tires!
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Re: tires!
And there is no "best" tire that does everything well. There are different kinds of tires, and it all depends on what you're looking for and what's most important to you: traction on dry pavement in warm weather? traction in rain? in snow? on the racetrack? how long they last? how much they cost? Every brand makes tires that are good at some things, and there's no single tire that does everything well. Tell us what you care most about, tell us what kind of car you have, and tell us what size wheels you have, and we can give you a recommendation that fits your priorities, car, and wheels the best.
As noted in the FAQ topic stickied at the top of this forum:
If you give us more information, we can work with you to figure out the best kind of tire for your needs, and which of that kind of tire is best for you.
As noted in the FAQ topic stickied at the top of this forum:
Originally Posted by Forum Rules and FAQ - READ BEFORE POSTING
Tires
What kinds of tires are there?
Broad groupings of tires include summer tires, winter tires, all-season tires, and competition tires.
Summer tires are designed for use for moderate to warm temperatures. If you are only going to be using your tires in temperatures above freezing, summer tires provide the best performance at those temperatures. With only a few exceptions, most summer tires do extremely well in rain as well as on dry pavement. Summer tires are not recommended for use in extreme cold conditions, and especially not on snow and ice.
There are several types of summer tires:
a. Specialty tires designed to maximize traction on dry pavement. Downsides typically include so-so traction in rain, and rapid tread life. These are a good choice for someone who only cares about dry traction, such as those who use their tires for auto crosses or track events as well as normal driving. Recommended examples include the Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec, Falken Azenis RT-615, Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R, Toyo R1R, and Kumho Ecsta XS.
b. Top-of-the-line performance tires, designed for excellent traction on dry pavement and in rain, and very good tread life. The primary downside is a rather high purchase price. These are a good choice for someone who wants excellent performance and also cares about grip in rain and/or about tread life, and doesn't mind paying more for better performance. Recommended examples include the Goodyear F1 GS-D3 and Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Pole Position.
c. Budget performance tires, designed for good traction on dry pavement and in rain, very good tread life, and a relatively low purchase price. The downside is that the performance is not quite as good as the previous two groups. These are a good choice for someone looking for good value as well as good performance and tread life. Recommended examples include the Kumho Ecsta SPT, Fuzion ZRi, and Yokohama ES100 and S.drive.
Winter tires are designed for use on snow and ice, and in frigid temperatures. They grip better than all-season tires in such conditions, even when the roads are dry. On warmer days, their handling is sloppier than all-season tires. For this reason, they are recommended for winter use, not year-round use.
There are several types of winter tires:
a. Tires that have the very best traction on snow and ice, but have so-so ride and handling on days when it's not so cold. Recommended examples include the Bridgestone Blizzak REVO1 and WS-60, Dunlop Graspic DS-2, and Michelin X-Ice. (The Tire Rack calls these tires "stud less ice and snow tires".)
b. Tires that have good traction on snow and ice and in cold, although not quite as good as the previous group, but they also have very good ride and handling characteristics on days when it's not so cold. Recommended examples include the Bridgestone Blizzak LM-25, Dunlop Winter Sport M3, and the Michelin Pilot Alpin PA2. (The Tire Rack calls these tires "performance winter tires".)
The choice between these two categories depends on the climate in your area, how much highway driving you do in the winter, how much you care about ultimate snow/ice grip versus ride comfort, whether you have another vehicle to use in the worst of winter, etc. Oh, and the tires in category (a) are usually significantly less expensive than category (b), which may be important. For example, if you live in an area with harsh winters and you want want the best snow/ice traction during the winter and don't mind sacrificing some ride comfort and handling for those few months a year, you may prefer category (a) tires. If you care more about ride comfort or if you live in an area with somewhat mild winters, you might be better off getting the category (b) tires.
All-season tires are the most flexible in terms of ambient temperatures, as they are designed to be used in frigid winter cold and on snow, as well as in moderate to warm temperatures. The downside of this flexibility is that their performance in most conditions is not as good as tires designed specifically for those conditions. In winter conditions, all-seasons perform better than summer tires but not as well as winter tires; in moderate to warm temperatures, they perform better than winter tires but not as well as summer tires. If you need to use the same tires all year round, in winter conditions (frigid cold, snow, ice) as in moderate to warm temperatures the rest of the year, then all-season tires are a good choice. Recommended all-season tires include the Kumho Ecsta ASX, Pirelli PZero Nero M+S, and Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Position.
