Touring vs high performance tires what's the difference

[Orangepeel]

If both tire types are all season and both are the same speed rating etc what's the real differences between these two "types" of tire? I ask this because I was researching some all weather tires for my WRX and none of them seem to be high performance tires. Does that really matter or mean much? Are these terms just marketing?

 

[Oillover]

The main differences are tread pattern, rubber compound etc.

 

[skyactiv]

Its not a gimmick but some tire makers are miss categorizing some tires to market them as touring tires as they are becoming more popular.
Touring tires are supposed to provide better ride quality and lower noise levels. Lots of North Americans expect a tire to be great at everything. We as bitog members know better.

 

[Jetronic]

If both tire types are all season and both are the same speed rating etc what's the real differences between these two "types" of tire? I ask this because I was researching some all weather tires for my WRX and none of them seem to be high performance tires. Does that really matter or mean much? Are these terms just marketing?

High performance versions tend to react quicker to steering inputs and changes in the road, mostly due to a stiffer carcass. They generate more force for a given slip angle. Touring tyres will require less driver concentration and cause less fatigue, Important in a daily driver and for longer trips

 

[Orangepeel]

Its not a gimmick but some tire makers are miss categorizing some tires to market them as touring tires as they are becoming more popular.
Touring tires are supposed to provide better ride quality and lower noise levels. Lots of North Americans expect a tire to be great at everything. We as bitog members know better.

I've never really done any tire research until now and the more I learn the more questions I have. I just bought a WRX it has summer tires on it but in the Midwest we have some winter. So then I'm torn on what to do which prompted the research. Originally I would have gone with the high performance all seasons and been done but this time I started thinking about all weather tires and I went down a rabbit hole of info.
I guess my concern is I'm afraid to go with a winter tire, all weather tires or a touring all seasons and compromise handling when the roads are dry. I don't need the absolute performance of summer tires but I do enjoy crisp handling. The tires that are on it are the Dunlop sport Maxx I think is what they're called. Last night driving home in the rain they definitely didn't feel overly confident. They also are super hard riding. So a good compromise of decent daily driving dynamics and traction would be nice. I don't which route to go......

 

[Traction]

I would get another set of wheels in a narrower size and have a blast with it when it snows, especially with that car, and then the rest of the year have fun in the dry when warmer, and always slowdown in the rain anyway.

 

[Jetronic]

I've never really done any tire research until now and the more I learn the more questions I have. I just bought a WRX it has summer tires on it but in the Midwest we have some winter. So then I'm torn on what to do which prompted the research. Originally I would have gone with the high performance all seasons and been done but this time I started thinking about all weather tires and I went down a rabbit hole of info.
I guess my concern is I'm afraid to go with a winter tire, all weather tires or a touring all seasons and compromise handling when the roads are dry. I don't need the absolute performance of summer tires but I do enjoy crisp handling. The tires that are on it are the Dunlop sport Maxx I think is what they're called. Last night driving home in the rain they definitely didn't feel overly confident. They also are super hard riding. So a good compromise of decent daily driving dynamics and traction would be nice. I don't which route to go......

performance winter seems right for you

 

[slacktide_bitog]

I've never really done any tire research until now and the more I learn the more questions I have. I just bought a WRX it has summer tires on it but in the Midwest we have some winter. So then I'm torn on what to do which prompted the research. Originally I would have gone with the high performance all seasons and been done but this time I started thinking about all weather tires and I went down a rabbit hole of info.
I guess my concern is I'm afraid to go with a winter tire, all weather tires or a touring all seasons and compromise handling when the roads are dry. I don't need the absolute performance of summer tires but I do enjoy crisp handling. The tires that are on it are the Dunlop sport Maxx I think is what they're called. Last night driving home in the rain they definitely didn't feel overly confident. They also are super hard riding. So a good compromise of decent daily driving dynamics and traction would be nice. I don't which route to go......

