Is it a Good Idea to Mix Tire Brands on a High Performance Car?
Posted by admin at 14 April 2014, at 16 : 08 PM
There are hundreds of different tire brands on the market, and all of them have different specifications. When you buy a new car you should expect it to come with quality branded tires pre-installed, but this doesn’t mean you have to stick with your original brand of tires throughout the entire duration of your ownership of the car.
Advice for Changing Your Car Tires
It’s commonly advised that if you intend to less than 4 of your car’s tires, you do so using tires which are the same model and size as your current tires, and that the new tires be installed on the rear axle of your car for maximum performance and safety. However, tires can be mixed and matched if doing so is deemed acceptable by either the vehicle and tire manufacturer. But if you do intend to mix tires on your vehicle, it’s important to do so with careful consideration and in full understanding of how this will affect your car. This is especially true if you happen to own a high performance model. Using the wrong brand of tire for your car may well result in an accident.
High Performance Car Tires
High performance cars demand much more from both their components and their owners, than regular cars do. Greater power and speed often results in greater wear on tires, which is why the majority of high performance cars tend to be fitted with high performance tires. These types of tires boast greater speed capability and road grip, for all round better handling. The two most common types of high performance tires are rated either S or T, with H and V falling into the ‘touring’ category and W, Y and Z being categorised as ‘ultra-high performance’. High performance tires are often fitted on regular cars, however, it’s not a good idea to fit regular tires on a high performance cars.
Mixing High Performance Tires
Mixing tires on a high performance car carries without it the same risks as with regular cars. However, the level of risk depends on the manner of your driving. If you are an average road user you may notice no difference, however if you are driving your car aggressively, at speed or on a race track, you will notice a substantial difference in traction which is exaggerated depending on whether or not your car has AWD or FWD. Because of this impact on performance if you find that you have to mix tires on your car it’s best to choose tires from the same performance bracket as your original tires.