Are you faced with buying a new set of tires for your car or truck?  Everyone is at some point yet few really put a lot of thought into what kind of tires to buy.  Most choose a set of “All Season” tires that are on sale somewhere.  So that you will be better educated when tire purchase time rolls around next time, With help from Patrick Hyundai of Schaumburg, an IL-based Hyundai dealer  we have assembled a listing of all the types of tires that you can choose from.

All Season Passenger Tires

These are your basic all-season tires.  They are designed to last fairly long and ride comfortably on the road. Tire manufacturers sometimes offer Touring and Grand Touring all-season tires that are a bit better in the handling department.  If you live in the north, look for all-season tires that have the M+S symbol on them, which means they are rated to handle in “Mud and Snow.”

High Performance Tires

High performance tires are designed to give you better traction in any weather condition compared to standard passenger all-season tires.  They are generally more expensive than standard all-season tires. High performance tires use special compounds that allow them to stay flexible in colder weather. This allows them to grip the road better when the temperature drops.

Ultra High Performance tires

Ultra High performance tires are designed for high speed driving.  They are generally designed for superior traction when the weather is good.

All Weather Tires

All Weather Tires are considered to be true four-season tires, rather than the typical “compromised” all-season. These tires carry the “snowflake and mountain emblems” that indicate their qualifications to work in severe snow.  The only better tires in the snow are dedicated snow tires. By comparison, all-weather tires have tread patterns that are also appropriate for warm conditions, but they’re not perfect. All weather tires generally don’t last as long as all-season tires and are a bit noisier.

Summer Grand Touring

Touring and Grand touring summer tires aren’t designed to be driven on snow or ice at all but offer superior performance when conditions are good. These are also typically quieter than other summer tires.

Summer High Performance

These summer tires are more responsive than traditional touring and grand touring summer tires. They provide better steering response, but ride stiffer and less comfortable.

Summer Ultra High Performance

These are the best tires for performance. They will provide fantastic steering response and grip in warm weather, but are stiff and typically loud. Summer Ultra High Performance tires are usually used on sports cars and have a low profile.

Studless Winter Tires

These are your traditional winter tires which grip the road when the mercury drops. They have a much deeper tread pattern that will help the tire shed slush and snow along with siping (thin slits) designed to give the tire more biting surface.

Studded Winter Tires

Studded Winter Tires feature the same rubber compound as the studless kind, but are outfitted with metal studs. These are the real hard-core winter tires and will work well in freezing rain, sleet, wet ice and extreme winter conditions.

High Performance Winter Tires

These are studless tires that provide better wet and dry handling than regular winter tires. They are designed for driving on snow-covered highways where high-speed stability is important.

Run Flats

Run Flats are specially designed to keep going for about 50 miles after a puncture. Typically they’re more expensive than regular tires and are stiffer too. Because of that, they tend to be a bit unpopular among consumers. They also typically wear out sooner than regular tires.

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