You might like the Toyo Celsius Sport and the Vredestein Quatrac Pro, if they are available in the size you need. These are billed as high performance all weather tires

The old CrossClimate seems like something you would've liked, but the new CC2 isn't like that anymore. The old CC1 was described as "a summer tire homologated for winter use" but the CC2 strayed from that formula. Conversely, Nokian's all-weather tires are closer to being winter tires that can be used year-round.

Basically all OE tires suck because they're primarily designed to be cheap and lift up CAFE numbers

And remember, all tires are a compromise somewhere!

Can you downsize wheels? Smaller wheels and more sidewall will give you a better ride and better performance in bad weather.

Get some grand touring summer tires for the summer time (ContiPremiumContact, Michelin Primacy 4, Bridgestone Turanza 6, Goodyear EfficientGrip, etc), and performance winter tires for the winter (Michelin's Pilot Alpin series, Conti's TS-series, Pirelli Sottozero, etc).

 

[Orangepeel]

You might like the Toyo Celsius Sport and the Vredestein Quatrac Pro, if they are available in the size you need. These are billed as high performance all weather tires

The old CrossClimate seems like something you would've liked, but the new CC2 isn't like that anymore. The old CC1 was described as "a summer tire homologated for winter use" but the CC2 strayed from that formula. Conversely, Nokian's all-weather tires are closer to being winter tires that can be used year-round.

Basically all OE tires suck because they're primarily designed to be cheap and lift up CAFE numbers

And remember, all tires are a compromise somewhere!

Can you downsize wheels? Smaller wheels and more sidewall will give you a better ride and better performance in bad weather.

Get some grand touring summer tires for the summer time (ContiPremiumContact, Michelin Primacy 4, Bridgestone Turanza 6, Goodyear EfficientGrip, etc), and performance winter tires for the winter (Michelin's Pilot Alpin series, Conti's TS-series, Pirelli Sottozero, etc).

I can't find the Toyo sport only the Celsius 2. Not sure what the difference is. Is there an all season good enough to make sense for all 4 seasons?

 

[IndyIan]

How much winter do you get? Personally I'd go for an extreme winter tire designed for snow not ice, as skinny and high profile with as small a wheel that will fit over the brakes as we get enough snow to enjoy some AWD drifting in the snow pretty often... TBH I find "brisk" driving on the street in the winter fun on skinny snow tires, damp sandy pavement seems to perfect, or fresh snow is nice.

 

[SubLGT]

...I guess my concern is I'm afraid to go with a winter tire, all weather tires or a touring all seasons and compromise handling when the roads are dry. I don't need the absolute performance of summer tires but I do enjoy crisp handling......

Buy a set of high performance summer or all-season tires for use in spring, summer, fall.
And buy a set of winter wheels/tires for winter use. If you rarely encounter ice during winter driving, get a performance winter such as the Blizzak LM005, etc. If you need excellent ice traction, get a set of studless winter tires, such as the Continental VikingContact 7, etc

 

[slacktide_bitog]

I can't find the Toyo sport only the Celsius 2. Not sure what the difference is. Is there an all season good enough to make sense for all 4 seasons?

What is your tire size?

Yes, some tires can be good in all four seasons.

In Arizona, R-compounds can be all-season tires

 

[Orangepeel]

What is your tire size?

Yes, some tires can be good in all four seasons.

In Arizona, R-compounds can be all-season tires

245/40R18

 

[slacktide_bitog]

245/40R18

The Quatrac Pro is available in that size, and it seems to be the best tire for you, if you're going to use one set of tires year-round. You might also like Pirelli's all-weather tire in this size, Cinturato Weatheractive, although it is pricey.

Another idea: if you want a better ride, you can downsize to 17 inch wheels and use the size 235/45-17. Tire Rack's Radius wheels are good quality at a reasonable price, but their winter tire selection isn't great.

If you're willing to use two sets of tires, get summer tires on your stock wheels, and winter tires on the downsize wheels.

Priority Tire has Nokian Powerproof summer tires for only $112 in your size. There's also the Goodyear Eagle Sport.

