TIRECRAFT Tips – Summer Tires

Summer Tires, also known as performance tires are a popular tire for people who have performance vehicles or who simply like to drive their vehicle to the most of its ability. Summer tires got their other name of performance tires for a reason – the high level of performance they offer.

Completely opposite from winter tires, summer’s are designed in a specific way to best perform in warm conditions. Their main features focus on traction, high levels of grip and performance in good weather.

How Are Summer Tires Made

When the manufacturer designs a tire specific for 1 season, the design results in the absolute best performance for that season. Winter tires perform better than all-season tires because the main focus of the design of a winter tire is.. of course winter. The same applies to summer/performance tires. Summer’s perform much better than all-season’s because the design is focused on performing in summer conditions.

Summer tires are made out of a softer rubber compound. This compound includes a mixture of rubber and fillers. It’s designed with extra sticky additives to help grip the road in wet conditions.

Tread patterns on a summer tire are much shallower than a winter or all-season tire. The tread blocks are also larger, more continuous and solid. This design is to ensure more rubber is always in contact with the road. This feature allows for more stability and traction when accelerating, cornering and/or braking. Learn more about All-Seasons vs. Summer’s

Why Get Summer Tires?

If you enjoy driving and want to have the best experience as possible when out on the road, you may want to consider summer tires from TIRECRAFT.

They offer certain performance enhancements that winter and all-seasons don’t. All tires will offer base level performance, but if you are looking for more optimized performance summer tires may be for you!

These tires being built for speed and agility offer increased handling, cornering and braking capabilities. This is possible due to the tread pattern explained above.

The improved speed and agility, increased handling, unique tread design and performance in wet conditions make summer tires ideal for sports-oriented vehicles or drivers who want to push their vehicle to its limit.

Things to Consider:

Summer tires are a great option, however there are a few things you should consider when looking to purchase a new set of rubber.

• Price. the price of summer/performance tires is usually higher than your average all-season tire option.So if you are shopping for a performance tire look and responsiveness, you may need to spend a little extra.
• Tread Life. due to the design and ingredients that make up a summer tire, the enhancement of added grip and the shallower grooves also means that the rubber will wear down faster than an all-season tire. This means that you may need to replace them sooner or more often than an all-season.
• Cold Weather Performance. Summer’s have no ability to handle cold weather or winter conditions. So if you live in an area with a variety of weather going from hot to cold one day after the next, summer’s may not be the best option.

 

In summary, summer tires have many positive and negative things to consider. The type of tire you need for your vehicle and driving habits will change person to person. If you are unsure what type of tire would fit your vehicle best, call your local TIRECRAFT shop and our service advisors would be happy to help you!

 

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