When tires need replacing
Four things say it is time, and any one of them is enough:
- Tread depth. Legal minimums are set by state, and a tire at the limit stops considerably worse in the wet than a tire with tread left. Ask the store to measure rather than guessing.
- Age. Rubber hardens over years regardless of mileage. A tire with plenty of tread and a date code from a decade ago is not a good tire.
- Damage. Sidewall cuts, bulges and repeated punctures in the shoulder are replacement, not repair.
- Uneven wear. One edge worn and the other not usually means alignment, and the alignment needs fixing before the new set goes on.
Choosing between them
Most drivers are choosing along three axes, and nobody gets all three at once:
Grip against tread life. Softer compounds grip better and wear faster. A tire that lasts forever is telling you something about how it stops in the rain.
All-season against seasonal. All-season tires are a compromise that works well in mild winters and poorly in severe ones. Where winters are real, a winter set is a different class of tire rather than a marginal upgrade.
Quiet against capable. Aggressive tread patterns are noisier. On an SUV that mostly drives pavement, that noise buys very little.
Tell the store where you drive, how many miles a year, and whether winter is a factor. Purcell works with 14 tire brands, listed on the brands page. Stock varies by location.
What goes with the tire
Tire and wheel balancing at 51 locations, which is what stops a vibration appearing at highway speed. Car and light truck alignment at 40, which is what stops the new set wearing out like the last one. Suspension repair at 34, for the shocks and struts that control how the tire meets the road in the first place.
Thirty-three Purcell locations also handle brake repair, oil changes, A/C service and scheduled maintenance, so a tire visit can cover the rest of the vehicle. See car, SUV and light truck service.
Availability
Where Purcell carries passenger tires
55 of 64 locations, in 11 states: Missouri 10, Arizona 7, Utah 7, Colorado 5, Kentucky 5, Alaska 4, Arkansas 4, Idaho 4, Nevada 4, Washington 3 and Montana 2.
The nine that do not are the seven retread plants and two commercial stores built for heavy equipment, Elko, NV and Albuquerque, NM. New Mexico has one Purcell listing, and it is the Albuquerque commercial store, so passenger tires are not carried in that state.
The two consumer stores, Idaho Falls, ID and Paducah, KY, are built specifically around this work.
Hours
Most Purcell locations open Monday to Friday and close at weekends. Pahrump, NV opens Saturday from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Each location page carries that store's hours, and calling ahead is worth the two minutes.