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Tires/Questions
| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
| tire size | 2/3/2012 | Barry Smith |
| Q: I have a 2003 dodge neon sxt with 185/60r-15 tires, can i go to a 205/60r-15 tire A: Tony, According to Discount Tire, no. That will rub. If you go to Discount Tire's web site, they ... | ||
| P205/70R 15 | 2/1/2012 | Barry Smith |
| Q: What make , year, and model cars use P205/70/15 tires? I have a set with 500 miles wear and want to ... A: Joyce, The common way to sell tires is by size - and let the buyer determine if his car takes that ... | ||
| Tire size | 1/30/2012 | Barry Smith |
| Q: I just purchased a used 2004 Grand Cherokee limited. I would like to replace stock ... A: Kelly, I'm reasonably sure a 245/70R17 won't fit, because Discount Tire doesn't list that tire size ... | ||
| Tire size | 1/30/2012 | Barry Smith |
| Q: Barry, I have a 1986 Class C RV on a Ford E-350 chassis, when I bought it it had LT215/85-16 tires ... A: Don, You probably can't be able to make the change - but here's how to tell: The dual wheel ... | ||
| 19.5 questions | 1/28/2012 | Barry Smith |
| Q: I have 1991 International 4654 rollback and it has 6", 6 lug, 19.5 rims. I have looked around for ... A: Steve, My goodness! A look back in the past. With an apparent error. OK, let's examine the first ... | ||
| 2006 Scion xA tire pressure | 1/17/2012 | Barry Smith |
| Q: I replaced all tires with - Falken ZIEX ZE912 - 185/60R15 two months ago, and just got around ... A: Maria, The pressure should be 29 psi. You should be aware that in winter weather, the cold ... | ||
| thank you | 1/12/2012 | Barry Smith |
| Q: The XL tyres should have 5-6 psi more,ihave been told.Is that right? At 29 psi i feel them to be ... A: Nikolaos, No, that is not correct. They are thinking XL tires of the same load index as the ... | ||
| tyre pressure | 1/12/2012 | Barry Smith |
| Q: i own an Octavia mk1 1.8t .when o.e. it was 160hp with 205/55r16 89 or 91V,weight 3100lbs completely ... A: Nikoloas, It turns out that the load carrying characteristics vs pressure are the same for both ... | ||
| Z rated tires vs R rated tries | 1/10/2012 | Barry Smith |
| Q: I'm in the market for new tires for my Mazda 2006 6s; current tires on vehicle is 215/40Z18. When ... A: Dino, I think you are confusing terms. The "R" means "Radial" - and the speed rating is usually ... | ||
| pressure | 1/3/2012 | Barry Smith |
| Q: If all 4 tires on a car are inflated (electronic digital pump at a tire store) with the same amount ... A: Lee, Tires are not 100% airtight - and there will be differences from tire to tire. Generally ... | ||
| Tires | 12/27/2011 | Barry Smith |
| Q: My volvo currently has 195/60R 15 rims and tires. Can I put 195/60R 14 tires on this car? If yes, ... A: Lorraine, First, fitting 14" tires on 15" rims is impossible. It would require new rims. But to ... | ||
| tire pressure | 12/24/2011 | Barry Smith |
| Q: How much differential pressure side to side will cause steering pull. This assumes that the tires ... A: Russell, The sensitivity of a vehicle to pull varies from vehicle to vehicle. Some are very ... | ||
| Proper Tire Pressure | 12/22/2011 | Barry Smith |
| Q: What is the operating air pressure for 30x9.50R15 104s tire on a 2000 jeep Cherokee sport 4.0 liter ... A: Steve, On every vehicle sold in the US - and I understand this is a worldwide practice as well - ... | ||
| 1984 Corvette | 12/22/2011 | Barry Smith |
| Q: I have a 1984 Chev Corvette. I am in the process of making this car run again. It was towed to my ... A: John, First, David is no longer doing this. So I am stepping in to help. Discount Tire provides ... | ||
| Old Ford 1-ton Tire Sizes | 12/15/2011 | Barry Smith |
| Q: I am looking at buying this coming year a Ford F-350 (non-dually) 4wd from the 1970-1979 model ... A: Tim, There were a variety of tire sizes - too numerous to list. But what you'll want to look out ... | ||
