity. Yet, due to their stiff textures, they create stress during wheeling. The stress mostly gathers on the shoulders and sidewalls. For this reason, any damage that occurs on the shoulder or sidewall can’t be patched or plugged.

How to Define Tire Sections?

Tires sections might seem so easy to separate at first blush. This’s okay for superficial classifications. Yet, when it comes to tire patching, identifying tire sections properly can save you from unnecessary tire replacement costs.

The tire contains 4 different sections,

Tread Center
Shoulder
Sidewall
Bead

Tread Center

The Tread center is where most of the grip and the traction are provided. The tread center is easy to identify,

View tire from above
Find the first vertical groove from each side
The tread is the area that stays between two grooves

If any damage occurs on the tread, you can confidently fix it. Though worth reminding, if you have a puncture on the groove, don’t try to fix it on your own and let professionals do it for you.

Shoulder

The tire shoulder is the area of the tire between the tread center and the tire sidewall. The tire shoulder may look different or may look like the tread center. While off-road tires mostly have a similar shoulder with their tread center, the other segments have different designs from the tread center.

The Tread center and sidewalls are protected and supported by the shoulder. In fact, this is also one of the reasons why tire shoulders can’t be patched. The patched tire shoulder generally loses its stiffness. Since these sections absorb the most lateral force, it’s extremely dangerous the weaken these parts.

Note: You may think that this little decay doesn’t change anything. Yet, tires are very sensitive technology products in terms of load distribution. While 2-3 psi inflation pressure can cause irregular wear, don’t try to underestimate little plugs or patches that can ruin all load distribution.

Sidewalls

Tire sidewalls are the portion between the shoulder and the bead. When you leave your wheel at the starting position and look at your vehicle from the side, the portion you see is a sidewall.

The simplest task of the sidewalls is to maintain the shape of the tire. Though, depending on the tire segment, sidewalls can enhance load capacity. Moreover, they might have protection tasks depending on the ply rate of the sidewall.

Such as off-road tires. Although these tires have thick sidewalls, they also have sidewall protectors as an extra.

The very latest task of the sidewall possesses information about tires. DOT number, size, speed index, load index, or the place of manufacturing. Any information can be found on the tire if you know how to read it.

If you’d like to learn how to read tire size –> https://tireterrain.com/how-to-read-tire-size/

No matter what type of damage you have, bubble, puncture, or anything else, sidewall damage isn’t repairable.

The only situation that might not need a repair is sidewall cracking. Some cracks can even be repaired. However, this fix is purely visual. If the crack has progressed deeper, the operation is meaningless. Therefore, I personally recommend that if you see cracks in your sidewalls, you should consult a professional and have your tire replaced as soon as possible.

If you’d like to know more about sidewall cracking and repair –> https://simpletire.com/learn/tire-maintenance-safety/cracked-tires

Bead

The bead is the reinforced part of the tire that sits on the rim.

It works as a seal between the tire and the rim and restrains air leaking.

Bead damage doesn’t see so often. Yet, if the damage really occurs on the bead, the tire should be replaced.

However, bead issues are generally caused by rim bending. Hence, rearranging the rim place can fix the problem.

The bead issue could be vital. Please, do not underestimate them. A slow leak rapidly turns into a vent hole and causes a crucial accident.

If you’d like to learn more — > https://simpletire.com/learn/tire-maintenance-safety/tire-bead

Conclusion

The tread center is the only portion that is repairable on the tire. If you have any damage on the sidewall, shoulder, or bead, you should replace your tire.

Still, the inner part of the shoulder sometimes can be repairable. In this case, the limit is 1/2”. So, you can add 1/2” to each side of the tread center and find the exact location of the repairable area.

Take-home points,

Puncture greater than 1/4” inch can’t be repaired
If any damage occurs on the previously repaired area, the tire can’t be repaired
Tire patching isn’t a trustworthy repair. The punctured area should be filled with a plug first and strengthened with a patch
Run-flat tires aren’t recommended to repair
If you have 2/32” or less tread, you should replace your tire

I hope the article was helpful. If you have any further questions, please leave them in the below section. If you want me to decide whether your tire is repairable or not, you can leave the photo links in the comment section.

