Kick the tires with an expert
Barry Steinberg is president and chief executive of Direct Tire and Auto Service, based in Watertown, where he started his company in 1974 at a defunct auto dealership. The company, which grew from one location with five employees to four locations in the Boston area and 85 employees, has been called by Fortune magazine "One of the Best Small Companies in America." Steinberg spoke with Globe reporter Royal Ford about everything from the science of modern tires to how people should pick their tires.
Q: How do you pick tires?
A: First thing we do is look at the type of equipment on the car, and we use that as a benchmark.
If you came to us with, say, a 2005 Toyota Camry, and you were through your first set of tires, the first thing we'd want to know is "were you happy with them, were you happy with them in the winter? How were they in the rain, how were they in the snow? What was the noise level."
And frankly, most people don't know the answers to a lot of these questions because they're the only tires they've driven on. But we base it on a person's driving habits - do they commute in the winter, do they drive every day - what are their needs? And how long are they going to keep the car?
And some cars - the 2005 Land Rover HSE, for instance - have a specific Pirelli tire. They're very brand-specific to give the optimum performance.
Q: With tire choices for front-, rear-, and all-wheel-drive, how do you advise customers about replacing tires?
A: This is not necessarily about a four-wheel-drive or a quattro, but if you're buying two tires at a time, the new ones always go on the rear.
In the past, it's always been on the front, but this is not your mother's Buick anymore.
Changing tires on the Volvo XC70, the Subarus, the Audis, Mercedes issues, changing tires on those (all-wheel-drive vehicles) is a little more sensitive because of tread depth difference.
For instance, if a Volvo XC70 came in with bald tires on the front and half the tread life on the rear, Volvo is telling you, with a bulletin, replace all four.
Q: Where do the new run-flat tires fit into the picture?
A: People hate 'em. They're very expensive. Availability is very difficult for a lot of people to find.
And there's premature wear. Honda had a big problem with 11,000-mile tires.
And most people who bought the vehicle were not told by the salesman they had run-flat tires. They just want to sell the car and get you out. And people will come in here and say, "What do you mean 'run-flat tires?' I just want to buy two tires for the car that are comfortable" and we have to say, "Well, you can't do that."
Q: What are low-profile tires (which have less rubber between the edge of the rim and the road) doing to the market?
A: Well, they're increasing costs. They're not giving the mileage that your mother's Buick used to give. They're harder rubber so it's creating more problems in winter. A little bit of sticker shock, higher replacement costs, harsher ride. . . . You can run like a go-kart, but they're more susceptible to damage from potholes. We've seen a lot of impact-to-sidewall breaks in these tires.
Q: What happens with the new big rims? Twenty- , 21-, 27-inch rims?
A: They're more susceptible to bending, which can bend the wheel, ruin the tire. We straighten a lot of these wheels.
Q: What about winter?
A: Those type of tires have to come off in the winter. Even if they're all-season.
Q: What's the difference - winter, all-weather?
A: There are two seasonal kinds of tires - summer tires, which are mainly the ultra-high-performance tires; there are all-season tires, which are OK in the winter, and then there's true winter tires.
The true winter tire stops faster, corners better. And . . . the compound of the rubber does not get hard in the cold.
Q: What do you tell people with all-wheel-drive?
A: I would say, depending on Mother Nature, try it the first winter with all-season tires - not high performance tires if it comes with those - but without snow tires or winter tires.
