Tires
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Blog
Tires That Last the Longest
Consumer Reports conducts its own tests so that you can accurately compare treadwear across brands and tire types. We put tires through rigorous on-road evaluations, with testers driving on them 1,000 miles per day for 16 days. The service life of the tires—when the tread is worn down to 2/32 of an inch—is predicted based on measured wear. These projections,…
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Make Sure Your Tires Have Enough Tread for a Snowy Winter
The findings reinforce our recommendation that drivers use winter/snow tires if driving a lot in snow. These are specially formulated and constructed to provide maximum grip in snowy and icy conditions. Drivers should also be aware that tread depth has an impact on traction for these tires as well. “Drivers in the snow belt should inspect their tires in the…
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Blog
Why Tires Lose Pressure and Appear to Go Flat in Cold Weather
A tire pressure warning light on a chilly morning doesn’t necessarily indicate a puncture, just that your tires are running low pressure and that you need to top them off as soon as possible. Colder temperatures will cause tire pressure to drop about 1 pound per square inch for every 10° F drop in air temperature. If you don’t fill up at…
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Blog
Best All-Season Tires for Winter Driving
Changing your all-season tires for winter/snow tires will provide the optimum grip in foul winter weather and at sub-freezing temperatures. These special tires provide optimum grip to stop, go, and take sharp turns on snow or on icy roads. But this strategy brings expense and inconvenience: Changing tires every winter means buying a set of tires, and likely wheels. Further,…
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Best Winter/Snow Tires – Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports tests more than 40 tire models every year, including those for cars, SUVs, and trucks, totaling hundreds of individual tires. We do this at our track in Connecticut for wet and dry braking, handling, ride comfort and quietness, and resistance to hydroplaning (when water gets between tires and the pavement). We do our snow-traction tests at our Auto…
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Best SUV and Truck Tires of 2024
We test them at our track in Connecticut for wet and dry braking and handling, ride comfort and quietness, and resistance to hydroplaning (when water gets between the tire and the pavement). We perform our snow-traction tests at our Auto Test Center and in northern Michigan. Ice-braking evaluations are done at a skating rink. We also commission outside labs to…
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Blog
Do Electric Vehicles Need Special Tires?
“Developing a tire specifically for electric vehicles requires a number of considerations you do not encounter when working with internal combustion engines,” said Ian Coke, chief technical officer at Pirelli North America. “Electric vehicles are heavier, have more powerful and faster acceleration off the line, and require lower rolling resistance.” Rolling resistance refers to the friction when a tire rotates,…
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