This month's feature: Wheels & Tires

In this month's issue, we interviewed industry professionals from different Wheel & Tire manufacturing companies; 1010Tires.com, Firestone, Nitto Tires, Hankook Tires, and Kruz Wheels. We asked all of them each the same questions, to see how their opinions differed, and here's what they had to say:

Q: What kind of tire do you recommend for drifting and why?

"For drifting, I would recommend the new Fuzion tire. It gives a lot of smoke and you can control your drifts." - James Greer, Firestone

"I would recommend an ALL SEASON ultra high performance tire to start with. It is not as sticky as summer tread tires or road racing tires. So depending on the power output of your vehicle you can tune the vehicle to the type of tire that would work best for your application. Start with a less sticky tire (easier to get to slide and spin out) and go up from there to a stickier tire (Better control but harder to get to loose traction-requiring more power.)" - Tony Austin, Nitto Tire

"The optimum tire is dependent on the horsepower and setup of the car, and also to the personal preference of the driver. Generally a tire with very few or no sipes and solid ribs or long bars will be less likely to get tore up during the drifting process, but will require more horsepower to break loose and more difficult to maintain a consistent drift. A pattern that is broken up more with smaller elements that have some flexibility will help the car break loose and drift more easily and more consistently but may not drift in laps as quickly. The majority of drifters use Ultra High Performance patterns that are not the most solid, but have a medium level of flexibility for reasonable control. It comes down to the personal preference of the driver and the interaction of driver/car/ tire system." - Bill Bainbridge, Hankook Tire USA

"Japanese racer Keiichi Tsuchiya is a living legend in the world of drifting. Although many may claim to be good, there is only one true Drift King! Yokohama introduces racing tire design that is ready for the street. The A032Rs casing, sidewall and tread compounds are directly descended from professional racing slicks. Its 17" sizes make the A032R ideal for competition driving. Now available in Soft Compound to better suit your racing needs" - Bobby Sheppard, Kruz Wheels

Q: How do I recalibrate my speedometer after a smaller or larger diameter tire?

"When changing the tires and rims, the overall diameter should always be kept as close as possible to the OEM to ensure it does not negatively affect the ABS and other systems. If it is necessary to recalibrate the speedometer, it is really vehicle specific. Some vehicles you have to change a small gear inside the transmission. Others I have heard of if it being electronically re-programmed. We recommend checking with the vehicle manufacturer for details." - Darrel Shore, 1010Tires.com Inc.

"It really depends on the vehicle. Some are done electronically and some need physical work." - James Greer, Firestone

"Knowing overall diameter of stock tire and knowing the overall diameter of the new tire is the best starting point. If you are getting you speedometer recalibrated the new tires overall diameter and or the revolutions per mile will be the best thing to know. " - Tony Austin, Nitto Tire

"First of all, I assume that you don't want to go to a garage or dealer to have it adjusted. One way would be to go out on any interstate highway, or any highway that has mile markers on the side of the road. Starting at one of the mile markers travel at 60 mph. Check the time it takes you to go to the next mile marker. If everything is calibrated it should take 1 minute and you should have traveled 1 mile. Based on your results you can then determine how to adjust your speed." - Bill Bainbridge, Hankook Tire USA

"One important piece of information which is required is the number of revolutions it takes your speedometer to register one mile. On most modern cars, this may be found on the bottom (or elsewhere) of the speedometer face, usually in very small numbers. Look for something like 940, 960, 1000, or 1020, or something close. This number is the number of speedometer cable revolutions (or equivalent in the case of electronic sender units) to increment the odometer one mile. Most speedometers (modern ones) are 1000 revs/mile, and this is a good starting number to use. Another vital piece of info is the speedometer drive/driven gear ratios, the gears inside of the transmission or transaxle. The drive gear is the one which is turned by engine power, usually mounted right on the transmission output shaft. The driven gear is the one which is "driven" by the "drive" gear, and is connected to the speedometer cable or electronic sender. The numbers entered in the program are the integer number of teeth - just count 'em up.

The program will compute the best driven gear given a particular drive gear, or the best drive gear given the driven gear value. Remember that there are only set combinations available, which you can find out from the parts store or dealer. Also remember that gear tooth numbers are integer values. I recommend going to http://www.bgsoflex.com/speedo1.html " - Bobby Sheppard, Kruz Wheels

Q: Are there different speed rating for tires to fit my car's performance and top speed? What are they?

"This is very car specific. Different tires are made in different sizes and speed ratings. We recommend first figuring out the correct size for the vehicle. After that you can browse the tires made in that size and choose the one that fits your particular needs." - Darrel Shore, 1010 Tires.com Inc.