This is your money or your life situation. Taking a risk in these kinds of situations isn’t make sense. Please, stay on the safe side folks. Have a safe ride!

How to Tell If Tires are Directional?

Updated: October 3, 2023 by Emrecan Gurkan Leave a Comment

Tires have different pattern types that can give you a clue about their performance. Directional tires are one of them. In this article, I’ll briefly explain what are the directional tires and help you determine if the tire is directional or not. Let’s begin

What are Directional Tires?

Directional tires are tires that can only rotate one way. When you look at such tires, you’ll see lateral grooves that show forward and down. Basically, you’ll see a V-shape on the tire pattern.

Due to their compact contact patch and the V-shaped channels, these tires offer better performance than asymmetrical and symmetrical tires. While V-shape channels evacuate the water much better and offer better hydroplaning resistance, compact contact patch offers better handling. So, these tires are perfect for high-speed lovers.

On the other hand, due to their design, these tires are hard to rotate. If you’d like to rotate them from left to right, you should dismount the tire from the wheel and remount it before installing.

How to Identify Directional Tires?

The easiest way is the check outside sidewalls. Directional tires have an arrow at the sidewall that shows the rotation way. Near this arrow, you might see ‘Rotation’ or ‘Direction’ words.

Well, this method is for newbies and sometimes the rotation arrow is wiped away. So, how to identify it from the pattern?

Directional tires generally have solid center rib and V-shaped grooves that go through the shoulders. If these V-shaped grooves only show the same point, that means your tire is directional. In this case, the only thing you have to do is mount the tire in the same way that the V-shaped shows.

Note: Some directional tires can be only used on the left or right side of the vehicle. In that case, the manufacturer indicates the using side on the sidewall.

Directional Tires Rotation Pattern

As I mentioned before, the rotation of directional tires could be difficult. In this case, the game-changer is your wheel for formation.

If your vehicle has a staggered wheel formation(different sizes on rear and front), you should demount the tire from the wheel, change its direction and remount it. This process sometimes takes too much time due to the firm’s bead construction of high-performance tires.

On the other hand, if your vehicle has the same tire size on the rear and the front axle, the process needs a short amount of time and less action.

Front-to-Back Rotation

Front-to-Back Tire Rotation — Tire positions before the rotation

Front the back rotation can be used on vehicles that have the same size on both axles.

Since the tires on each side of the vehicle rotate in the same direction, the only thing you have to do is change the tire positions on between same side(front right to rear right, front left of rear left).

Side-to-Side Rotation

Side-to-Side Tire Rotation — Tire positions before the rotation

Side-to-side rotation is a tiring process for mechanicals. However, it’s a must for staggered tire formation.

Since the rear and front axle tires are differently sized, there is no way to rotate these tires front-to-back. So, side-to-side rotation is the only solution.

The disadvantage is side-to-side rotation is it needs too many processes. Since the directional tires don’t have zero offsets, you should demount the tires from the wheel, change the direction, remount it and reassemble them to the opposite side of the vehicle.

Note: Wheel alignment is crucial for this rotation type. If your mechanic doesn’t realign your wheels, remind him.

Can I use them on Backwards?

Directional tires can’t be used backward. Directional tires have solid handling, grip, and water evacuation capability due to their V-shaped pattern. If you backward directional tires,

Biting edges won’t work as before, so, you’ll lose grip
V-shaped grooves can’t direct the water inside the grooves, so, hydroplaning surely occur.
Since the backward V-shaped has higher rolling resistance, you’ll consume more gas
Since the tire is designed to perform in the one direction, its handling capability will decrease significantly

Are Directional Tires More Expensive?

Yes, directional tires are more expensive.

Directional tires are built for high-performance. Hence, they should be durable and lightweight at the same time. Due to achieving these goals, manufacturers should use different materials for an internal structure. Well, these materials cost more for manufacturers, inherently, the tires cost more for users.

Can I mix Directional and Non-directional tires?

Even though I don’t recommend it at all, in theory, yes, you can use them at the same time. Only with one condition, you should pair directional tires on the same axle.

