How to select the right tires for your car and how to rotate both directional and non-directional tires.

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BEFORE YOU START

Find and identify the label that describes your tires and pressure recommendations. It is usually on a front door . Consult your user manual.
Selecting the right tires for your vehicle requires some patience and significant web search.
You would spend an hour at least and up to two prior to finding the right matches for your vehicle within your country.

DISCLAIMER:
Our pictorials are of informative nature and do illustrate works carried out by ourselves at our own premises for our own use and satisfaction.
Readers who envisage to carry out similar works inspired by the below method shall do this at their own risks and liability.

Tires classification by season

There are 3 main categories of tires:

Summer tires
Winter tires
All-season tires

In countries with a moderate climate, Summer ties are fitted all year long.

Winter tires are only used during winter in snowy areas. They are to be replaced by summer tires in spring, summer, autumn and until the first snows.

All season tires can be used all year long and are less performant but more durable than summer tires

Tires classification by tread pattern

2 main differences in tires tread patterns:

Directional pattern imposing the rotation direction.
Most common non-directional patterns that can rotate either way, and that can be either symmetrical or asymmetrical.

Directional patterns end up forming a V shape and impose a rotation direction. The direction is marked by an arrow on the tire external side.

Non-directional tires can rotate either way.

Non-directional tires can also be asymmetrical and still rotate either way. They do have however the "OUTSIDE" marking on their external side and have to be mounted that way on the trim.

The "OUTSIDE" marking as showing on the side of this tire.

Tire size, speed and load indexes

Explanations:

215 is the width of the tire in mm
45 is the height of the tire side in % of its width i.e. 45% of 215mm.
ZR is the speed index but this applies to the ZR category only, you will simply find an "R" for Radial and the speed index at the very end where the Y is in this case.
18 is the trim diameter in inches
93 is the load index i.e. the Kg that this tire withstands.
Y is except for ZR tires a speed index denoting the maximum vehicle speed recommended for this tire.
The picture below shows the "EXTRA LOAD" marking meaning this tire withstands more than the normal rating for the shown index (93) which makes it suitable for example for MPV's or other heavy vehicles.

First step of choosing a tire for your car: start by the Web search

Chose at least three main tires manufacturers and visit their websites while observing the following:

Making sure you're in the right site for your country
Making sure you know what are the following characteristics of your vehicle: Model, year, engine, trim size.
Making sure you know your tires size like for the above example 215/45 R18. No need to worry about your load or speed indexes as these will be given by the website selector and will be compatible with your vehicle's capabilities.

Chose the "tire selector" or "find your tire" option and fill in the above info.
The below snapshot is one example prompting you to enter in sequence Year, make, model and trim size.

Some sites warn you of visiting a website that is not relevant to your country, other will redirect you based on your location first.

This site prompts you to enter in sequence the year, make, model and then trim size of your vehicle.

Using the European label on tires (when available)

Your above search will return one or more choices given by a particular manufacturer to your vehicle.
They are usually sorted from the one with the highest specifications to the lesser choice.
DO NOT use the manufacturer's own star ratings to compare to other manufacturers as such stars are not standardized.
You can use them to compare the various choices given by that same manufacturer out of his current range.

If your tires are sold in Europe, you will find a European label for it as per the below example.
This label makes it easy to compare the tires.

The label will provide a quick index to identify:

Tire impact on fuel consumption as an alphabetical index as shown.
Tire performance on wet roads, also as an index.
Rolling noise expressed in the unit of measure, dB.

As a general rule, a tire with a higher grip rating will have a lesser consumption rating.
But tires rated A for both do exist for some sizes and some vehicles. If you find them, keep in mind they will be very expensive.
Compromises like C-C or E-A (E for fuel, A for grip) or better are considered as satisfactory.

Final comparison and selection of tires for your vehicle

Now call the dealers and get the prices and stock availability.
Once your decision is made, call again the dealer and make sure of the date of fabrication.
You should be within the year that follows the manufacturing date of the set that he proposes.

The date of manufacture is stamped within a rounded corners frame and consists of 4 digits: 2 for the week and 2 for the year.

This picture shows a tire that has been fabricated on week 36 of 2014.

Checklist after new tires mounting

Check that:

All tires show the "OUTSIDE" marking if asymmetrical
All tires have the rotation arrow pointing towards the front of the vehicle if directional
All 4 tires have acceptable dates
Tires have been inflated to the recommended pressures shown on the label on your door.

Tires monthly maintenance: controlling and adjusting pressure

Always adjust the tire pressure when COLD because the values mentioned on your vehicle's label are for cold pressures.
When driving, tires heat up and the pressure inside increases.
If for whatever reason you have to inflate a tire when hot, increase the recommended values by 0.1 bar or 1.5 PSI to solve your problem then readjust the pressure the other day when the tire is cold.
If you intend to take the highway for a long trip or drive your vehicle at full load, you will need to increase your tires pressure as indicated on the vehicle's label.
Control and adjust your tires pressure every month.

Remember that the tire pressure is determined by the vehicle manufacturer, not the tire manufacturer and not the tire vendor. Tires of exact make are inflated differently depending on the vehicle to which they are mounted.
Examples of tire labels on door frames:

Tires rotation: every 5,000 to 10,000 Km, rotate your tires

Tires on 2WD vehicles do wear on the drive wheels faster than on the free wheels. For this reason, they have to be rotated as explained below.
Tires on AWD vehicles also have to be rotated because the engine torque distribution is not necessarily equal.
Tires on SUV's, MPV's, Crossovers, Station Wagons, Rear wheel drive vehicles and other vehicles with a negative camber angle on the back wheels have to be rotated regardless if the vehicle is 2WD or AWD.

What is negative camber angle?

The vertical wheel axis of this SUV is not vertical (to the floor).
Such axis is slightly inclined towards the inside of the vehicle from top and opposite from bottom.
The angle with the vertical line is called camber angle and is negative when the wheel points out from bottom.
This is used by the car manufacturers to increase the vehicle's stability and to compensate for loads.
It results in an increased tire wear from inside, reason why tires have to be rotated.

How to rotate tires?

Vehicles with directional tires or near-zero camber angle:

Back Left goes Front Left
Back Right goes Front Right
Front Left goes Back Left
Front Right goes Back Right

Vehicles with visible camber angle at rear wheels:
Note: due to the below rotation, directional tires cannot be fitted to these vehicles

Back Left goes Front Right
Back Right goes Front Left
Front Left goes Back Left
Front Right goes Back Right

Vehicles with visible camber angle at all wheels (Some 4x4's with independent suspension at both axles):
Note: due to the below rotation, directional tires cannot be fitted to these vehicles

Back Left goes Front Right
Back Right goes Front Left
Front Left goes Back Right
Front Right goes Back Left

You can mark each wheel immediately after removal from your vehicle in order not to forget where it should go: