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The tire I bought: Sumitomo HTR A/S P03

When should you buy new tires?

We decided to replace all 4 tires since the original tires on this 2020 VW Jetta were already below 5mm in tread, after only 31k miles, and at least one of the tires had to have a puncture repaired.

Typically, with a Front wheel drive car like this one, you can get away with replacing just the two lowest tread tires, but since all 4 were low, it was a good opportunity to switch out to a potentially better performing and longer lasting tire.

Routine Inspections

Planning ahead = Increase Safety

Planning ahead is crucial. The worst time to look for tires is on the side of the road with a flat, blow out or from a spin out due to lack of grip. Accident’s happen, but some tire related roadside emergencies could have been prevented with routine inspections and proper preventative maintenance.

Click Below to learn more about Routine Tire Inspections.

You should check your tires based on how frequently you drive, every 1k miles or so doesn’t hurt, but for me, I perform monthly tire inspections.

Old tires with a lot of tread = Still can be safety risk!

Below is an example of DOT stamp with the Production Date:

The average life of a tire is four to five years regardless of mileage.

The older the rubber, the more at risk you are for cracking, gradual loss of pressure, and potential blow outs due to under-inflation, hardening or rubber might decrease grip, which can be especially reduced in rain/sleet/snow/ice. So if you buy a tire that’s already 2-3 years old, it might not last as long as you hope!

How to buy tires online?

Reading Tires

Reading Tire Sizing

Look for this pattern above on your car. For example, on this 2019 VW Atlas, it has 18″ rims, so the tires that it runs from the factory are a size 260/55R16. That reads as follows, the width is 245mm, the Aspect Ratio is 60 and the diameter of the tire hole is Rated for 18 inch rims.

Reading the tread wear patterns on tires is a science. The good news is that just about anyone can read the writing on the sidewall. So go out to your car and take a good photo of the face of your wheel.

Tire Options

All Season, Summer, Winter, Eco/Green Tires. Speed Rating, Tread Depth, Mileage Warranty, tread patterns, temperature ratings, etc.

There’s just so much to consider, so while you can just go to your local tire shop and get whatever they recommend or just match the OEM provided tires, that doesn’t always mean that you are getting the Best Tire or the Best Deal…

High Performance Summer Tires

These actually provide the best traction on both Dry and Wet conditions, but require a second set of tires (and rims if you can swing it) for when the temperatures drop (unless you don’t live somewhere with seasons)

High Performance All Season Tires

These will compromise dry and wet traction for better traction in a larger temperature range. These are supposed to perform better than Summer tires between 32-60 degrees Fahrenheit. Those in true snowy climates, should still use dedicated Winter tires/wheels.

High Performance Winter Tires

If you live where it snows more than a flurry or if you do a lot of driving in temperatures below 32 Degrees Fahrenheit, then you should run a dedicated set of winter tires. I’ve always run Bridgestone Blizzaks, but now there are so many options to choose from. My go to for every vehicle is to secure a used set of original wheels from the forums/facebook marketplace/ebay/etc. and then use that set as winter wheels because the fitment will be perfect, I can use the OEM wheel bolts, and stock tire sizing.