So, in this case, you should closely follow your rotation time and check wheel alignment at a certain time period. Though worth reminding, since you should rotate directional tires side-to-side, it might cost you more than 2 tires in a long-time. Side-to-side rotation isn’t cheap.

Conclusion

Directional tires are elegant high-performance tires. You can easily define them by looking at the sidewall or checking the tread pattern which must be V or Y shaped(with a solid center rib add-on).

If you don’t wanna waste your time, check if your tire is on this list.

TireRack’s Directional Tires List;

https://tires.tirerack.com/tires/Directional%20Tires

I hope the article was helpful. If you have any further questions, please leave them in the below section.

Can I Replace Just One Tire?

Updated: September 21, 2023 by Emrecan Gurkan Leave a Comment

Replacing only one tire isn’t recommended in most cases. However, depending on the current condition of other tires, you might keep two or even three of them if you’re lucky.

In this article, I will share with you how many tires you need to change under which conditions. Let’s begin!

Replacing One Tire

Since you’re all here to save some money, let’s begin with the one tire replacement conditions. Thought worth reminding, I don’t recommend it unless you don’t have any other choice.

One-tire replacement isn’t applicable for 4WD or all-wheel drive vehicles. However, if the other three of your tires are kinda new, you can change only one tire.

In this case, you should follow the maximum tread depth difference limit which is 3/32” between the rear and the front axle and 2/32” for the same axle.

To apply this strategy, the tread depth difference between the rear and front axle can’t be more than 2/32” and your tires should wear a maximum of 3/32”.

You should buy the same size and same pattern to apply my strategy.

For RWD vehicles,

For instance, let’s say you have a new set of tires that has 10/32” tread depth when it’s new. Since you have an RWD vehicle, your rear axle will wear more.
After a couple of months, your front right tire got flat. At the moment, you have 8/32” tread left for the steer axle and 7/32” for the rear axle(Image-1).
So, you buy one new tire. Contrary to theory, you should mount the new tire on the right rear axle and rotate the right rear axle tire to the front right(Image-2).
Well, the critical point is you should check your tread depths constantly. Since your rear tires wear more than the fronts, at some point, the new tire on your rear axle closes the tread depth gap with the front right one(Image-3).
The last step is the final rotation. For this step, all of our tires will go back to their starting position. So, the new tire will mount the front right axle(Image-4).

For FWD vehicles,

Since the front axle tires wear more for FWD vehicles, to apply this strategy, your flat tire should be on the rear axle. The remaining steps are the same.

For 4WD,

Strategy isn’t applicable.

Note: You need at least 2 rotations to align your tires. Moreover, this isn’t a guaranteed strategy and you should make a wheel alignment on every step. So, buying two tires can be cheaper for you.

Replacing Two Tires

Replacing two tires is the most common move when you have a flat tire. It’s also way much safer than replacing one tire. However, this one also has restrictions to follow.

For FWD,

As I’ve mentioned in the previous section, the tread depth difference between the rear and front axle can’t be more than 3/32”. So, if your tires wear more than 3/32”, you have to change 4 of your tires.

Let’s say your rear tires are worn 2/32”. In this case, your front tires most probably are worn more than 3/32”. So, in this case, you should keep the less worn tires on the rear axle and mount new ones to the front axle.

For RWD,

Just do the opposite. Use new tires on the rear axle and mount worn ones to the front axle.

Note: New pair of tires is recommended to use on the front axle due to prevent hydroplaning. In our case, hydroplaning isn’t an issue for higher tread depth. However, after your front and rear tires close the gap, I recommend using less worn tires on the front axle.

For 4WD,

Not recommended. If you wanna do it, please read the owner’s manual.

Replacing 4 Tires

This is the securest way to replace tires. However, it’s a pricy. Well, if your tires wear more than 3/32”, this is a must for you. If don’t, I still recommend it to stay on the safe side.

In this case, I don’t have too much to recommend but pay attention to the load and speed indexes of your new tires.

Note: In my point of view replacing 4 tires is a must for 4WD vehicles.

