Please Explain High Performance vs Ultra High Performance Tires.

[andyfish]

Hi,

I currently have RE92's that are getting worn. They are considered High Performance All-Season tires. I think they are decent in dry, decent steering resposne/feel, not so great in wet and mediocre in winter conditions, and noise is fine. The wear was decent on these tires as the life was 35k miles.

What will I gain and what will I give up moving to Ultra High Performance All-Season tires vs staying with a decent High Performance All-Season? I have not seen a clear distinction outlined even on tirerack.com website. And it seems by reading some Ultra-High Performance All-Season tires don't have great response etc, ie Continental Extreme Contact.

Thanks for any insight.

* Registered users of the site do not see these ads.

[[email protected]]

Max Performance Summer Tires

You want maximum street performance and only the best will do.
• Z, W, or Y-speed rated
• 50 series and lower

Technologically advanced tires that combine highly developed materials with precision lightweight manufacturing techniques to provide superior dry and wet traction, handling and high speed capabilities.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ultra High Performance Summer Tires

You want outstanding handling and response for the street.
• Z, W, or Y-speed rated
• 55 series and lower

Low profile tires designed to provide high speed capabilities and quick steering response along with stable cornering and traction on dry and wet roads.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

High Performance Summer Tires

You need to "re-tire" your sports coupe or sedan.
• H or V-speed rated
• 60 series and lower

These tires are designed to provide excellent handling and crisp steering response for both wet and dry conditions.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ultra High Performance All-Season Tires

You're willing to trade a little handling for all-season versatility.
• Branded with M+S symbol, year-round traction even in light snow
• V, Z or W-speed rated
• 55 series and lower

These tires provide light snow traction through tread designs and compounds which remain more flexible in the cold weather to help blend all-season traction with very good handling and high speed capabilities.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
High Performance All-Season Tires

Your sports coupe or sedan needs to make it through occasional light snow.
• Branded with M+S symbol, year-round traction even in light snow
• H or V-speed rated
• 60 series and lower

These tires provide light snow traction through tread designs and compounds which remain flexible in the cold weather to help blend all-season traction with good handling.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Performance All-Season Tires

You want a mixture of performance and appearance at a reasonable price.
• Branded with M+S symbol, year-round traction even in light snow
• S or T-speed rated
• 70 series and lower

Upgrade your vehicle's looks and handling when these tires are used to replace standard passenger all-season tires. They offer white or black letter styling, good response and handling combined with all-season traction.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

[nhluhr]

Luke, What are the qualifications to be a "Max Performance Summer Tire"? Does it have to have superb WET handling as well as excellent dry handling? Because UHP tires like the Bridgestone RE070 and Yokohama A046 definitely have better dry handling than their brands' respective "Max" tires like the S-03 and AVS Sport. . .

I see that the rating inequity seems to be isolated to Yokohama and Bridgestone, perhaps because other than the PSC R-comps, Michelin doesn't have a real "dry" tire - only wet+dry tires like the Pilot Sports. . .

[andyfish]

So it sounds like good handling vs very good handling. Still pretty generic. Can you explain this further?

[[email protected]]

Originally Posted by nhluhr

Bridgestone RE070 and Yokohama A046

those 2 are basically magazine tires ... modified r-compound tires designed to put up great testing numbers for all of the magazines that will test the performance of the cars they come on ...

[mbiker97]

Originally Posted by andyfish

So it sounds like good handling vs very good handling. Still pretty generic. Can you explain this further?

If you think the RE92s are good at anthing then any other high performance all-season (except the RE92) will truely impress you.

[Gonz]

What will I gain and what will I give up moving to Ultra High Performance All-Season tires vs staying with a decent High Performance All-Season

An UHP all season will be grippier in the wet than the RE92's are in the dry. What you are most likely to give up is almost nothign. A little tread wear, a few bucks per tire, and possibly a little noise comfort.

The last thing you want to do is get stuck with a mediocre tire for 50,000 miles.

[nhluhr]

Originally Posted by [email protected]

those 2 are basically magazine tires ... modified r-compound tires designed to put up great testing numbers for all of the magazines that will test the performance of the cars they come on ...

ok then - Bridgestone RE010 and Yokohama A022 (or the Advan Neova AD07 if you must).

Those still have better dry handling than the S-03 and AVS Sport. . . "Magazine Tire" still doesn't explain why they're rated as UHP and not Max.

[DrBiggly]

Originally Posted by [email protected]

those 2 are basically magazine tires ... modified r-compound tires designed to put up great testing numbers for all of the magazines that will test the performance of the cars they come on ...

How are those "magazine" tires?

The RE070 is an OEM tire and as far as performance I wouldn't call it an R-compound. What about things like Corvette tires? M3? Those are also quite sticky. Or do you classify all cars in this sector with sticky tires as "magazine" tires? Why not call them cheater tires?

[Rich10]

Originally Posted by DrBiggly

How are those "magazine" tires?

It is probably because they are optimized solely for dry traction. For people who look at the stat's in Car and Driver, Road and Track, etc., these tires will give very good skidpad and slalom numbers.

From what I have heard and read, RE070's have poor traction in the wet and have very poor ride and noise characteristics. If your sole concern is dry traction, that won't bother you. Based on how many "almost new" RE070's are for sale at very low prices, it seems to bother many others.

[slamalamdingdong]

Easy answer, "treadwear."