From the R Triple 8 to the Michelin Sport Cup 2's
there are plenty of high performance tires
on the market today for the everyday average consumer
like myself and like yourself.
However, these bad boys can come
with a pretty hefty price tag.
And because of things like Instagram
and things like YouTube,
where we tend to see these beefy tire setups
on pretty much everything
from wide-bodied FRS' to super cars,
it has almost become sought after, to some point,
to get our hands on a set of these high performance tires.
But when it comes down to it,
are they actually worth the cost?
What's going on everybody?
Gels from Fitment Industries,
and welcome back to another episode of The Build Sheet
where we are going to be going over just that.
Whether or not high performance tires are worth it or not.
(gears grinding)
Before we go ahead and get right into it
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and if you're looking for any after-market
wheels, tires, or suspension,
don't forget to hit us up over at
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Pick up some merch,
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First things first,
let's go over what exactly classifies
a high performance tire.
Generally they take the same features
that's you'd have in your everyday tire,
but improve on them and fine-tune them
to get the characteristics and overall design
to combinate high performance driving.
Typically the apex or the sidewall of the tire
are made stiffer and wider than compared to standard tires.
This is done to improve cornering
and not allow as much flex when going around corners
and having a good amount of force being applied
to the side of the tire.
The tread blocks of the tire
are designed to be larger as well,
which helps with the dry traction and grip.
And, in fact, the entire tread pattern
is typically designed to use less blades, as they call them,
in place of more aggressive tread blocks.
And overall, the compound of the tire is optimized
to ensure traction in not only dry, but also wet conditions.
To make a long story short, there's a lot of science,
and a lot of design and a lot of time
that goes into developing a tire
suited for performance driving.
Now there are different levels of performance tires as well,
which can get a little bit confusing when looking at it.
And they're usually separated or classified
by their speed rating.
Every tire that is available for the public to purchase
has to be approved by the Department of Transportation,
which also means that they're designated
with a speed rating.
These speed ratings are denoted by a letter
which corresponds to a maximum speed
at which they can be safely operated at,
which has that factor of safety built into it as well.
Speed ratings are designated
with specific letter ranges from B to Z.
For a performance tire,
which is the first of the three tiers,
these typically give a speed rating of right around H,
which gives the operating limit of 130 miles per hour.
The second would be a high performance tire,
which can include some all-seasons as well mixed in there,
and these will have a speed rating of either H or V,
which gives a safe operating speed
of 130 up to about 149 miles per hour.
Something like a Michelin Pilot Sport 3 all-season
would be a great example of a tire
that can land in both of these categories.
And then third and final,
would be the ultra high performance tires.
And these are the big boys, right.
And these include tires with speed ratings of V, W, Y and Z
With Y rated up to 186 miles per hour
and Z being rated for anything 149 and over.
Now these are some big boy speeds, all right.
This is where we see tires like the R888R and the 595.
RR, and the Sport Cup 2's,
and so on, and so on, come into play.
Performance or ultra high performance tires
vary quite drastically from your everyday conventional tire
and truly do make a difference
when it comes down to the overall performance
and overall driving feel of your vehicle.
Now that's simply because
that's what they are designed to do.
And they don't have to take into consideration
a lot of what goes into your everyday conventional tire.
They don't have to worry about the comfort of things.
They don't have to worry about the road noise of all that.
Or they don't have to worry about all-season weather.
Performance is the focus.
And like I mentioned, the tread pattern and the design
is developed to create
the maximum amount of contact as possible.
Which means the higher you go
in the tier performance for your tire,
means the less everyday convenience, I guess you could say.
You can see them start to go away.
So if you compare NT555, for example, from Nitto to an NT05,
you can see first hand the differences in design,
as the NT05 gets rid of a lot of those groove and sipes
that are designed to get water out of the way
or help keep road noise down.
They just start to go away.
Same thing if you compare a Pilot Sport 4S to a Sport Cup 2.
They're designed with different intentions in mind,
which brings us to our next point.
Who actually needs an ultra high performance tire?
Well it truly comes down to what you expect
out of your car as a driver.
If you're taking your car to the track on a regular basis
and really nothing less
other than the occasional weekend cruise
or cars and coffee event here and there,
then you are more than likely going to benefit
and see the worth out of a high performance
or ultra high performance tire versus someone else.
If your car is putting down a good amount of power
that you want to keep planted,
it would be in your best interest to get your hands
on a performance tire or a high performance tire.
Just to keep you planted
and still be comfortable daily setup,
something like the NT555 or the Pilot Sport
is a fantastic option for something like that,
that offers a decent amount of grip
that you can get in those wider sizes
and all that kind of stuff.
Now does that mean that you
shouldn't be running something like an N888R
or something like that all the time?
Well I'm not here to stop you from doing what you want.
You can do whatever you want.
I won't judge you.
But as we know, plenty of people do that
because they are a cool tire
and they can earn you some scene points in a sense.
But there are trade-offs.
Typically ultra high performance tires, like the R888R,
just like any of those tires,
tend to wear down faster than most,
ya know, meant for daily driving.
You will go through more sets of tires
if you choose to daily drive the craziest tire
just because the compound that they're made of,
and overall design and all that.
Like I said,
they were developed for one sole purpose in mind,
and that was to keep your happy (beep) planted to the ground
and ride the most amount of grip for your vehicle.
So when it comes down to it, are high performance
or ultra high performance tires worth it?
Absolutely.
But like most things, it always depends on the situation.
And for you to use your best judgment
when it comes down to picking out your next set of tires.
So let us know down in the comments section below
what your thoughts are on some of these tires
and if you've had any experiences with them in the past.
And don't forget to check out fitmmentindustries.com
where we have plenty of options of the tires
that we just talked about.
As well as wheels and suspension,
and, of course, apparel
that gets you entered in to win a free set of wheels.
That's gonna wrap it up for today.
Thank you guys so much for watching.
Don't forget to subscribe and hit that like button,
all that good stuff.
I'm Gels. We'll see ya next time.
(midtempo mellow music)