| ST tires | 12/14/2011 | Barry Smith |
| Q: I have a fifth wheel with some ST 235 80R 16 E on them. Before taking off on a trip I check my tire ... A: Michael, Yes, you can substitute an LT tire in place of ST type tires - BUT - LT tires do NOT come ... | ||
| Shelf Life Of Tires | 12/12/2011 | Barry Smith |
| Q: There seems to be a difference in the expert opinion on the need to replace tires after so any ... A: Bruce, Recent bulletins from the tire industry indicate that tires degrade simply due to time. The ... | ||
| tire size for Dodge Ram 1500 w/Hemi | 12/9/2011 | Barry Smith |
| Q: I have a 2007 Dodge Ram 1500 with a Hemi. Currently, it has 275s and 20 inch tires. My dad says that ... A: Jennifer, First, your dad is wrong. You need to go larger in size to get better fuel economy - but ... | ||
| Replacement tires | 12/2/2011 | Barry Smith |
| Q: I have a 2006 Jeep Wrangler X and just had 4 new tires installed. They were Definity Dakota H/T ... A: Mark, If your friends have been telling you these are pretty mild tires - even as all season tires ... | ||
| Winter tires installed, now problems! pls advise | 12/1/2011 | Barry Smith |
| Q: ..I'm looking for your expert advice. We have an 07 civic that we recently purchased in April. It ... A: Diana, There are a number of possibilities and some of them are tire related, some are balancing ... | ||
| tire size | 11/30/2011 | Barry Smith |
| Q: My 2002 Dakota Crew Cab 4X4 lists Lt265 70 R 16 tires. The tires I wish to put on the truck Do not ... A: Jim, First, your vehicle tire placard should list the tire size as having the "P" in front of it. ... | ||
| tire inflation | 11/29/2011 | Barry Smith |
| Q: I just purchased an '85 Ford F-250 with 35/12.5 x 16.5 tires. No owners manual. I estimate the truck ... A: Thmas, Thanks for the information. First, I have my doubts about the front inflation pressure - 44 ... | ||
| tire inflation | 11/27/2011 | Barry Smith |
| Q: I just purchased an '85 Ford F-250 with 35/12.5 x 16.5 tires. No owners manual. I estimate the truck ... A: Thomas, The starting point for a calculation for a different tire size than what is listed on the ... | ||
| Tire Pressure for Suburban with Light Truck Tires | 11/24/2011 | Barry Smith |
| Q: I have Goodrich All Terrrain T/A tires (31x10.5R15LT) on my 1988 GMC Suburban 1500. It has a heavy ... A: Dennis, The starting point for calculating the pressure of a different size is what is listed on ... | ||
| tire inflation | 11/24/2011 | Barry Smith |
| Q: I just purchased an '85 Ford F-250 with 35/12.5 x 16.5 tires. No owners manual. I estimate the truck ... A: Thomas, On every vehicle sold in the US - and I understand this is a worldwide practice as well - ... | ||
| Tire PRessure for Suburban with Light Truck Tires | 11/24/2011 | Barry Smith |
| Q: I have Goodrich All Terrrain T/A tires (31x10.5R15LT) on my 1988 GMC Suburban 1500. It has a heavy ... A: Dennis, On every vehicle sold in the US - and I understand this is a worldwide practice as well - ... | ||
| Tire fit | 11/20/2011 | Barry Smith |
| Q: I just had new Hankook tires put on the original rims of my Ranger pickup. When I went to pick the ... A: Michael, In my experience, tires NEVER go to the edge of the rim - unless they have rim protectors ... | ||
| Wheel Nuts | 11/19/2011 | Barry Smith |
| Q: I know this is not part of what you cover, but I'll try my luck anyway. I have a 2011 Nissan Murano ... A: Norlyn, While this is not my area of expertise, I do know how to search for information. I found ... | ||
| RvTires Date code | 11/18/2011 | Barry Smith |
| Q: What date does 2401 stand for on 245/70R19.5 G70 RV tire. A: Fletcher, Long answer: http://www.barrystiretech.com/dotcoding.html Short answer: Assuming you ... | ||
| fuel . smaller tires have better fuel mpg | 11/14/2011 | Barry Smith |
