High Performance vs Ultra High Performance Tires

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tommygunn

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I notice that Tire Rack has some tires split by speed rating. That is, W-rated versions of a tire are placed into their UHP all-season category while their V-rated counterparts are "merely" high-performance all-season.

For example, the Goodyear Eagle GT is considered UHP for the W-rated sizes, but only HP for the V-rated.

Why?

I've also noticed, if you check their surveys/reviews that the W-rated Eagle GT ranks fairly low in the UHP segment, yet the V-rated GT is in the top 5 high performance tires. So maybe ALL speed ratings of the Eagle GT belong in High Performance all-season, not ultra.

I've also noticed the same thing in grand touring vs standard touring, put the people shopping for those tires probably care a bit less the the UHP audience.
 
UHP are usually always summer only tires. Usually Z rated or higher. they also have no tread wear warranty as their compounds are such to promote the maximum grip vs wear. On my past Evo's I would get about 10k miles out of the UHP tires I used.

UHP usually equals max available grip.

Jeff
 
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I was referring to UHP all season tires, like the Conti DWS, the new Pilot Sport 3 A/s, etc.
 
A few tire manufactures will have different versions of one tire model in the same size. The Goodyear in question might have different materiel in the sidewalls than the lower speed version among other things. People who buy UHP tires tend to critique.
 
There is nothing to critique UHP all season tires don't grip as well period. Unless you live where it snows you don't need an all season tire.

The difference in HP vs. UHP all season tire or not is the tread compound and speed rating. High performance is H or V rated ultra high is Z and above. What else do you want to know? put a tire on that meets our exceeds what the capabilities of your car are.

like I said though if performance is what your after and doesn't snow where you live skip the all season ties all together.

Jeff
 
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UHP is a performance category there is both all seasons and summer versions.



UHP-all seasons are nice if you live somewhere it gets cold.

For example even though I run winter tires I picked UHP-all seasons.

This lets me put the snow tires on mid november to april.
instead of running the snow tires mid october to may.
(due to nighttime temps)

There are actually 2 categories AFTER UHP as far as performance goes

MAX Performance and Extreme performance.
 
I run a UHP all season tire(Cooper Zeon RS3-A) year round on the X3 and as a winter tire on the Mazda. No complaints in either application.
But I am tempted to try the Pilot Sport A/S next...
 
The tires rated above UHP are usually track tires that are rarely DOT approved.

Like I said you live where it snows why not but if not don't bother with them. I have ran both on the track and all season UHP suck for grip. Just depends on what you are doing with your ride. If you autox at all don't use the all season tires. If you are shopping for your dd car with no track use then all season will work. Summer tires though have other advantages like better steering response and better braking. They tend to bea little more noisy though due to the aggressive tread designs and compounds used.

Jeff
 
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I have v rated eagle it's on my accord now... I have about 48k on them now
pros ...
nice thick rim protector
good dry and wet traction, winter is ok
cool tread design
very stiff and sporty feel, if u like that
cons...
they are very stiff, and they make an already noisy car even more noisy
these things howl going down the road when tread diminishes

would I buy them again? definitely not... the noise is killer.
I just bought a set of conti purecontacts
 
Usually its just the speed rating from 130mph -> 149mph

Many UHP all-seasons use "summer" like tread design with minimal snow block tread, almost always directional. The rubber compound is harder than a Grand Touring all-season, but not quite as hard as a dedicated summer tire.

When choosing a UHP all-season think about this: They are designed to maximize 3-season performance, and handle a unplanned snow better than a summer tire. Kinda like a convertible Lamborghini (designed to be driven with the roof off, but there is an awkward roof if it rains)
 
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Wow!!

A lot of different takes on the question

And the only one that is right on the mark is RandomHero's.

Tire Rack follows the industry standard by defining these by speed rating. That's how the tire manufacturers do it. That's how Tire Rack does it.

WHY? Because by using speed rating, you can sort out the type of performance that is being requested.

This is not to say the UHP tires can't be all season and long wearing, and not very grippy, but the opposite is true. S and T speed rated tires aren't used for their grip, so you won't find "track day" tires with these speed ratings.

H speed rated tires have become a transition area between grip and long wear - and as time has gone on, that category is going more and more towards long wear.
 
I disagree with capriracer there is no tire in the UHP class that is S or T rated. Those speed rated tires fall under a different category. This thread is getting more complicated then it had to be. What interest does the op have in these tires and what is the application?

And capriracer stating uhp all season tires are grippy as compared to what? I've used them ona track and they SUCK for grip. So where are you coming from?

So capri you would take a UHP all season tire to laguna seca and feel ccompetitive? Would you use a All season to autox and feel competitive?

Don't think so.

And I'm not talking about track only tires either. I have tracked numerous uhp tires in my daily driven Evos of past. Even with awd all season tires suck. They are good ona dd car for going back and forth to work and that's about it. Most of the all season uhp tires suck in the snow any way.