One additional advantage of all-season tires is that they tend to last longer (more miles) than summer tires or winter tires. For this reason, if performance is not a priority, all-seasons may be fine for your family car or commuter car.
Some people mistakenly believe that all-season tires are needed for rain performance. This is not true; good all-around summer tires like the Goodyear F1 GS-D3 and Kumho SPT are outstanding in rain, better than all-seasons.
Competition tires (often called "track tires" or "R compound tires") are designed for use on racetracks, drag strips, and auto cross courses. They are not recommended for use on public roads, primarily because they wear rapidly (you might get 5K miles or less to a set) and also because they need to be warmed up to grip effectively, and they are generally poor in rain. However, most such tires are DOT approved so you can use them to drive to and from competition and track events without issues (just go very slow in rain).
There are several types of competition tires, designed for different environments:
a. Racetrack tires for road courses, designed for overall grip including cornering. Examples include the Hoosier R6, Kumho Ecsta V710 and V700 Victoracer, Toyo RA-1 and R888, Hankook Z211 and Z214, Michelin Pilot Sport Cup, Pirelli PZero Corsa, BFGoodrich g-Force R1, Avon Tech RA, Yokohama A048, and Nitto NT01 and NT555RII.
b. Auto cross tires for auto crosses, designed for quick warm up as well as overall grip including cornering. The Hoosier A6 is one example.
c. Drag radials for the drag strip, designed for grip during straight-line acceleration, as well as the ability for the sidewalls to withstand deformation when tire pressures are lowered. Examples include the BFGoodrich g-Force T/A Drag Radial and Nitto NT555R.
Which tires should I get?
This depends on what you're looking to get out of the tire. If you're still not sure what to get after reading the above information , make a new topic and tell us what you intend to use it for. In that topic, make sure to answer the following questions:
- What kind of car you have (year, model, version)
- What size wheels you have
- How the tires will be used (daily driving, auto cross/track/drag strip)
- What kind of weather the tires will be used in (dry, rain, snow)
- What your preferences is in the trade-off between value (low purchase price and/or long tread life) vs performance
What kinds of tires are there?
Broad groupings of tires include summer tires, winter tires, all-season tires, and competition tires.
Summer tires are designed for use for moderate to warm temperatures. If you are only going to be using your tires in temperatures above freezing, summer tires provide the best performance at those temperatures. With only a few exceptions, most summer tires do extremely well in rain as well as on dry pavement. Summer tires are not recommended for use in extreme cold conditions, and especially not on snow and ice.
There are several types of summer tires:
a. Specialty tires designed to maximize traction on dry pavement. Downsides typically include so-so traction in rain, and rapid tread life. These are a good choice for someone who only cares about dry traction, such as those who use their tires for auto crosses or track events as well as normal driving. Recommended examples include the Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec, Falken Azenis RT-615, Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R, Toyo R1R, and Kumho Ecsta XS.
b. Top-of-the-line performance tires, designed for excellent traction on dry pavement and in rain, and very good tread life. The primary downside is a rather high purchase price. These are a good choice for someone who wants excellent performance and also cares about grip in rain and/or about tread life, and doesn't mind paying more for better performance. Recommended examples include the Goodyear F1 GS-D3 and Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Pole Position.
c. Budget performance tires, designed for good traction on dry pavement and in rain, very good tread life, and a relatively low purchase price. The downside is that the performance is not quite as good as the previous two groups. These are a good choice for someone looking for good value as well as good performance and tread life. Recommended examples include the Kumho Ecsta SPT, Fuzion ZRi, and Yokohama ES100 and S.drive.
Winter tires are designed for use on snow and ice, and in frigid temperatures. They grip better than all-season tires in such conditions, even when the roads are dry. On warmer days, their handling is sloppier than all-season tires. For this reason, they are recommended for winter use, not year-round use.
