Virginia Tire Shop Guide: Everything You Need to Know About Tires and Tire Services
Your car uses countless components to take you from Point A to Point B, but few auto parts put in more effort than the average set of tires. If your car didn’t have wheels, the quality of its other parts wouldn’t matter—it wouldn’t be able to move an inch. And since tires are constantly subjected to friction and other forces, they need regular maintenance to continue doing their vital job.
If you haven’t visited a tire shop in Northern Virginia before, you might not know what to expect. We’re here to help—in this article, you’ll get all the information you need about buying tires, keeping your wheels well-maintained, and finding a reliable tire store in this part of the country.
Know the Leading Types of Tires
Are you in the market for a new set of tires? If so, you should know precisely what you’re looking for. Depending on the type of car you drive, the time of year, and your top priorities as a motorist, you might benefit from using:
All-Season Tires
No one can truly predict what Virginia’s weather holds, so most drivers need tires that are ideal for various road conditions—and all-season tires fit the bill. Whether you’re driving in warm, dry weather or heavy rain, these tires can provide outstanding performance, top-notch tread life, and fantastic fuel efficiency.
Snow Tires
If all-season tires have a drawback, it’s the fact that they have trouble dealing with snowy roads. That means Northern Virginia residents should switch to snow tires during the coldest months of the year.
Summer Tires
Summer tires are designed to deliver exceptional warm-weather performance, regardless of whether you’re driving on wet or dry roads. However, they’ll perform worse than all-season tires will when temperatures start to dip because of the extra-soft rubber they use.
Touring Tires
Touring tires offer all kinds of benefits, including a smooth driving experience and fantastic handling. But as is the case for so many other tire types, they’re not designed for use in cold weather.
High-Performance Tires
If you drive a luxury vehicle such as a sports car, you’ll want high-quality tires to match—and that means it’s smart to invest in high-performance tires. These wheels offer racing tire-like performance while cornering and driving at high speeds, but they tend to wear out quickly.
Mud Tires
If you’re a big fan of off-roading, mud tires might be the right fit for you. Their exceptionally deep treads make them great for driving on mud, but there’s a catch: you won’t want to use these tires on paved roadways.
All-Terrain Tires
Some drivers enjoy off-road driving, but not enough to sacrifice their vehicle’s performance on the highway. All-terrain tires are perfect for these motorists—they offer deeper-than-average treads that aren’t quite as deep as mud tire treads.
What Are The Most Important Tire Services?
Even if you have the right type of wheels for the conditions you’re facing, you’ll find yourself dealing with tire trouble soon enough if you don’t take maintenance seriously. As a responsible Northern Virginia driver, you’ll want to prioritize these forms of tire service:
Tire Alignment
Theoretically, your tires should hit the road at a specific angle, but that’s not always the case in practice. When your tire angle is off, your tires might wear unevenly—even if this misalignment is so subtle that the naked eye can’t detect it.
To correct this issue, you’ll need to schedule an appointment for tire alignment. Unlike most forms of tire service, this doesn’t involve work on your tires; instead, it focuses on adjustments to your car’s suspension. By making changes to this system (which connects a vehicle’s body to its tires), mechanics can bring your wheels back into alignment.
Tire Balancing
Tires are designed to work alongside three other nearly identical wheels. With that in mind, your tires should match as closely as possible—and that means each tire’s weight matters. But tread wear and other factors can affect the weight of your tires, potentially throwing your wheels out of balance.
If you notice steering wheel vibrations, uneven tread wear, or less-than-smooth driving, unbalanced tires may be to blame. A professional tire shop can resolve this issue by weighing your tires and installing tiny weights on underweight wheels—a process known as “tire balancing.”
Tire Rotation
It’s easy to assume your vehicle’s weight is distributed evenly across each of your tires, but that’s not really the case. As a result, tires can and will wear out at different rates if left to their own devices. One of the most effective ways to avoid this outcome is to set up a schedule for tire rotation.
