Linda Cate

A 113T tire marking means one tire is rated for 2,535 pounds and speeds up to 118 mph when inflated and loaded the right way. If you spot 113T on a tire sidewall, you’re reading two ratings packed into one short code. The number is the load index. The letter is the speed rating. Put […]

Yes, many Michelin-brand tires sold in America are built in U.S. plants, but some sizes and tire lines come from other countries. If you’re wondering whether Michelin tires are made in the USA, the plain answer is yes for many of them, but not all. Michelin has a real factory base in the United States,

Yes, tires can seem pricey, but the total cost usually changes with size, type, brand, and shop fees more than the rubber alone. Tires can feel like a rude surprise because you rarely buy just one. Most drivers shop for two or four at a time, then get hit with mounting, balancing, valve stems, disposal,

Yes, new tires often get new valve stems, though TPMS service parts or metal stems may be handled and billed a different way. Most of the time, a tire shop will replace the valve stem when it installs a new tire. That’s the usual call on cars with plain rubber snap-in stems. The tire is

A tire sipe is a thin slit in a tread block that helps the rubber bite into wet, snowy, or slick pavement. A tire sipe is easy to miss until you know what you are seeing. It is not the wide groove that channels heavy water. It is the fine slit cut or molded into

A Silverado spare goes on by lowering the under-bed tire, jacking at the right point, swapping the wheel, and tightening in a star pattern. A flat on a Chevy Silverado feels bigger than it is. The truck is tall, the spare sits under the bed, and the jack points change a bit by model. Still,

Most semi-truck tires last about 100,000 to 150,000 miles, though steer, drive, and trailer positions wear at different rates. If you want one neat number, truck tires won’t give it to you. Mileage swings with tire position, route type, axle weight, inflation, speed, alignment, road heat, and the point where a fleet pulls the casing

A home tire alignment means measuring toe, centering the steering wheel, and correcting small drift before tire wear gets worse. If you want to learn how to do tire alignment, start with one truth: a driveway setup can get a car tracking straighter, but it does not replace a shop rack when the suspension is

Most spares should be replaced once they’re old, damaged, cracked, worn, or past the maker’s date and use limits. When to replace a spare tire isn’t a once-a-year thought. The tire tucked under the trunk floor ages the same way the four on the road do, and it often gets less air, less light, and

Yes, metal studs can bite into glare ice, but modern winter tires often match or beat them on snow, slush, wet roads, and bare pavement. Studded tires do work. They were built for one nasty job: clawing into slick ice when a plain rubber tread wants to skate. If you drive on frozen back roads,