Tires-What's Up?

[LuLu]

Springtime-when we turn our attention back to tires, and what to do now?

 

There has been a lot of talk here lately, about tires. The 411 doesn't seem to stop. Some folks are debating what new shoes to buy, while others offer up what they decided last time. The debates go on and on, and all of it is very helpful. But, sometimes it gets murky too, due in part to the volumes of data out there, and what, exactly, this data means to us. Maybe this will help?

 

 

That is a link to the NTHSA data warehouse, they call it "safe car.gov". It's not the end-all for tire data, there are a few "potholes", such as what a word defines, or how a rating should be applied. Not perfect, but not a bad start. For those of us who were born to disbelieve anything the government says, it's still not too bad. At least the FBI won't put you on a watch list for looking up the UTQGS of a BFG T/A KDWS.

 

BTW, I found it interesting to note that while it is mandatory for a tire manufacturing company to submit data on their products, they are not required to meet a standard of another company. For example, tire wear.

 

The XXX tire company has to submit wear data, but only within that company's production line. They may rate a line of tires as AAA wearing, but this is only against other tires they manufacture. So, you may compare the AAA rating against the BBB rating of the next model, but that AAA rating is not to be used to compare against another brand's rating of thier AAA. There is no standard of wear that all companies must meet to rate their product as AAA.

 

You can see by now how the waters get murky. If you are looking to shop by wear data, I would agree that the data is somewhat uniform across the brands. However, that data is not strongly enforced, strong enough to use as a ruler because tire companies do not have to meet any other government standard above that of base safety.

 

If you are shopping by an on-line tire vendor, such as TiresDirect, where several brands are supported, you can make some side-by-side comparasions by wear (AAA), but the brands are self regulated. Tire companies will offer AAA ratings, but only against other tires in their own line."Your results may differ".

 

Well, I hope this helps some of y'all, not everyone will give this too much consideration.

 

Y'all be safe.

[jmn444]

I'll toss in two pennies:

 

Treadwear is so subjective that when the SCCA changed to 200 tw limits, a lot of tires magically became 200 tw... of course they claimed compound changes, but I don't buy it.

 

The new BFG Rival-S is a good example, it's softer, stickier and heats up quicker than the "old" Rival, but the tw rating is the same....

 

I suspect it will be the hot/winning tire (for autox) this year, but my RS-3's and Rivals are still practically new so doubt I'll get to try them this year....

 

My friend at TireRack indicates they would NOT be good for open track use though due to wearing quick and heat issues, so as a dual purpose tire not so good.

 

He thinks the Potenza RE-71R will be the hot dual purpose tire this year.

[LuLu]

Well, that's good to know Jason, and the manner you lay it out for us seems convincing. Thank you.

 

I know the SCCA is very influential, but the real rub (excuse that) IMHO, is learning that the UTQGS is not a government enforced standard. I believe this is contrary to what the average shopper is aware of. I took another peek at the link I provided ^ there, and I think this may be a better link.

 

http://www.safercar.gov/Vehicle+Shoppers/Tires+Rating

 

Hope this works better.

 

Y'all be safe.

[ilmor]

I keep it simple. I look at recommendations here, those by friends word of mouth and Tire Rack ratings.

[LuLu]

I keep it simple. I look at recommendations here, those by friends word of mouth and Tire Rack ratings.

This is what I am trying to accomplish here. A touch of "Occam's Razor"? "The easy answer is usually the correct one?" But rather than bounce around tire vendor websites and submit to their subliminal advertising, my second link brings the important stuff together in one locale. Just pick the brand of choice, ask for more information, and every line the brand represents is listed. Now you may be properly armed for the advice/impression/favorite of friends, and word of mouth.

 

I hope this helps in some way because my friends are also trying to sell me something, which is that they are the sole authority, and their choice is the only choice for me. In other areas, like blowers and cams, this has cost me thousands of dollars.

 

Y'all be safe.