If you live near to a tire stockists who stocks every brand and type of tire there is on the market, the best tire for your money will have to be the best of what is available. ( As an aside, in Great Britain the spelling is tyre)

Back in the 1960's when a car was dragged into the garage after an accident it was quite usual to see the 'canvas' showing through the tread area of the tires. The number of people killed or injured by poor worn out tires was very high. Talking about car crashes, death and injury is not pleasant, but that is what road safety, especially tire safety, is all about.

During the late 1960's, the British Government and others, began getting tough on tire safety. Since then the regulations have made the roads a much safer place to be. Now, if someone has a tire with less than the legal limit of tread on their tires, they are prosecuted.

Once it was almost joked about, seeing a bald tire. So which tires do you buy, when yours need to be replaced. For years the major names of tire manufacturers included Dunlop. Pirelli, Michelin, Bridgestone, Goodyear, Avon, and Continental, but some of them have now gone, and others have come along.

The tires to choose is not made any easier, do you go for a new unknown brand, or one that you know and trust, but then, even the big manufacturers were unknown once. A good start would be to find a tire stockist that is trusted, you can find out about them by asking around. When you have chosen your stockist, you could do worse than take their advice.

It looks to me like the days of buying remoulds tires are over. They were basically reconditioned tires, that is, a new tread was vulcanized onto the old tire casing. I don't know, but maybe it can no longer be done.

Either way, your stockist will know which tires are best suited to your car, and maybe the only choices you have are prices. There are some on sale down the road here, and for a Ford Focus, there is a choice of three types. The only thing I could see that was different, was the make and the price, the actual claims for the tires were about the same.

The way tires are made is quite interesting, to me anyway. They are made with about eight or nine layers of different materials, all vulcanized (glued) together, in special machines. Also in there is a special wire 'frame' to give the tire it's shape, and strength.

If you take the advice of your favorite tire supplier, you will have purchased the best tire for your money.

Learn more about this author, John Ledbury.
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