Since every car has tires, it makes a lot of sense for any driver or aspiring driver to know about tires. There is a lot to know about them and you’ll probably surprised how much you didnt know by the time you finish reading this!

First off, it is very important to understand that tires typically have a life of 48,000 miles/4 years, whichever comes first. Most people know about the number of miles a tire is designed to run, but equally important is the age of the tire. Even if the tire has never been run at all, 4 years is it, the tire is no good anymore.

That is why every tire has a 4 digit code written on it depicting the manufacturing week, like 0508. The first two, “05″ indicate the week of the year which is represented by the following two digits. In the “0508″ case, the tire was made in the 5th week of 2008. That would mean the tire is good to run until the 5th week of 2012.

So before buying a new set of tires and whenever buying a used car, notice this, because you don’t want to find out your tires expire 6 months after you bought them! And driving on expired tires is extremely dangerous and lessens the vehicle’s grip tremendously so much that you actually feel the loss while driving at high speeds, on slick roads and while cornering.

Secondly, comes the traction rating. On every tire, you will find “Traction” written, along with an alphabet; either AA, A, B or C. AA is the best while C is worst. AA basically means the tire has excellent traction and will provide a “sticky” grip, or otherwise expressed as “hugs the road”. C is the worst and should be avoided however and whenever possible.

There is a lot more to learn about tires, but I have made this article concise so that the basics and main important points are highlighted.

Hope this helps, happy driving!