When it comes to choosing a set of tires for your car, the process can become difficult. The difficulty lies in the fact that there are many aspects that you have to take into account. Size, diameter, weight, body type, etc... So, if you are in this process for the first time, we feel a little sorry for you. But don't be discouraged, because, with Neotires' help, the process can become much easier and more fun, if you want. What you need to start with is to understand that you cannot get the tires exclusively to your liking.
To get a great matching, you have to think of tires like a pair of shoes for an athlete. The athlete will surely adapt his shoe model according to his purpose, either to improve his resistance or to add speed. He is unlikely to consider the aesthetics of his shoes exclusively, isn't he? This is how the process of choosing tires takes place: you have to take into account the type of driving you usually adopt and the specifics of your car. The tire aesthetics is important, but just a secondary priority.
To make the selection process easier, I'll start with a quick and easy guide to tire types. You cannot skip this step because everything starts with it. Let's see what options there are and which of them you think might be ok for your vehicle.
Type 1: Touring Tires
The specificity of these types of tires consists of 3 major benefits:
- they have a very long tread life, longer than any other type of tire;
-these tires offer a quiet and smooth ride;
-they offer promising traction in any season, so they are a good option as all-season tires.
These tires are optimal for small utility vehicles with sporty tendencies, as well as for sedans and crossovers. This type of tire has a sufficiently resistant structure to cope with family trips, but not those in extreme conditions. Driving with touring tires is usually a pleasant, comfortable, and quiet experience. Their advantage is that they harmoniously combine promising performance as well as a positive impact on fuel consumption. These tires are welcome for dry and wet roads because they have an architecture that copes quite decently with these conditions. They improve the vehicle's traction on the road, allowing the vehicle to perform at its best. 1
Type 2: Performance Tires
It is not difficult to deduce that performance tires are associated with everything which means speed, efficiency, and technology. The specifics of these tires are characterized by stiff sidewalls and a pretty large tread block to provide extremely high-performance handling. These tires are mainly specific for sports vehicles that need enhanced traction and grip. Due to the lower profile of the sidewall, the tire establishes greater contact with the road surface. The result of this contact is much more efficient stability on the road, especially in cornering and breaking.
Needless to mention these tires offer the most ambitious speed rating. Due to the high rating, these tires handle cornering, braking, and accelerating with the utmost precision and traction even with high speed. 2
Type 3: Off-Road Tires
If performance tires are all about speed and reaction, off-road tires are all about grip. A car with such tires can do it all: go up mountainous roads, go over rocky surfaces, and get out of sandy, gravel, or muddy roads. All this is due to the phenomenal grip of the tires generated by the aggressive and massive treads.
In short, all-terrain tires are perfect for extreme, difficult, and dangerous conditions. Off-road tires have the most aggressive and resistant sidewall possible. Thanks to it, the tire resists any type of challenge, providing a safe ride, even if not the most comfortable one. These tires represent the highest level of performance in extreme weather and harsh road terrains.3
Tires According To The Season
We have talked about tires depending on their type so far. This classification is a very general one to familiarize yourself with the basic terms. I could talk a lot about each type separately, but it is enough for the beginning so that you don't get exhausted. I will speak in more detail about each of them in the following articles.
What you still need to know for now is that tires are also divided according to the season as well. So, it is not enough to guide yourself only by type. You must take into account the cold, hot, or combined seasons of the year to get the right tires. Let's see which are these.
Type 1: Summer Tires
The set of summer tires will give you the best performance in hot weather. The structure of these tires is designed in such a way that its surface adheres to the road in the most optimal way possible for flawless traction. Summer tires ensure great handling whenever used as intended. The steering is pretty responsive due to the optimal grip on the road surface. Heat might affect the structure of the tire, so it's best to choose tires that are specially suited for this weather condition.
I want to reiterate once again: all these benefits take place exclusively when summer tires are used specifically in summer, or in constantly high temperatures. Otherwise, these do not provide a safe ride if mounted in cold seasons. 4
Type 2: All-Season Tires
As the name suggests, all-season tires literally mean tires for any season. The advantage of this type lies in the fact that it has tread patterns that cope with different road conditions, including rain or snow.
Many consider this type of tire the most optimal of all. But I want you to know that it's not about optimal or not, it's more about a compromise between summer and winter tires. All-season tires are welcome when the temperatures do not reach the high or low extremes.
Their structure is not designed to withstand the extreme sun or thick ice. Instead, their structure copes decently with water due to specific rain grooves and light snow. In such conditions, the structure of the tire undergoes changes that affect its performance (for example, the tire becomes too rigid at extreme temperatures). Find out more about how temperature affects tire performance. So, all-season tires really sound good, but only when they fit temperatures between -5 Celsius and 29 Celsius.
Type 3: All-Weather Tires
Wait, what? All-season, all-weather - isn't it all the same? Well, not exactly, even if many consider them identical. What is identical in the 2 types is the fact that this one can also handle roads in any season, just like the all-season ones. While the all-season tire is more for mild, cool, AND cold temperatures, the all-weather better withstands lower temperatures. So it is a combination of snow and all-season tires.
If we talk about the temperature, all-weather tires perform greatly in ranges above AND beyond 7 Celsius. All-season, on the other hand, performs best with temperatures of 7 Celsius and above.
While experts recommend all-season tires for dry, wet, and warm conditions, the all-weather ones have their place in heavy rain and snowfall conditions with lower temperatures.
Type 4: Winter Tires
Winter tires are perfect for providing an enviable performance during cold weather. With the help of these tires, difficult winter roads are not a problem because they offer a safe ride and absolute control over the car. Manufacturers use special techniques to produce winter tires like aggressive deep grooves and tread sipes. For this reason, these are the most flexible of all available at low temperatures.
Thus, they do not lose their ability to adhere to the road and extreme conditions. Also, these tires stand out with their distinct tread. It is aggressive and has deep channels in its grooves to ensure grip on icy and snowy surfaces. No all-season or all-winter tire can compete with a winter one in terms of performance and stability in cold conditions. For extreme winter roads, winter tires can be also accompanied by studs. These make their traction even better. You can learn more about all the specs of winter tires.
Bottom line
This is about the basic information you need to digest about the types of tires. Each of them has a lot of specifications, but we will return to them a little later. What you have to remember for now is that you should never choose the wrong tires. It is wrong to think that winter tires will provide increased stability during the summer. The same is true for the reverse scenario. So get tires according to the type of car and the weather outside. Hopefully, you will make a suitable match for a safe and pleasant driving experience. To aid you in that, you can browse our best deals for a quick and optimal offering. Drive safe!