When you get ready to buy a set of tires, whether it’s cheap tires or not, you may get a bit confused over all the terminology that is used. A good example of that is the difference between wheels and tires. Now many people get confused here and I understand.

A tire is the actual rubber that moves down the road, whereas a wheel is what the tire is mounted to. That is pretty easy to understand for all of us, but when it comes to buying new tires you need to be careful.

You’ll find that some stores are listing prices for just tires, which is normal, while some are featuring prices for a wheel and tire combo. In most cases you would never need to replace your actual wheel. You simply need a new tire or set of tires. The only exception is if the wheel is damaged and needs replacing, or you are moving up to a much larger size of tire that will not fit on an existing wheel.