If you own a performance car, then your tires may be the most important aspect of your car’s performance. Matching the correct high performance tires with your vehicle is extremely important to get the best performance out of you vehicle. There are a variety of factors to take into consideration when buying high performance tires.
- It is important to understand how to figure out what size tire you need to purchase.
- When it comes to high performance tires, there are other numbers you need to know including the load, speed, and other ratings.
- The tire type is also important and is usually determined by the environment you plan to drive in.
- Tread compound and design is usually not that important, unless you are looking at a high performance tire. It then becomes very important.
Size format
Tire size is usually written on your tire and is in a three digit format. For example, a tire may read p185/60/R4. The P stands for passenger tire and is what you will almost always see on a tire. The next number is the width of the tire, the following number is the height to width ratio, the R stands for radial, and finally the last number is the diameter of the wheel.
Other Ratings
If you look to the right of the size you will usually see another number and a letter which is the load and speed rating. The number you see represents the load a tire can handle. The higher the number the greater the weight the tire can withstand. The letter you see represents the speed rating. This tells you the amount of speed the tire can handle. There are a variety of letters that can represent a speed of 99MPH all the way above 186 MPH. A chart can usually be found on the web or through your tire dealer.
Types of Tires
Choosing a type of tire really depends on where you live and what type of environment you choose to drive in. The three types are all-season, summer, and light-truck. All-season tires are designed to handle a variety of weather elements, where as summer tires do not have that capability. Light Truck tires are larger tires and are designed for work type tasks.
Design and Tread of the tires
High performance tires can benefit from the design of a tire. A softer tire gives your vehicle better grip but may have to be replaced a little more often. The design can have a big impact on price, so if money is a concern then trying to find a tire that has a slightly better design while still staying in your budget can be difficult. The best thing to do is to take your time and research a variety of tires. The tread has very minimal effect on tires but can really enhance the overall look of your vehicle.