Tire Shaving

Let’s say you still have tons of tread on your healthy tires but you can’t match them with new ones due to restrictions.

Good news, tire shaving on your service.

Some dealers have this option. They shave new tires to match with existing ones. However, this option needs expertise.

In this case, the only dealer that I can recommend is TireRack. If you’ll ask them to shave your tires in the buying process, they’ll handle the situation for 20-40$.

Here is a perfect document from them –> https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=259&

Conclusion

Even though I’ve offered a solution, I don’t recommend changing one tire. It needs too much effort and you might hurt your suspensions if you don’t follow the process closely. Instead of doing this, find somewhere that shaves the tires and aligns the tread depth of new tires with old ones.

I hope the article was helpful. If you have any further questions please leave them in the below section. Please don’t forget, this is your money or your life situation. Replace all four tires if your specialist recommends. Have a safe ride folks!

UTQG Rating Meaning: Are They Useful?

Updated: September 21, 2023 by Emrecan Gurkan Leave a Comment

You may not hear about UTQG but most of you probably see the words ‘Treadwear’, ‘Traction’, and ‘Temperature’ on the sidewall of your tires.

UTQG stands for Uniform Tire Quality Grade and it contains useful information for customers. Let’s dive into its process and what each grade indicates and how can you use them for your tire selection!

Note: Light truck and winter tires aren’t require a UTQG test.

How do UTQG Grades Determine?

Even though some think these tests are conducted by DOT or NHTSA, in fact, manufacturers or 3rd parties conduct this test and report to DOT. However, due to privacy policies, DOT can’t publish detailed test results but only the grades. DOT rearranges these data and publishes a brief and simple version of the test results.

UTQG Test Process

The test process is different for each grade.

Treadwear Grade: Actual road use in West Texas. The test circuit is 400-miles long and the tire takes 18 laps(a total of 7200-miles).
Traction Grade: The test tires are pulled on a “skid trailer” at 40mph over wet asphalt and concrete test surfaces
Temperature Rating: This is an indoor test. Generally conducted by 3rd parties. The tire run against a high-speed drum.

Treadwear Grade

This test is performed under the actual conditions. Therefore, it might seem a bit more accurate than the others for you. Unfortunately, it’s wrong.

The tire runs only 7200-miles which is a nominal mileage compared to the real life span of the tires(50,000-100,000 miles). Moreover, the compound of the tire has different layers. For instance, while the first couple millimeters of tread are made of firm rubber, the rest can be made of softer rubber. Obviously, soft rubber wears faster. So, the extrapolation of the manufacturers becomes kinda useless in that case.

Restrictions of the test,

Each lap takes 400-miles
Tires are rotated in every 800-miles
Wheels are aligned in every 800-miles
Inflation pressure is checked in every 800-miles

Under the above rules, the test tire and reference tire run in the same conditions. After the 7200-miles have been done, the tread depth of both tires is checked.

The reference tire always has a treadwear great of 100. So, if the test tire and reference tire have the same tread depth, the UTQG of the test tire is also 100.

For instance, if the test tire is expected 2 times more than the reference tire, then the UTQG of the test tire is 200. So, for a simple comparison, you may divide UTQG numbers by 100.

In my point of view, the most efficient usage of UTQG treadwear is comparing two tires. For example, you’re debating between two tires. While one of them has a 250 UTQG grade other has 600. In that case, the tire with 600 grade is expected to last 2.4 times longer(if 250 grade lasts for 10,000 miles, 600 grade lasts for 24,000 miles).

If you’d like to learn how to get the longest tread life –> https://tireterrain.com/how-to-make-tires-last-longer/

Traction Grade

The traction grade is based on the stopping distance on the wet ground. Though worth reminding, this grade doesn’t indicate dry performance or any other wet performance like hydroplaning or cornering.

The test tires pull a ‘skid trailer’ at 40 mph. The brakes are locked for a short time in a period. So, the sensor on the wheel measures the coefficient of a locked tire. Well, after a couple of calculations, the coefficient turns into a wet stopping distance.

Since the majority of vehicles have anti-locked brakes, this test isn’t aligned with real-life conditions. However, it can still give you an idea about wet stopping distance.