Summer tire compounds should not be used in areas where outside temp is below freezing. That is where uhp all season are Better. BUT that is the only exception that I have personally seen.

All depends on what car and what application your seeking op.

Jeff
 
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Originally Posted By: Jeffs2006EvoIX
I disagree with capriracer there is no tire in the UHP class that is S or T rated. Those speed rated tires fall under a different category. This thread is getting more complicated then it had to be. What interest does the op have in these tires and what is the application?

And capriracer stating uhp all season tires are grippy as compared to what? I've used them ona track and they SUCK for grip. So where are you coming from?

So capri you would take a UHP all season tire to laguna seca and feel ccompetitive? Would you use a All season to autox and feel competitive?

Don't think so.

And I'm not talking about track only tires either. I have tracked numerous uhp tires in my daily driven Evos of past. Even with awd all season tires suck. They are good ona dd car for going back and forth to work and that's about it. Most of the all season uhp tires suck in the snow any way.

Summer tire compounds should not be used in areas where outside temp is below freezing. That is where uhp all season are Better. BUT that is the only exception that I have personally seen.

All depends on what car and what application your seeking op.

Jeff

I didn't see anyone say that UHP would be S or T rated. Just the opposite.
 
I have had EXCELLENT all seasons on my car. Toyo Proxes 4's were great, actually set fast lap at an HPDE with them at Homestead. But my overall experience was poor. Generally they are much lesser performing tires than the summer only products out there.
 
Originally Posted By: y_p_w
Originally Posted By: Jeffs2006EvoIX
I disagree with capriracer there is no tire in the UHP class that is S or T rated. Those speed rated tires fall under a different category. This thread is getting more complicated then it had to be. What interest does the op have in these tires and what is the application?

And capriracer stating uhp all season tires are grippy as compared to what? I've used them ona track and they SUCK for grip. So where are you coming from?

So capri you would take a UHP all season tire to laguna seca and feel ccompetitive? Would you use a All season to autox and feel competitive?

Don't think so.

And I'm not talking about track only tires either. I have tracked numerous uhp tires in my daily driven Evos of past. Even with awd all season tires suck. They are good ona dd car for going back and forth to work and that's about it. Most of the all season uhp tires suck in the snow any way.

Summer tire compounds should not be used in areas where outside temp is below freezing. That is where uhp all season are Better. BUT that is the only exception that I have personally seen.

All depends on what car and what application your seeking op.

Jeff

I didn't see anyone say that UHP would be S or T rated. Just the opposite.




I was PM'd by a few folks, so I just posted on here instead. Just didn't want to respond the same answer to several folks.

Tires are HUGE when it comes to performance of a vehicle. Just depends what your intent and usage is. You will always sacrifice grip for wear in most cases.

Jeff
 
Then you're going to have a hard time explaining the new PSS's i bought with the 30k mile treadwear warranty!

I have never had any set of tires (this is 6 or 7, lost count) last that long ever on this car.
 
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Then you're going to have a hard time explaining the new PSS's i bought with the 30k mile treadwear warranty!

I have never had any set of tires (this is 6 or 7, lost count) last that long ever on this car.


Just because they have a 30K mile warranty, it doesn't mean they'll last this long.
smile.gif
But at least you can get a pro-rated discount on your next set, assuming you wear them evenly and not track them.
 
Getting off point sorry.....Warranty on tires means nothing to me. Grip does.

Im out of the track scene now with the GTI, Talking tires is like talking Oil everyone has an opinion and what works on one application and driving style wont work on another.

It is what it is. Trial and error like everything else with cars.

Jeff
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Then you're going to have a hard time explaining the new PSS's i bought with the 30k mile treadwear warranty!

I have never had any set of tires (this is 6 or 7, lost count) last that long ever on this car.


Just because they have a 30K mile warranty, it doesn't mean they'll last this long.
smile.gif
But at least you can get a pro-rated discount on your next set, assuming you wear them evenly and not track them.


True, but I have already put I think around 10,000Km on mine and they are wearing INCREDIBLY well. FAR better than I ever expected given how I treat them......
grin.gif
 
Originally Posted By: Jeffs2006EvoIX
Getting off point sorry.....Warranty on tires means nothing to me. Grip does.

Im out of the track scene now with the GTI, Talking tires is like talking Oil everyone has an opinion and what works on one application and driving style wont work on another.

It is what it is. Trial and error like everything else with cars.

Jeff


The PSS's are pretty well regarded in pretty much any circle. They are an incredible tire, period.

To use your oil analogy, it is like M1 0w-40. Even the guys that don't like Mobil respect the 0w-40 and it is generally regarded, regardless of your brand of choice, as one of the, if not the best OTS synthetic oil on the market due to its arm-long list of certs/approvals, high VI, low NOACK....etc.
 
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