A few thoughts about your tires

School's out, the thermometer says summer has arrived and many of us are looking forward to the annual family vacation. For a lot of us, that means a trip in the family car.

Before you load the family jalopy and head off to points unknown, you might want to invest in new tires. Nothing ruins a trip more than having to unload the entire vehicle to get to the spare tire.

Many of us think tire problems are associated with inclement weather, but the No. 1 cause of tire failure is heat. Heat can be the result of running on underinflated tires, which increases drag against the road surface, or it can be the result of overloading a vehicle.

We've all seen the sedan with two adults, 2.5 children, a rooftop carrier with everything but Grandma crammed in it and the family pet bouncing around loose in the vehicle. If it sounds familiar, a new set of tires might be your best insurance to get your family safely to your destination.

Purchasing tires can be a venture into the unknown all by itself. My first recommendation is to always buy a high-quality tire. Remember, tires connect the vehicle to the road surface. You can have the best car in the world, but if you put substandard tires on it, you are putting yourself and your family in jeopardy.

Of course, we all want the best possible price. However, the least-expensive tire is not always the best deal.

Take into consideration things such as wet-weather handling characteristics, projected tread life and what type of warranty the tire offers. Most premium tire manufacturers offer a high-mileage replacement tire that is appropriate for use on typical family sedans.

These tires usually come with up to an 80,000-mile tread life warranty. Consumers often are confused by just what that warranty means. It does not mean that if anything goes wrong with your tire during that 80,000 miles, it will be replaced free.

What it does mean is that the cost of a comparable tire based on the amount of tread life left on the tire will be prorated.

Goodyear has announced an industry first. Its Infinitred is backed by a lifetime warranty, or as long as you own your car. If the tread wear indicators show up during the first three years of ownership, Goodyear will replace your tire free. After that, as long as you own your vehicle, it will replace the tire at 50 percent of the cost of a new tire.

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