There are several types of winter tires:
a. Tires that have the very best traction on snow and ice, but have so-so ride and handling on days when it's not so cold. Recommended examples include the Bridgestone Blizzak REVO1 and WS-60, Dunlop Graspic DS-2, and Michelin X-Ice. (The Tire Rack calls these tires "stud less ice and snow tires".)
b. Tires that have good traction on snow and ice and in cold, although not quite as good as the previous group, but they also have very good ride and handling characteristics on days when it's not so cold. Recommended examples include the Bridgestone Blizzak LM-25, Dunlop Winter Sport M3, and the Michelin Pilot Alpin PA2. (The Tire Rack calls these tires "performance winter tires".)
The choice between these two categories depends on the climate in your area, how much highway driving you do in the winter, how much you care about ultimate snow/ice grip versus ride comfort, whether you have another vehicle to use in the worst of winter, etc. Oh, and the tires in category (a) are usually significantly less expensive than category (b), which may be important. For example, if you live in an area with harsh winters and you want want the best snow/ice traction during the winter and don't mind sacrificing some ride comfort and handling for those few months a year, you may prefer category (a) tires. If you care more about ride comfort or if you live in an area with somewhat mild winters, you might be better off getting the category (b) tires.
All-season tires are the most flexible in terms of ambient temperatures, as they are designed to be used in frigid winter cold and on snow, as well as in moderate to warm temperatures. The downside of this flexibility is that their performance in most conditions is not as good as tires designed specifically for those conditions. In winter conditions, all-seasons perform better than summer tires but not as well as winter tires; in moderate to warm temperatures, they perform better than winter tires but not as well as summer tires. If you need to use the same tires all year round, in winter conditions (frigid cold, snow, ice) as in moderate to warm temperatures the rest of the year, then all-season tires are a good choice. Recommended all-season tires include the Kumho Ecsta ASX, Pirelli PZero Nero M+S, and Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Position.
One additional advantage of all-season tires is that they tend to last longer (more miles) than summer tires or winter tires. For this reason, if performance is not a priority, all-seasons may be fine for your family car or commuter car.
Some people mistakenly believe that all-season tires are needed for rain performance. This is not true; good all-around summer tires like the Goodyear F1 GS-D3 and Kumho SPT are outstanding in rain, better than all-seasons.
Competition tires (often called "track tires" or "R compound tires") are designed for use on racetracks, drag strips, and auto cross courses. They are not recommended for use on public roads, primarily because they wear rapidly (you might get 5K miles or less to a set) and also because they need to be warmed up to grip effectively, and they are generally poor in rain. However, most such tires are DOT approved so you can use them to drive to and from competition and track events without issues (just go very slow in rain).
There are several types of competition tires, designed for different environments:
a. Racetrack tires for road courses, designed for overall grip including cornering. Examples include the Hoosier R6, Kumho Ecsta V710 and V700 Victoracer, Toyo RA-1 and R888, Hankook Z211 and Z214, Michelin Pilot Sport Cup, Pirelli PZero Corsa, BFGoodrich g-Force R1, Avon Tech RA, Yokohama A048, and Nitto NT01 and NT555RII.
b. Auto cross tires for auto crosses, designed for quick warm up as well as overall grip including cornering. The Hoosier A6 is one example.
c. Drag radials for the drag strip, designed for grip during straight-line acceleration, as well as the ability for the sidewalls to withstand deformation when tire pressures are lowered. Examples include the BFGoodrich g-Force T/A Drag Radial and Nitto NT555R.
Which tires should I get?
This depends on what you're looking to get out of the tire. If you're still not sure what to get after reading the above information , make a new topic and tell us what you intend to use it for. In that topic, make sure to answer the following questions:
- What kind of car you have (year, model, version)
- What size wheels you have
- How the tires will be used (daily driving, auto cross/track/drag strip)
- What kind of weather the tires will be used in (dry, rain, snow)
- What your preferences is in the trade-off between value (low purchase price and/or long tread life) vs performance
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mattmatt
Wheel and Tire
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Jan 3, 2006 10:39 AM