For the 17-inch winter tires, get performance winter tires such as the GT Radial Champiro Winterpro or Petlas Snow Master, if price is a concern. Nexen has the Winguard Sport2 for a little more money. Walmart has the GT Radial winter tires for only $106.

 

[Orangepeel]

Would the Bridgestone weather peak or the cross climate 2 be a bad choice? How would these handle considering they're a grand touring tire? I still don't really understand the actual difference between grand touring and performance all season.

 

[IndyIan]

Would the Bridgestone weather peak or the cross climate 2 be a bad choice? How would these handle considering they're a grand touring tire? I still don't really understand the actual difference between grand touring and performance all season.

The Cross Climate 2 puts up some impressive numbers in all conditions in the testing I've seen, probably a good "snow" tire for an area that rarely gets snow I think.
Between grand touring and performance all season, the GT tires should be a bit quieter and the performance should be a bit grippier, but I suspect the tires in both categories overlap quite a bit between brands for grip, noise and ride . IMO if you want good summer performance, to do some autocross or some lapping, you should get a summer only tire, as they grip better and are harder to overheat. For just street driving and bombing around the odd freeway ramp, I suppose a performance all season would be quite fine, and even some of the GT should be very good too. IME you really have to review each specific tire model in a tire rack test or equivalent, to get what you want. The broad categories are pretty vague and a bad way to compare tire models.

 

[Orangepeel]

The Cross Climate 2 puts up some impressive numbers in all conditions in the testing I've seen, probably a good "snow" tire for an area that rarely gets snow I think.
Between grand touring and performance all season, the GT tires should be a bit quieter and the performance should be a bit grippier, but I suspect the tires in both categories overlap quite a bit between brands for grip, noise and ride . IMO if you want good summer performance, to do some autocross or some lapping, you should get a summer only tire, as they grip better and are harder to overheat. For just street driving and bombing around the odd freeway ramp, I suppose a performance all season would be quite fine, and even some of the GT should be very good too. IME you really have to review each specific tire model in a tire rack test or equivalent, to get what you want. The broad categories are pretty vague and a bad way to compare tire models.

That seems to be the confusion I'm running into. Our weather is so up and down I would think a dedicated snow tire is a tough choice. Temps can be 17°f one day and 60 the next. I just didn't want to sacrifice handling ton much but it sounds like it will be fine just as uhp would be. So if I'm understanding correctly it's less about the "class" of tire and more about the specific tire.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

That seems to be the confusion I'm running into. Our weather is so up and down I would think a dedicated snow tire is a tough choice. Temps can be 17°f one day and 60 the next. I just didn't want to sacrifice handling ton much but it sounds like it will be fine just as uhp would be.

sounds like the Quatrac Pro is the best tire for your driving conditions.

So if I'm understanding correctly it's less about the "class" of tire and more about the specific tire.

correct, to an extent

 

[IndyIan]

That seems to be the confusion I'm running into. Our weather is so up and down I would think a dedicated snow tire is a tough choice. Temps can be 17°f one day and 60 the next. I just didn't want to sacrifice handling ton much but it sounds like it will be fine just as uhp would be. So if I'm understanding correctly it's less about the "class" of tire and more about the specific tire.

Yes the CC2 seems like a good tire for your winter weather if you still want good dry road grip, and still decent in some snow usage.
I don't see this advertised much but many UHP summer tires, actually can crack if flexed at all at temperatures much below freezing, so using them 17F could destroy them. You would have to look up their minimum temperature for the model. A UHP all season won't. GL with the search!

 

[edyvw]

That seems to be the confusion I'm running into. Our weather is so up and down I would think a dedicated snow tire is a tough choice. Temps can be 17°f one day and 60 the next. I just didn't want to sacrifice handling ton much but it sounds like it will be fine just as uhp would be. So if I'm understanding correctly it's less about the "class" of tire and more about the specific tire.

Where do you live? In Colorado can be 70 in December, and -10, and it is always sunny, until you get foot of snow.