Tips And Guides

Practical tire tips and guides that explain what the codes on your sidewall mean and how to make the right call when something goes wrong. Start with how to read a tire size, the tire speed rating chart, and the load range chart, then dig into repairs like patch vs. plug and the signs you need new tires.

Shopping soon? Our tire buying and maintenance guide walks through choosing the right tire, and tire warranties explained shows what that mileage promise is really worth. For brand-by-brand verdicts, browse our tire reviews.

142 Articles
Cutting an old tire safely for recycling
Tips And Guides

How to Cut Tires in Half Safely: Tools, Methods and Smarter Disposal Options

An old tire looks like soft rubber until you try to cut it. Somewhere under the tread sits a layer of steel belts,...

Cupped tire tread wear
Tips And Guides

How to Fix Tire Cupping: Causes, Symptoms and What Actually Works

The noise starts as a faint hum that you blame on the road surface. A few thousand miles later it is a rhythmic...

Letting air out of tires for off-road driving
Tips And Guides

How to Let Air Out of Tires: Safe Methods for the Road, Trail and Sand

Maybe the shop filled your tires to 44 psi when the door placard says 35. Maybe a warm afternoon has the TPMS readout...

Tire rubbing against a wheel well
Tips And Guides

How to Stop Tires From Rubbing: Find the Cause, Then Choose the Right Fix

You crank the wheel into a parking space and hear a scrape from the front corner. Or the truck sounds fine until it...

Buying tires online versus in-store
Tips And Guides

Tire Rack Review: Is Buying Tires Online From Tire Rack Worth It?

Buying tires at a local shop usually means accepting whatever the counter has in stock and trusting a salesperson’s pick. Buying online flips...

Tire Rack and Costco tires compared
Tips And Guides

Tire Rack vs Costco Tires: Which Is the Better Buy for You?

If you already pay for a Costco membership, its tire center looks like an easy answer: decent prices on name-brand tires, installation in...

Tire Rack and Discount Tire compared
Tips And Guides

Tire Rack vs Discount Tire: Online Specialist or Neighborhood Store?

Most tire shoppers eventually land on the same fork in the road. One path is to research and order online, then have the...

Tire sidewall damage
Tips And Guides

How Much Tire Sidewall Damage Is Too Much? When a Scuff Is Fine and When to Replace

You scrape a curb while parallel parking, or you notice a pale gash on the side of a tire while loading groceries. The...