| Q: would original equipment tires have a better higher mpg.. then having bigger second manufacture ... A: John, Long answer: http://www.barrystiretech.com/rrandfe2.html Short answer: This a complex ... | ||
| factory original replacement tires | 11/8/2011 | Barry Smith |
| Q: I have a 1974 Impala Sedan and I need tires. I would like to replace with factory original style ... A: Neil, First, HR78-15 is an obsolete size - using an obsolete sizing system called "AlphaNumeric". ... | ||
| min pressure for E rated tires | 11/5/2011 | Barry Smith |
| Q: I own a 2007 Tacoma that i drive on rough mountain roads a lot for elk hunting, ect.. I recently ... A: Greg, Your vehicle originally came with P metric tires and you have put on LT metric tires. These ... | ||
| SUV tire selection | 11/5/2011 | Barry Smith |
| Q: Mr. Smith, My 2010 Expedition came standard with 275/55-20 Pirelli Scorpion STR tires. I'm not ... A: Tim, Here's the problem in a nutshell. For years, vehicle manufacturers under-specified the tires ... | ||
| rims/tires | 10/31/2011 | Barry Smith |
| Q: my husband bought rims for my winter tires on my dodge durango. He said that they are 7 inch ... A: Donna, Yes, they will probably work, but there is an awful lot of stuff that has to be considered. ... | ||
| Wheel Alignment | 10/29/2011 | Barry Smith |
| Q: I just purchased 4 new tires for my Toyota Camry and the tire store offered a free alignment check. ... A: Jeff, If you don't mind purchasing tires about 3 times more often than normal, then forgo the ... | ||
| tire pressure | 10/24/2011 | Barry Smith |
| Q: My truck,GMC Sierra 1500HD, calls for 50 psi on front tires and 80 psi on rear tires. Is higher ... A: Darren, It is my understnding that unless the vehicle manufacturer specifies otherwise, the ... | ||
| tires | 10/24/2011 | Barry Smith |
| Q: What is the proper PSI for a 06 Dodge Doakta SLT 245/70R16 A: Nick, On every vehicle sold in the US – and I am told this is worldwide, but I have not been able ... | ||
| DUAL TIRES | 10/3/2011 | Barry Smith |
| Q: I HAVE A FORD F-650 ROLLBACK WRECKER TRUCK THAT THE INSIDE DUALS WEAR VERY CHOPPY, THE TRUCK HAS ... A: Frank, It sounds like there is an alignment problem with the truck, but I can't discount the ... | ||
| Wheels | 9/28/2011 | Barry Smith |
| Q: I need to know if there is a way to take a 5 lug Dodge ram 1500 23" wheel and somehow put them on a ... A: Rashad, There are a couple of issues here. First is that the number of lugs used on hubs is ... | ||
| Tire pressure | 9/25/2011 | Barry Smith |
| Q: I drive A 2007 Tundra double cab 4x4. I was wondering what the proper air pressure is for a BF ... A: Kevin, On every vehicle sold in the US – and I am told this is worldwide, but I have not been able ... | ||
Barry Smith
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
I have over 30 years experience in the design, manufacturing, and testing of tires. I have served as the technical advisor to the "800" number. I have authored or co-authored many publications - usually without credit. I can answer almost any technical question, but please don`t ask me to compare brands. I probably have prejudices because of my work experience.
Experience
Member SAE (Society of Automotive
Engineers)
Member Tire Society (Tire Technical Organization)
SCCA Regional Competiton License holder
Authored many training manuals on tires, their care and use.
Organizations
SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers)
SCCA (Sports Car Club of America)
Tire Society
Publications
You may want to visit my web site:
http://www.barrystiretech.com/index.html
Education/Credentials
I am a graduate of the University of Dayton, Dayton, OH - BME, 1971
I attended graduate school at the University of Akron - but did not complete my PhD - something I regret.
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