[~JC~]

PERFORMANCE TIRES

Tires, like all performance automotive components, are constructed to meet very specific requirements. Sport tires are designed to provide maximum performance at the expense of tread life. Conversely, general-use (semi-performance or touring) tires trade some of that handling potential for a bit of extra comfort and longer life. With this in mind, the selection of the right tire requires some careful thought. Tires should be viewed as every bit as important as hard-part upgrades when it comes to performance. Their return on investment cannot only be measured in their ability to allow your suspension components to perform to their maximum potential, but to provide possibly lifesaving traction in extreme conditions, as well.

It is a vehicle's tires that employ friction against the road surface in order to transmit chassis forces, and as a result, the capabilities and limitations of those tires will almost always define the limits of acceleration, braking, and cornering. In other words, you could have the best engineered chassis and suspension components available on your car, and if you're running on crappy tires, the benefit you'll receive from those components will end up falling well short of what those components are actually capable of providing. This is precisely what we'd, up to this point, never fully realized. OK, we'll assume a lot of you knew this already, so we're going to beg your indulgence while we go over some basics that will help bring others up to speed.

There are quite a few levels of performance tires available on the market, from full-on race tires to general use passenger car tires. With a bit of investigation, this assortment of choices allows us to choose the best tire to serve our needs. A DOT-approved competition radial with an asymmetrical, non-directional or directional tread pattern optimized for dry racing... compounds formulated to deliver extreme cornering power for not only fast and consistent track times, but exceptionally impressive handling for aggressive driving, as well.

The main objective of a performance tire is to increase traction. Thicker tread blocks provide more contact area with the road. A softer rubber tread compound and small-channel grooving provide a smaller void ratio contribute to increased grip on the road. With this in mind, there are some trade offs associated with running extreme high-performance tires on a streetcar. Beyond a bit of increased noise and stiffer ride--minor drawbacks for a performance-bred vehicle--the most important is less-than-optimum performance in the wet stuff (true dry erformance tires are terrible in the rain, so use extreme caution). Since performance tires are designed to maximize the contact area with the road, there is less "void area" for water to be directed away from the contact patch, which can lead to hydroplaning in wet conditions. Another consideration is wear. True performance tires are manufactured using softer compounds that wear quicker than the average street tire, so expect to compromise tire life with outstanding handling characteristics.

TO BE CONT