Radial Tire
The tires that your vehicle operates on are almost certainly a set of radial tires. This tire design became the standard for tires in the 1960's, even though they were originally developed by Michelin in 1946. A lot of people who do not deal with tires on a regular basis may not realize that tires are more than just mere rubber shells. This is because rubber by itself is a relatively pliable substance and if you were going down the road at sixty miles an hour they would heat up and distort because of the inherent weaknesses that are found in it. In order to combat this problem the radial tire was constructed out of various levels of cording interwoven to work as a support system to shape and hold the rubber in place.
This is why if you drive around a lot on a set of radial tires you will probably notice that eventually you will start to see the metal cording of the under layers poking out through the rubber. Once you can notice this then you need to make sure that you go ahead and buy a new set of tires just to make sure that you do not suffer a blowout or a flat from the weakness in the area of the rubber where the cording is showing. If you go around too long with this problem then you could find yourself in a situation because of it. The important thing is to make sure it takes care of you before you end up stranded.
Sometimes when people shop for a radial tire they will look into used tires that are classified as tired that have been "retreaded" professionally. This is certainly an option, but you will want to make sure that you buy these types of tires from a reputable dealer. There are problems in this area with con artists and shady dealers who offer "slightly used" or "retreaded" radial tires at unbelievable discounts only for people to find out later on that there were actually problems with the tires. If you get tires that are not retreaded properly then you might also experience problems with blow outs and other problems. Since tires are a major safety component of your vehicle you will want to make absolutely certain that you are dealing with a reputable dealer to prevent these problems.
If you are trying to find a set of radial tires for brand new there are several different options for you to consider. You may want to keep the set of rims that you already have, and if that is the case, then you will only have to consider different brands of tires because the size will remain the same. However, if you decide to get new rims with the radial tire you are buying then you will get to decide on different sizes and styles that will help to compliment the way that your vehicle looks. If you have average factory rims then you might want to change these out with a different set of rims that will classify the car as a more personal object.
If you want to look at different types of radial tires that you might be able to get for your vehicle, you can look online. In fact, many tires stores around the country have started putting up picture inventory online of their radial tires so that people can go through and look to see what their options are. This advance in technology works well to make sure that both parties are satisfied with the transaction, and it definitely helps the person who is shopping to find out exactly what they are interested in.