Tire Buying Guide

General information to guide you in purchasing the correct tires for your vehicle.

Updated over a week ago

Tires are priced and sold individually. For a complete set, please select a quantity of 4 tires in the Marketplace.

This tire-buying guide will provide some general information to assist you in deciding the right tires for your car and your lifestyle. Please be sure to review your vehicle's owner manual for manufacturer requirements. 

Additionally, Pease note, we can only ship tires to the contiguous United States. We are unable to ship to Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico or other U.S. Territories.

With Perpay, you can determine the right size tire for your vehicle two different ways*:

  1.  You can search by your vehicle by entering in the year, make, and model in the vehicle & tire size search.

  2. Determine your tire size by looking in your vehicle’s owner manual, on the inside of the vehicles door well, or analyzing the side wall of your tire. Use our side navigation filters to find your match! 

*Important: Please note Perpay is Legally unable to provide "technical" support and can only recommend the exact tire size specific to your vehicle based on manufacturer recommendations. Only high-quality, unused tires are offered on our secure site. Each tire is stored in a climate-controlled facility and has never been mounted on a vehicle.

How many tires do I need?

Most people replace tires in sets of 2 or 4. But it is possible for you to replace 1 tire (if you have a flat) or 3 tires as well.

When replacing 1 tire

You are going to want to find an exact match for the damaged or worn tire. That means you want to replace it with the exact brand, model, speed rating and load capacity. (Information about these items is in the next section) If you use a different tire than what was previously on there, you put your vehicle at risk for poor handling, pulling and instability.

When replacing 2 tires

You are going to want to replace with the same or better-quality tire. It is suggested that you buy two of the same tires when replacing. That way they should wear evenly and perform in line with one another. It is also suggested that you mount the new tires on the rear of the car (if rear wheel drive) or front of your car (if front wheel drive), and move the older tires to the front/rear of the car. This is because the newer tires have a deeper tread which helps with hydroplaning resistance so they can grip the road better than your older tires. You can then steer to compensate for the lower wet traction worn front tires to safely control your vehicle.

When replacing 3 tires

When replacing 3 tires, you will want to follow the same rules as replacing two tires. You will want to put the two newer tires in the back and move the older tire to the front. It is best to keep the rear tires the same and the front tires the same. So when replacing three, you want to make sure the two in the rear are the same tire, and that the new one up front is the same as the older tire that is currently on the vehicle. However, if there isn’t much tread life left on the one older tire, it would be best just to replace all four at that point.

When replacing 4 tires

At this point you have many different options. This is the best situation to be in because you can change the size and quality of your tires to suit your particular driving needs. 

Selecting the Right Tire: Review your Tire Dimensions

You can determine tire size by looking in your vehicle’s owner manual, on the inside of the vehicles door well, or analyzing the sidewall of your tire.

Width: The distance between the outer edge and the inner edge of the tread of a tire.

Aspect Ratio: Determines how tall your tire is. The bigger the number, the taller the tire. Typically, higher performance tires have a lower aspect ratio. Most all-season passenger tires have a ratio between 65-80.

Radial: The "R" determines that it is a radial tire. A radial tire is a particular design of vehicular tire. In this design, the cord plies are arranged at 90 degrees to the direction of travel, or radially. Sometimes in higher performance tires it may have a VR or ZR. That just means it's a V or Z speed rated radial tire.

Diameter: This is the diameter of the inner hole in the tire. This is basically the rim size this tire can fit on. Hence a 14 means it fits on a 14-inch rim.

Load and Speed Index:

Load rating refers to how much weight a tire can carry. A load rating of 82 indicates that a tire can support 1047 lbs. You will then multiply that number by four to determine the maximum carrying capacity of your tires. It is not a good idea to install tires with a lower load rating than what originally came on your vehicle. You can reference the chart below to find the amount of weight your tire can carry.

The higher the tire's load index number, the greater its load carrying capacity. 

Speed Rating: Each tire is issued a tire speed rating based on how well it reaches and sustains a certain speed. The higher the speed rating means the tire will provide better handling. It is best not to downgrade the speed rating of your tire and never mix different speed ratings on your vehicle. Both of these issues can lead to serious handling problems. Please reference the chart before to find your tire’s speed rating.

DOT Information:
Perpay’s suppliers only ship tires with DOT dates that do not exceed 4 years. If you receive a tire with a DOT date of more than 4-years from the date of purchase, you may request to return it and Perpay will pay the return shipping fees. For any tire with a DOT date that is less than 4-years old from the date of purchase, the item is eligible for return per the Perpay Return Policy, however the customer is responsible for  return shipping costs.

Standard Manufacturer Warranty:
Standard Tire Manufacturer warranty protects against premature tire wear or manufacturing defects ONLY. Perpay and the manufacturer are not responsible for damage created by contact with road hazards. 

Applicable warranty conditions covered deemed by the manufacturer only. To learn more about a Manufacturer Warranty, please contact the manufacturer directly.

Tire Performance Categories

Performance: Performance tires offer outstanding cornering and precision handling - that's why you'll often see them on sports coupes, sedans and European sports cars. Performance tires are great if you're going to be handling your car at high speeds and need a tire that can keep up.

All Terrain: All-terrain tires are great for navigating gravel, loose soil, stone, snow and sand. Their tread compound is designed to stay flexible and react to weather or conditions so that you can maintain traction in varying circumstances. Look for the industry's "M + S" symbol which denotes all-terrain tires with all season versatility.

Highway: Highway tires are created with features like spiral-wrapped nylon caps, which help maintain low road noise and circumferential grooves which direct water away from the tire to help prevent hydroplaning. If reliable performance and excellent traction are the most important for you, highway tires are a perfect fit.

All Seasons Tire: All season tires are exactly what the name implies - they have a tread pattern, internal design and rubber compound designed for traction and performance in wet or dry conditions. All season tires are a compromise which means that you don’t have to change tires in the winter or summer - no wonder they have become popular worldwide.

Racing: When it comes to racing, your tires can make all the difference. Racing tires tread patterns are optimized for speed and the tire itself is constructed to provide ideal performance in racing scenarios. If you're heading for the podium, racing tires will take you there.

UHP: UHP tires are for when you really want to push the envelope! With a speed rating of V or greater, UHP tires are designed with a low profile and a soft, sticky tread compound that’s designed for excellent traction and steering response. One thing to remember is that UHP tires also have a shorter tread life and are generally unsuited for winter driving or cold temperatures.

Mud Terrain Tires: Mud terrain tires have to do more than just look tough- they have to get you into the rough places and get you back out again. Mud tires typically have an aggressive tread and deep lugs with self-cleaning bars to eject mud and stones. If you're going off the beaten path, then mud tires might be exactly what you need.

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