jayhawk
04-23-2005, 09:40 AM
I see posts concerning front or rear strut tower bars, lowering springs, sway bars, coil overs, ecetera but for all those items to work properly, before you buy any of these suspension modifications, the most important element of all is tires. Let me repeat this again:
TIRES.
Tires, tires, tires. They are, to put it simply, what connects you to the road. They determine how fast you accelerate, how quickly you stop, how well your car handles a corner and most importantly, gives you feedback through the steering wheel.
If youre a person who likes to drive from point A to B, drives conservatively, and is not concerned about vehicular performance, fine. I suggest staying with the tires that came with the vehicle. And stop reading this article, youre no fun. Im kidding, of course, to each their own. :) If you want to see how well you can push your vehicle to to its limits, first start with a good set of performance tires. But there are some questions first you need to think of:
1) - How much am I willing to spend?
2) - Will these tires be used year round?
3) - Is road noise a concern for me?
4) - Is the treadlife of the tire important?
1) - How much am I willing to spend? Thats is the number one clincher for the tire buyer and ultimately drives them away from buying a performance tire. For the most part, you get what you pay for. Buying a cheap tire will only mean it conforms to DOT standards, not your own. There are exceptions though; companies like Kumho, Fuzion and Cooper make excellent performance tires for not much money. So yes, high performance tire will cost somtimes up to $150 per tire, but the performance FAR outweighs the price. Bottom line? DOnt be cheap, and do some research on the internet. I suggest the The Tire Rack (www.tirerack.com) to aid you.
2) - Will these tires be used year round? Some of us are not fortunate to have the space to accomadate 2 sets of tires for both winter and summer, so when looking for high performance tires, see if they are truely "All Season". Dont buy BF Goodrich KDW2 tires and expect to get traction when it snows...you wont. Again, do some research.
3) - Is road noise a concern for me? Thats the one negative downside of high performance tires is road noise. Because most performance tires have what is called a asymetrical tread pattern (meaning from the center the tread is not the same on either sides) you will expect road noise to occur. In most cases, the wilder the tread pattern, the noiseier the tire will be. The tradeoff is excellent performance.
4) - Is the treadlife of the tire important? With high performance tires, you also get the added benefit of a stickier tread compound. The downside is that they will wear incredibly fast. So you need to weigh if you have the money to afford performance tires every 2 years or so. As mentioned, they are cost effective brands.
Lets also talk about wheels, too.
Besides being attractive, aftermarket rims (wheels) are a consideration if you want to get high performace tires. The one benifit is larger wheel diameter, which will aid in cornering, and the rim width. The wider the rim, the larger the contact patch of the tire in the road. The downside of wider and larger rims is that they will be heavier, and will have poor traction in the snow, if used year round.
I strongly suggest getting either a 17 inch or 18 inch rim size, anything larger is overkill and will negate performance, unless your vehicle is for appearance. Lets face it; the engineers, when designing your car, did not think anyone would put 19 or 20 inch rims on. By doing so, you may put strain on your vehicles components.
Insofar as types of rims, they generally fall into 2 catagories: cast and forged. Cast aluminum is the most common, the plus side being that their cost will be lower than forged, but the downside is the weight of the rims. Forged aluminum rims are lightweight and very strong, but also very expensive. Choose well.
As for what types of brands and looks, that is entirely up to you. Really, its what YOU like, not what others like. Your car, your style.
Hope this helps in your search, everyone!
TIRES.
Tires, tires, tires. They are, to put it simply, what connects you to the road. They determine how fast you accelerate, how quickly you stop, how well your car handles a corner and most importantly, gives you feedback through the steering wheel.
If youre a person who likes to drive from point A to B, drives conservatively, and is not concerned about vehicular performance, fine. I suggest staying with the tires that came with the vehicle. And stop reading this article, youre no fun. Im kidding, of course, to each their own. :) If you want to see how well you can push your vehicle to to its limits, first start with a good set of performance tires. But there are some questions first you need to think of:
1) - How much am I willing to spend?
2) - Will these tires be used year round?
3) - Is road noise a concern for me?
4) - Is the treadlife of the tire important?
1) - How much am I willing to spend? Thats is the number one clincher for the tire buyer and ultimately drives them away from buying a performance tire. For the most part, you get what you pay for. Buying a cheap tire will only mean it conforms to DOT standards, not your own. There are exceptions though; companies like Kumho, Fuzion and Cooper make excellent performance tires for not much money. So yes, high performance tire will cost somtimes up to $150 per tire, but the performance FAR outweighs the price. Bottom line? DOnt be cheap, and do some research on the internet. I suggest the The Tire Rack (www.tirerack.com) to aid you.
2) - Will these tires be used year round? Some of us are not fortunate to have the space to accomadate 2 sets of tires for both winter and summer, so when looking for high performance tires, see if they are truely "All Season". Dont buy BF Goodrich KDW2 tires and expect to get traction when it snows...you wont. Again, do some research.
3) - Is road noise a concern for me? Thats the one negative downside of high performance tires is road noise. Because most performance tires have what is called a asymetrical tread pattern (meaning from the center the tread is not the same on either sides) you will expect road noise to occur. In most cases, the wilder the tread pattern, the noiseier the tire will be. The tradeoff is excellent performance.
4) - Is the treadlife of the tire important? With high performance tires, you also get the added benefit of a stickier tread compound. The downside is that they will wear incredibly fast. So you need to weigh if you have the money to afford performance tires every 2 years or so. As mentioned, they are cost effective brands.
Lets also talk about wheels, too.
Besides being attractive, aftermarket rims (wheels) are a consideration if you want to get high performace tires. The one benifit is larger wheel diameter, which will aid in cornering, and the rim width. The wider the rim, the larger the contact patch of the tire in the road. The downside of wider and larger rims is that they will be heavier, and will have poor traction in the snow, if used year round.
I strongly suggest getting either a 17 inch or 18 inch rim size, anything larger is overkill and will negate performance, unless your vehicle is for appearance. Lets face it; the engineers, when designing your car, did not think anyone would put 19 or 20 inch rims on. By doing so, you may put strain on your vehicles components.
Insofar as types of rims, they generally fall into 2 catagories: cast and forged. Cast aluminum is the most common, the plus side being that their cost will be lower than forged, but the downside is the weight of the rims. Forged aluminum rims are lightweight and very strong, but also very expensive. Choose well.
As for what types of brands and looks, that is entirely up to you. Really, its what YOU like, not what others like. Your car, your style.
Hope this helps in your search, everyone!