Best Tires

Often, you can hear such a request: "What is the best tire?". For employees of the tire industry who have been in business for a long time, this question raises a lot of counter questions. First of all, because the term "tire" reflects only one component of such a complex product as a "car tire". Complex not only from an engineering point of view but also from the point of view of choice. That's why it's hard to answer unequivocally "what tire is better". You can correctly answer this only by understanding what you need it for. Daily trips to work, frequent trips between cities, sports driving style, trips on dirt roads. If we are talking about winter tires, then how often you encounter deep snow or bare ice. All this is of fundamental importance when choosing tires. Today we will try to tell you about the basic criteria that you should pay attention to.

1. Tire size.
The first and main criterion is the tire size. It is essential to choose tires that match the parameters recommended by the vehicle manufacturer. Sometimes some sizes may differ slightly, but at the same time have a significant difference in price. Don't give in to this, as such a replacement can be unsafe. The manufacturer calculates the dynamic characteristics of the vehicle and determines the optimal size.

All these parameters are usually indicated in the vehicle's operating instructions or on a special sticker on the driver's door post. It is essential that this informational sticker also indicates the recommended pressure, often dividing it into pressure for full or partial loading of the vehicle.

2. Load index and speed.
This is also a fundamentally important parameter for choosing tires. If the speed index is often unattainable for our roads with a permitted speed limit, then the load index should be given special attention. Cars are getting heavier, especially electric vehicles.

3. Tread pattern and seasonality.
When choosing tires, it's not worth compromising on seasonality by choosing "all-season" tires as a solution for all types of roads and climates. For summer, you need summer tires, and for winter, you need winter tires. All-season tires are perfect as an interim solution and as tires for regions with no winter as such. However, even in these regions, it is highly not recommended to use these tires in the summer period due to the increased braking distance in hot weather.
When choosing a model, you shouldn't pay special attention to the tread pattern, as they have long been harmoniously distributed by season.

Directional tread patterns dominate the winter segment. It makes a lot of noise when moving, but at the same time, it is a champion in water and snow diversion in the contact patch. In winter, quick water diversion is much more important than noise, so the choice is obvious.

Asymmetrical tread patterns have firmly established themselves in the summer segment. This is the youngest and most effective type of tread pattern. In the summer, the speed increases significantly, and traction on dry asphalt becomes a priority for most drivers. That's why the massive blocks of the shoulder zones of asymmetrical tires provide more confident traction.

4. Reliability and economy.
As a rule, these characteristics contradict each other. For greater reliability, manufacturers strengthen the weakest point in the tire - the sidewalls. These can be additional layers of the frame or reinforcing inserts, as well as a special rubber compound with aramid fiber inclusions. In any case, this often contradicts the reduction of rolling resistance. In other words, the more reliable the tire, the more fuel it may consume during operation. There are rare exceptions in high-tech tires of flagship models. Therefore, pay attention to what the manufacturer claims. As a rule, the model description details what the focus is on.

5. Price and brand.
It is commonly believed that well-known brands are expensive because we pay only for the brand. Of course, this is not so. Flagship tires of well-known manufacturers reflect what the company is capable of. Often, huge amounts are spent on developments. These can be either the search for new materials or the use of fundamentally new technologies. This is reflected in the fact that current models of premium brands have the widest balance of characteristics. They manage to be leaders on conflicting surfaces, such as dry or wet coverage, or snowy and icy roads. This does not mean that other tires are significantly worse, but only means that the balance of characteristics may not be as wide.