As tire prices rise, drivers delay purchases

DETROIT -- Tire inflation used to mean something else.

Now, thanks to soaring prices for oil and rubber, it refers to tire prices as well as air pressure. Consumers shopping for a new set are finding the tab up 5% to 10% this year and likely to head higher.

Keith Price, a spokesman for Goodyear Tire & Rubber, says the price of oil, now at all-time highs, makes up 60% of the raw materials cost for a tire. Natural rubber, a commodity nearing 28-year price highs, makes up another 25%.

Many car owners, already feeling pinched by inflation at the gas pump and supermarket -- and deflation in their home values -- are responding by driving on tires until the tread is practically bare, a worrisome trend.

"We're seeing more and more customers every day deferring their tire purchases," says William Bainbridge, director of brand communications for Hankook Tire America. "Consumers are ...