James Carter

Do bigger tires throw off your speedometer reading? Yes – bigger tires throw off your speedometer reading by causing it to display a LOWER speed than you are actually traveling. The reason is simple: a taller tire covers more ground with every rotation than the factory-calibrated tire, so the vehicle’s computer under-estimates both your speed … Read more

Buying the wrong tire costs you a return trip, possibly a wheel, and sometimes a tow. Knowing how to tell if a tire will fit before you buy it comes down to three checks: confirm your stock size on the door placard, decode the new tire’s code, and compare overall diameter, width, and wheel fitment. … Read more

Trailer tires blow out on the highway because three forces stack against them at once: chronic underinflation that superheats the sidewalls, loads that exceed the tire’s load range, and highway speeds above the ST tire’s 65 MPH rating. Add aged rubber from storage, factory-installed budget tires, and heat-soaked summer asphalt, and a single highway mile … Read more

Wider tires can absolutely rub the fenders without a lift kit. The extra width pushes the tire’s sidewall closer to the inner fender, and during turns, suspension compression, or reversing, that sidewall can contact plastic liners, control arms, or sheet metal. Rubbing is one of the most common complaints I see from owners who upgrade … Read more

Short answer: If looks are your only goal, plus-one is the sweet spot. Going beyond plus-one delivers shrinking visual gains while ride quality drops, costs climb, and pothole damage risk rises fast. Plus-sizing means mounting a larger-diameter wheel with a lower-profile tire so the overall tire diameter stays roughly the same. Most drivers consider it … Read more

How do you know what tire size actually fits your wheels? Three things have to line up at the same time: the tire’s rim diameter has to match your wheel’s rim diameter exactly, the tire’s section width has to fall inside your wheel’s approved width range, and the final combination has to clear your vehicle’s … Read more

Can you use truck tires on a heavy utility trailer? Yes, you can put LT (light truck) tires on most heavy utility trailers, but only if the tires match the trailer’s required size, load range, and speed rating, and you stay within the tire’s rated load capacity. ST (Special Trailer) tires are still the safer … Read more

Trailer tires last 3 to 6 years from the date they were manufactured, regardless of tread wear or how often you tow. If you rarely tow your trailer, the tire age clock keeps running even when the trailer sits motionless in your driveway. Industry consensus across Goodyear, Carlisle, and Maxxis treats 6 years as the … Read more

I learned this lesson the hard way on a July morning outside Yuma, Arizona. A buddy of mine was pulling his travel trailer home from a weekend trip. The tires looked fine the night before. He made it 38 miles before two of them blew within minutes of each other. The treads were still deep. … Read more

Do trailer tires really need to be different from car tires? Yes – and the difference is not a marketing gimmick. A tire marked ST (Special Trailer) is engineered for a non-steered, non-driven axle carrying a heavy, mostly straight-line load, while a P-metric or LT tire is engineered for steering, braking, and cornering forces on … Read more