Back in the Seventies, buying 'high performance' tires was something only a very few people ever did because the cost was extremely high. As car safety became an issue in the Eighties, a lot of focus was put onto improving road handling and braking characteristics, which meant looking at the suspension, but more importantly at the tires.
Your tires are the most important control mechanism of the entire vehicle. Tires are what connect the vehicle to the road surface, and how your tires perform determines a whole host of characteristics: acceleration, braking and steering characteristics.
As safety research continued, there were also breakthroughs in tire manufacturing techniques. These reduced the cost of manufacturing high performance tires substantially. In addition, there was a growing awareness of car safety which led to increased demand for better performing and more reliable tires to be fitted to vehicles as standard. The increased demand led to increasing volumes of better quality tires being manufactured which also served to reduce the overall cost to the consumer even further.
The outcome of the technological improvements combined with higher demand for safer tires, was that car manufacturers started fitting more and more of their vehicles with high performance tires as standard. Today, even a family car or SUV will be fitted with high performance tires which can perform at speeds and under driving conditions which will never be encountered by the drivers.
Modern tire makers utilize a range of techniques to reduce costs even further, whilst also delivering tires which are capable of performance which would have been unheard of a generation ago. Today, practically every vehicle sold in the US or the Western world is fitted with high performance tires as standard.
When you come to replace your tires, and you will because all tires wear out over time, you have a range of options in front of you. This is where buying discount price tires is likely to save you a great deal of money - if you know what you really need.
The first question to ask yourself is what is your driving style for the vehicle you own. If you are hard charging and have a heavy right foot on the gas, then you will need a tire which provides superlative braking performance as well as superior road handling characteristics at high speed. In this instance, it is not how well the tire is able to handle acceleration but how quickly you are able to stop, and that means hard braking. Remember, the number one cause of all accidents is excess speed and a failure to be able to stop in time!
If you are a regular commuter who is not looking to run the Indy 500 during commuter hour, then you can afford to offset some tire performance aspects for greater durability and reduced cost. Gaining high tire performance can always be achieved, but the cost is usually not worth the extra unless you really need it for the style of driving you have and the road conditions you are likely to encounter. In this instance, tire aspects such as tread life and tire safety characteristics will play a more important part in your buying decision than whether they will handle emergency braking from 160 miles per hour.
Your tires are the most important control mechanism of the entire vehicle. Tires are what connect the vehicle to the road surface, and how your tires perform determines a whole host of characteristics: acceleration, braking and steering characteristics.
As safety research continued, there were also breakthroughs in tire manufacturing techniques. These reduced the cost of manufacturing high performance tires substantially. In addition, there was a growing awareness of car safety which led to increased demand for better performing and more reliable tires to be fitted to vehicles as standard. The increased demand led to increasing volumes of better quality tires being manufactured which also served to reduce the overall cost to the consumer even further.
The outcome of the technological improvements combined with higher demand for safer tires, was that car manufacturers started fitting more and more of their vehicles with high performance tires as standard. Today, even a family car or SUV will be fitted with high performance tires which can perform at speeds and under driving conditions which will never be encountered by the drivers.
Modern tire makers utilize a range of techniques to reduce costs even further, whilst also delivering tires which are capable of performance which would have been unheard of a generation ago. Today, practically every vehicle sold in the US or the Western world is fitted with high performance tires as standard.
When you come to replace your tires, and you will because all tires wear out over time, you have a range of options in front of you. This is where buying discount price tires is likely to save you a great deal of money - if you know what you really need.
The first question to ask yourself is what is your driving style for the vehicle you own. If you are hard charging and have a heavy right foot on the gas, then you will need a tire which provides superlative braking performance as well as superior road handling characteristics at high speed. In this instance, it is not how well the tire is able to handle acceleration but how quickly you are able to stop, and that means hard braking. Remember, the number one cause of all accidents is excess speed and a failure to be able to stop in time!
If you are a regular commuter who is not looking to run the Indy 500 during commuter hour, then you can afford to offset some tire performance aspects for greater durability and reduced cost. Gaining high tire performance can always be achieved, but the cost is usually not worth the extra unless you really need it for the style of driving you have and the road conditions you are likely to encounter. In this instance, tire aspects such as tread life and tire safety characteristics will play a more important part in your buying decision than whether they will handle emergency braking from 160 miles per hour.
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