Tire rotation simply involves moving your tires from their current position to another spot on your vehicle. Still, there’s more to this service than you might think—to get the full benefits of tire rotation, you’ll need to follow one of several specific patterns for this work. By taking care of tire rotation whenever you set up an oil change (or every 3,000 to 6,000 miles), you’ll make it easier for your tires to wear at an even rate.
Tire Installation
Even if you do a good job keeping up with the maintenance services listed above, there’s always a chance that something will go wrong with your tires. But even if your tires don’t dramatically blow out, they won’t last forever. The average set
of tires has a lifespan of roughly three to five years—beyond that point, you’ll need to think about replacing them.
Of course, you shouldn’t buy replacement tires just anywhere. Your car’s wheels need to keep you and your passengers safe on the road, and subpar tires just aren’t up to that task. To make sure you’re getting new tires you can count on, visit a tire shop offering a broad selection of name-brand tires and professional installation services.
Preparing Your Tires for the Four Seasons
Few auto components are more heavily affected by the outside world than tires—after all, your wheels are the one part of your car that makes direct contact with the road. That means understanding your tires’ changing needs over the course of the year is crucial. Here’s how you can protect your tires in:
Winter
Northern Virginia is no stranger to snowfall during the winter months, so your tires should be ready to deal with slippery road conditions. One of the most important steps you can take while pursuing this goal is ensuring your vehicle has the right tires for the task at hand.
Remember: despite their name, all-season tires aren’t the best choice for winter driving. Installing a high-quality set of snow tires right before winter weather arrives would be a much better idea.
During the frigid winter months, you’ll also need to pay closer attention to tire inflation than usual. Every time outdoor temperatures drop ten degrees, you’ll lose one or two pounds of tire pressure—and despite what urban legends might say, poorly inflated tires don’t provide improved traction on snowy roads. To mitigate your risk of underinflation, check your tire pressure on a regular basis.
Spring
As you might expect, spring isn’t nearly as hard on the average set of tires as winter is. Despite this, there are a few factors you’ll need to keep in mind when preparing your tires for this season.
First and foremost, if you’ve been using snow tires during the winter months, you’ll need to replace them with “normal” tires when spring arrives. Snow tires are a perfect fit for driving on snowy, ice-covered terrain—but they’re far less effective at any other time of year.
Spring also has a reputation for being the rainiest time of year, so your tires should be ready to deal with wet pavement. Fortunately, a good set of all-season tires will be able to perform well in situations like these.
Summer
If you’re gearing up for a lengthy summer road trip, you’ll want to perform a quick visual inspection of your tires before hitting the road. Look for any obvious signs of damage, from punctures or bubbles to worn-out treads and bald spots. Yes, replacing or repairing your tires might delay the start of your vacation, but that’s a minor inconvenience compared to dealing with an unexpected blowout in an unfamiliar part of the country.
Having the right tires for summer weather isn’t quite as crucial as installing snow tires in winter, but it’s still something you’ll want to think about. While summer tires are naturally well-suited to this time of year, you can also get great results from all-season tires.
Fall
Fall in Virginia doesn’t tend to be particularly demanding on tires, but that doesn’t mean you should neglect tire care during the autumn months. Instead, this is the perfect time of year to get an in-depth tire inspection.
Most reputable tire shops will perform tire inspections at no cost. When handling these inspections, mechanics can assess the overall well-being of your tires and determine whether you need services like tire alignment, balancing, or rotation to keep them in good shape.
If your tire shop of choice also handles general auto services, you might want to get some other maintenance and repair tasks taken care of while you’re there. Specifically, it’s a good idea to get your battery/charging system inspected, change your oil, and get any heater and defroster problems fixed at this time.
Questions to Ask When Replacing Tires
No one wants to buy the wrong tires for their vehicle’s needs, and doing research beforehand is an excellent way to avoid this situation. The next time you need to purchase new tires, be sure to ask questions like:
Am I Due for Tire Replacement?
Tires with no more than 2/32” of tread aren’t fit for continued use—if your tread depth has gotten to this point, you need to replace your tires ASAP. Of course, that isn’t the only issue that can prevent a set of tires from being roadworthy. When tires get to a certain age, they’ll have difficulty maintaining pressure levels and an increased risk of bulges and sidewall cracks, even if their tread depth is still okay.