The test is conducted on two different surfaces Asphalt and concrete. Depending on the surface, the grade limits change.

Traction Grades	Asphalt g-Force	Concrete g-Force
AA	Above 0.54	0.38
A	Above 0.47	0.35
B	Above 0.38	0.26
C	Less Than 0.38	0.26

Temperature Grade

The heat is the enemy of the tire. So, the temperature grade simply measures the heat resistance of the tire.

Better heat resistance means that the tire can reach a higher speed.

Since all tires have a speed index, the main goal of this test is how the tires act on a long run at high speed.

Temperature Grades	Speeds in mph
A	Over 115
B	Between 100 to 115
C	Between 85 to 100

While A means higher temperature resistance, C states the lowest one. Though worth reminding, the tires don’t reach at least C level can’t be released in the USA.

Conclusion

UTQG ratings are the assurance of the government. So, using them for comparison isn’t accurate. The grades can give you and preliminary idea. Yet, you should know that these are calculations, not real-life data.

I hope the article was helpful. If you have any further questions, please leave them in the below section. Have a safe ride folks!

What does LT Mean on a Tire?

Updated: September 21, 2023 by Emrecan Gurkan Leave a Comment

Tire size is confusing. It’s even more if you have a light truck. Light truck tires have different usage. Moreover, light trucks have a different kinds of usage. For instance, some use them only for their aggressive appearance, some use them for hauling or towing.

So, tire manufacturers were aware of this situation and that’s why they’ve started to build LT tires.

Even though I didn’t say it, I guess you all understand that ‘LT’ means light truck. However, in my point of view, defining the usage for LT tires is more important than LT means. In this article, I’ll briefly explain what are LT tires and you can get the benefits of them. Let’s begin!

LT Tires

LT tires are specified light truck tires. You can easily determine them by checking the tire size(learn how to read it). If the tire has an ‘LT’ at the beginning of its size name, that means this tire is an LT tire.

These tires have stronger and more durable sidewalls. Well, their internal tougher internal structure comes up with pros and cons.

Advantages

Can carry much more load than P-metric tires
Have stronger sidewalls
Due to their tough sidewalls, they’re ideal off-road tires
They’re better for hauling or towing

Disadvantages

Less cozy ride(doesn’t mean noisy but firm ride)
Can be disturbing on the highway, especially for all-terrain ones
Less fuel-efficient
Offers inferior mileage

Load Range Capacity of LT Tires

Unlike passenger tires, the carrying capacity of LT tires is generally evaluated by load range.

The load range is the historical version of the load index. Regarding this measurement, the load-carrying capacity of the tire is measured with the ply number of the tire. Well, this old-school method doesn’t work anymore.

The new generation tires can carry the same load with fewer plies. So, manufacturers use this metric for a different measurement. Maximum load pressure.

Well, that’s a wise move because maximum load pressure equals the carrying capacity. As a side note, the load is carried by air inside the tire, not by the tire itself.

LT vs P-Metric Tires

LT and P-Metric tires have the same tread but different internal structures. That basically means,

They have the same traction capability
They have the same winter capability
They have the same hydroplaning resistance

The above items are provided by tread type. Since both tires have the same tread pattern, these features are the same.

On the other hand, as I’ve mentioned before LT tires have a stronger internal structure. Therefore,

LT tires offer a less smooth ride
LT tires offer a slower steering response
LT tires offer lower wear life
LT tires offer higher load carrying capacity
LT tires have superior off-road capability
LT tires offer better cornering stability
LT tires are better for towing and hauling

LT and P-metric tires have different usage. While LT tires mainly focus on commercial usage or off-road, cozy driving and highway performance are the priorities for P-metric tires.

Conclusion

LT tires are a gift for light-truck users and off-road lovers. They create an option for you. For instance, if you just using your vehicle for daily driving, you can go with P-Metric tires which also have an aggressive appearance. If you need off-roading or carrying load, you can go with LT tires with a sacrifice from your comfort and mileage.

I hope the article was helpful. If you have any further questions, please leave them in the below section. Have a safe ride folks!