"There are several different ratings. The ratings range from S (speed of 112 mph) to Z (speeds over 150mph). It depends on what type of driving you anticipate & the capabilities of your vehicle as to which tires to choose." - James Greer, Firestone

"Yes. Speed ratings must go off the stock speed rating to start with it needs to be the same or higher than the vehicles top speed, based on the idea that the tire's top speed ability must at least be equal to the vehicles top speed capability since it cannot be assumed that drivers will always obey the speed limit. It also depends on what you plan to do with your car. If the car is modified and can go faster or needs to perform harder than regular driving you may need to increase the speed rating of the tire to match the performance of the car and/or its modifications. Most passenger tires sold in the U.S. are rated S=112 mph, T=118 mph, H=130 mph, V=149 mph and Z=Open-Ended Speed Category starting at 168 mph. Recent requirements to the system added the W category for speeds up to 168 mph and Y for speeds up to 186 mph. Speed ratings are determined by indoor laboratory testing methods., witch measure high-speed tire durability under controlled test conditions. The test procedures do not take into account under inflation, tire damage, vehicle characteristics or road conditions witch can lead to sudden tire failure or loss of vehicle control at much lower speeds than indicated by the tire's speed rating. The speed rating of tires are placed on the side wall of the tire and are shown in one of three ways. P205/60HR15, P205/60R15 90H, and 245/45ZR17 95W . The "H" would be the speed or rating of the first two tire sizes and Y would be the speed rating for the last example. When Z appears in the tire size with a service description (205/45ZR16 83W) the maximum speed is indicated by the speed symbol in the service description (W=168 mph in this example.) For Unlimited V and Z tires, when there is no service description, always consult the tire manufacture for maximum speed." - Tony Austin, Nitto Tire

"The tires that come as OE on your vehicle are designed to meet your vehicle's top speed. There are other higher speed rated tires that can also be put on your car, but never put on a lower speed rated tire than what came as OE on the vehicle. For example, your car may have come equipped with a T speed rated tire. There are H, V, Z, U, Y or W rated tires that can fit your car as well. But never put an S rated tire on as that is a lower speed rating. "- Bill Bainbridge, Hankook Tire USA

"To many people, the alphabetic speed rating on a tire's sidewall is a mystery. However, these ratings are a simple guideline to inform you of how fast the tires were safely designed to go. There are about 10 different ratings, but the most common are as follows: Q-99mph, T-118mph, U-124mph, H-130mph, V-149mph, W-168mph and Z- over 149mph. While a higher speed rating doesn't always mean a "better" tire, it is usually a good indication of the tires performance capabilities. Most passenger cars should be fitted with H-rated tires, and while you may never go 130 mph in your Ford Taurus, this class of tires usually offers levels of performance and safety that are more than adequate." - Bobby Sheppard, Kruz Wheels

Q: What is the legal tread depth before I need to replace my tires?

"A tire is legally bald at 2/32" but will usually get pretty scary feeling before that point. " - Darrel Shore , 1010 Tires Inc.

"2/32" tread depth is the minimum that tire manufacturers recommend, but all states differ. Some require replacement @ 3/32." - James Greer, Firestone

"2/32 of an inch of tread. That is where the built in tread wear indicators of most tires are." - Tony Austin, Nitto Tire

"The minimum legal tread depth is 2/32". All highway use tires have "wear bars" in the base of the grooves that indicate when the minimum has been reached." - Bill Bainbridge, Hankook Tires USA

"There is a quick way to check tire depth even if you don't have a depth gauge. Take a penny and hold it so that Lincoln's head is facing up. Then take the penny and stick his head into the tire tread. If you can see the top of his head, then you need new tires. If you can see his hair, time to start shopping. If all you see is his forehead, then you got plenty of time.

But, with 50,000 miles, I would think that you got your money's worth out of those tires. They usually get worn on the inside faster then on the outside. So, I would start shopping for a set now/ 5.A tread depth gauge is recommended to check your tread depth. But also a simple way to check the tread depth of your tires is by using a penny. Take a penny and put Abe's head into each of the grooves of the tire tread. If part of his head is covered by the tread, you're driving with the legal amount of tread. If you can see all of Abe's head, your tread is down to 2/32" and it's time to replace the tire.

Built-in tread wear indicators, or "wear bars," which look like narrow strips of smooth rubber across the tread, will appear on the tire when that point of wear is reached. When you see these wear bars, the tire is worn out and it is time to replace it." - Bobby Sheppard, Kruz Wheels