Taking all of this into account, you can expect your tires to last somewhere between three and five years (assuming you’ve kept up on tire maintenance and drive roughly 12,000 to 15,000 miles annually, that is). If you’re unsure whether or not it’s time to replace your tires, ask the crew at Hogan & Sons Tire and Auto for advice.
How Many Tires Should I Replace?
When just one of your tires has been damaged, you might think you’ll only have to replace that wheel—but that might not be the case. Since tires are meant to work together, they deliver the best results when they’re paired with matching wheels. At the very least, the tires on each of your vehicle’s axles should share a brand and tread type.
What Are the Best Tires I Can Afford?
Looking for a good deal on new tires can be wise, but you should never try to cheap out on these components. Investing in high-quality tires is one of the easiest, most effective ways to prioritize your safety while driving. Because of that, you’ll want to buy the best tires available in your price range.
How Can Tires Boost My Fuel Economy?
Believe it or not, choosing the right tires for your vehicle could enhance your fuel economy by 15-20 percent. While shopping for tires, ask the mechanics working at your tire store how specific types of tires will affect your car’s fuel usage.
Do Your Tires Include Warranty Coverage?
No set of tires is so good that it can’t benefit from a warranty. Because of that, you’ll want to talk to your tire shop’s employees about coverage length, geographical coverage, maintenance guarantees, road hazard tire protection plan, and other topics related to tire warranties.
How to Choose the Right Virginia Tire Shop
There’s no denying that drivers need regular tire service, but not all tire stores in Northern Virginia are equally reliable. Here are some factors to prioritize when searching for a trustworthy tire shop in this region:
Qualified Mechanics
Tire service involves more than just removing old wheels and installing new ones. Tasks like tire balancing and alignment call for an incredibly high level of precision—and some mechanics aren’t up to the challenge of completing these jobs.
Gauging the skill level of a shop’s mechanics might sound like a hassle, but it doesn’t have to be. All you have to do is seek out tire stores that work with ASE-certified technicians. These workers know more about auto service than anyone else, and their knowledge base will include tire maintenance and repair.
A Wide Range of Services
Of course, any tire store needs to be capable of handling services like tire installation, tire alignment, and tire balancing. Still, tire problems are far from the only issue your vehicle might run into. Because of that, it’s in your best interest to find a tire shop that can also handle auto maintenance and repair services like:
Various Ways to Save
Like any other type of auto service, tire repair, maintenance, and replacement can cost a pretty penny. Even if your tire shop charges fair rates for these services, you’ll still want to save as much as possible. The best shops don’t ignore this situation—instead, they give their valued customers extra opportunities to make tire service as affordable as possible.
Coupons may be the most well-known way to save on auto service. Every tire shop worth its salt will provide these offers, but they aren’t the only way you should be able to save on tire work. In addition to their coupons, truly high-quality tire stores offer their own financing options.
A Strong Reputation
Along with considering a tire shop’s services, mechanics, and rates, you should think about how long they’ve been in business locally. In a competitive field like the auto service industry, less-than-qualified shops have trouble sticking around for more than a few years. On the other hand, most shops that have been in business for more than a decade were able to get to that point for a reason.
It’s also best to prioritize local businesses over national chains when searching for a tire store. These businesses have a meaningful stake in the communities they operate in, and that means they’ll go the extra mile to keep their neighbors happy.
Visit Northern Virginia’s Best Tire Shop
By now, you should have a comprehensive understanding of what tire shops do, what tires your vehicle might benefit from, and how to take care of your tires during the changing seasons. Even so, you’ll still need to find a Virginia tire store capable of delivering the quality service you deserve.
In Northern Virginia, no one provides better tires and tire service than Hogan & Sons Tire and Auto. We’ve been taking care of tire service for people in the area since 1984, and our ASE-certified mechanics can handle tire installation, rotation, alignment, and much more. Explore our selection of new tires or set up an appointment for tire service today!
