Pothole

…low profile. While taking that 245/45R17 and moving up to a 245/50R17 may sound enticing to get a smoother ride and protect your wheels from potholes, this may not be a good idea either. That change in size gains you almost a full inch of overall diameter, a 4.4% increase. This may not sound…

…DriveGuard on my 2008 BMW 328i and have been extraordinarily pleased. While on a drive down a country road with my niece and two children, I found a pothole that can best be described as a basement without a house on top. I immediately looked at my dashboard after the impact, fully expecting the…

…when shopping for a Winter / Snow Tire & Wheel Package. Another reason for downsizing is to protect your wheels from road hazards such as potholes and to provide a smoother ride. When choosing to downsize with your aftermarket wheel purchase, you compensate for that by adjusting the tire size…

The roads are in particularly rough condition following this season's harsher-than-normal winter. As a result, there are more potholes and ruts in the roads, which are causing many drivers to experience problems with their tires, like sidewall bubbles. If you can see a round bulging area…

…footprint in contact with the road is reduced. If a vehicle's tires are overinflated by 6 psi, they could be damaged more easily when running over potholes or debris in the road. Higher inflated tires cannot isolate road irregularities well, causing them to ride harsher. However, higher inflation…

…and wheel combination can be substituted with a more cost-effective tire and wheel set that'll also afford added sidewall height to minimize pothole damage. With more and more vehicles coming standard with 19" and 20" wheels and tires, "minus sizing" has become very popular.…

…4. Keep an eye on treadwear. If the center is wearing faster than the edges, drop the pressure. If the edges are wearing faster than the center, raise the pressure. 5. If you have plus-sized your wheels, it is often a good idea to add some extra air pressure to help protect them from potholes.

…more severe impacts with deeper potholes and sharper curbs, low profile tires mounted on large diameter wheels are the most susceptible to this type of damage. The driver of vehicles equipped with low profile tires should make special efforts to avoid potholes, curbs or other road hazards. Related…

…large loved their tires, but complained of a soft sidewall that caused lazier steering response than its competitors and a susceptibility to pothole damage. A mid-life sidewall reinforcement for most sizes helped to bolster resistance to impacts and increase steering response. Although an…

…the oxygen. Distorting the tire as shown in the accompanying picture can be as detrimental to the internal structure of the tire as running over potholes and road hazards. So what should drivers do? Overall, inflating tires with nitrogen won't hurt them and may provide some minimal benefits. Is it…

…them (drive on them when overloaded or underinflated), as well as the possibility of irreversible damage from punctures, cuts and impacts with potholes, curbs and other road hazards. A tire's original durability will be permanently compromised if it is uncared for, abused or damaged. Therefore every…

…appear until later in the tire's life, it was usually the result of a road hazard when several adjacent cords were injured as the tire struck a pothole, curb or object in the road. Related Links * Diagnosing Tire Pull * Flat-Spotted Tires (Due to Parking / Storage) * Sidewall Separations / Bubbles…