What's the diff? Tire rack "categories" ...

[dnewton3]

I'm not in the market for summer tires yet, but I thought I'd start my research now, so that I can track several brand choices over the next several months to see what's developing in the market for summer tires for next year. Using the Tire Rack "Learn - Test Results" selector, there are the following tire-category choices ...
- Extreme performance summer
- Max performance summer
- Ultra high performance summer

Really? And they wonder why people cannot easily make a decision? Is Extreme better than Max, and Max better than Ultra, or is Ultra better than Extreme but less than Max, or Ultra better than ... You get the point?

Can someone please explain to me in common terms what the difference is between "Extreme", "Max" and "Ultra High" tires categories? These are all summer performance tires. I find the distinction between these tire categories dubious and overlapping. Which category is most track-oriented? Which one is most street oriented? If those even apply??? Those categories are about as helpful as calling them "Super Fabulous", "Incredibly Special" and "Wonderfully Excellent".

If Tire Rack wants to sell me tires, they gonna have to do a better job of defining what each category means, and how each category will distinguish itself from the other two choices.

Little help here, fellow Bitogers?

 

[RooflessVW]

https://m.tirerack.com/tires/types/tiretype.jsp

 

[walterjay]

I'm still a bit confused

 

[atikovi]

Can someone please explain to me in common terms what the difference is between "Extreme", "Max" and "Ultra High" tires categories?

No difference just marketing hype. Smart shoppers already know which tire they want and should know better than to rely on the opinions from the people that will sell them to you.

 

[mrsilv04]

Why not ask *Tire Rack* if all of this makes any sense to them? If it does, maybe they'll explain it to you. Or... maybe if they see enough complaints about it, they'll do something to improve on it.

https://www.tirerack.com/content/tirerack/desktop/en/customer_support.html

 

[Jetronic]

I'm not in the market for summer tires yet, but I thought I'd start my research now, so that I can track several brand choices over the next several months to see what's developing in the market for summer tires for next year. Using the Tire Rack "Learn - Test Results" selector, there are the following tire-category choices ...
- Extreme performance summer
- Max performance summer
- Ultra high performance summer

Really? And they wonder why people cannot easily make a decision? Is Extreme better than Max, and Max better than Ultra, or is Ultra better than Extreme but less than Max, or Ultra better than ... You get the point?

Can someone please explain to me in common terms what the difference is between "Extreme", "Max" and "Ultra High" tires categories? These are all summer performance tires. I find the distinction between these tire categories dubious and overlapping. Which category is most track-oriented? Which one is most street oriented? If those even apply??? Those categories are about as helpful as calling them "Super Fabulous", "Incredibly Special" and "Wonderfully Excellent".

If Tire Rack wants to sell me tires, they gonna have to do a better job of defining what each category means, and how each category will distinguish itself from the other two choices.

Little help here, fellow Bitogers?

Extreme sacrifices aquaplaning a LOT and likely requires warming up before giving the full potential, max sacrifices aquaplaning a bit less and is less likely to need warming up. UHP is a sporty summer tyre, ready to go without warm up and with balanced wet weather performance. Extreme performance tyres are more like road legal track tyres.

If you don't intend to track, UHP is where it's at.

 

[IndyIan]

I think the tirerack descriptions are pretty good, although many of the Max performance tires still grip well in the wet but don't resist aquaplaning that well. I agree the max/ultra/extreme adjectives are useless to actually describe the differences, but their descriptions are pretty good. In general if tire life/cost is a factor at all for your street driven car, then Ultra High Summer performance is probably as "extreme" as you want to go. They will be quite an upgrade over a good all season tire but still be streetable. I have had BFG sportcomp 2's(ultra high summer) on my Focus and people at autocross were surprised/impressed at the amount of grip they gave on an old beater and Firehawk Indy 500's are a touch better.

 

[Jetronic]

UHP used to be the top category until a few years ago, when road legal track tyres started appearing

 

[totegoat]

Almost time for winter tires.

 

[IndyIan]

UHP used to be the top category until a few years ago, when road legal track tyres started appearing

There has been DOT approved race tires for quite a while(since 1980's?), with a groove or two for legality but they also had warnings not to actually use them on the street . They would heat cycle out pretty fast though in regular use, or wear out so you always swapped them on at the track/autocross.
I think there's now more tires now that can survive on the street and have some aquaplaning resistance while offering pretty close to race tire grip though.

 

[The Critic]

Although this test compared the various all-season options, the theoretical concept is the same:

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=270

In summary, there are differences. But the differences are not as significant (in some certain areas) as you would expect.

 

[NitroM3]

The categories name are mostly selling "HYPE" to attract a specific individual. Some of you know the term in Performance parts as STAGE 1 ,STAGE 2 etc..... what really does that imply and mean? LOL First do your research about tires you are considering. Look for articles about them and not so much reviews from users because like most they do not have a wide range of different tires to compare and generally use there last set or two as their examples to compare with? The only and best way to choose a tire is to talk to a rep preferably by phone and better in person. This way they can walk you around and physically show you the difference in the tires and explain in detail about the specification in everyday language.
Do your research but unless you get a tire store that allows you to test drive tires your only way to know is getting a good rapport and trust with a good experienced tire salesperson .

 

[Jetronic]

To put some brands and models to each cateory (I didn't look them up, so not 100% that's how tirerack ranks them):

• Michelin PS4 would be UHP
• Michelin PS4S would be Max performance
• Michelin pilot sport cup 2 and cup 2R would be Extremem performance summer tyres.

Wet performance goes down if you down this list, but dry performance goes up. More often than not wear also goes up, and comfort down.

 

[RooflessVW]

UHP used to be the top category until a few years ago, when road legal track tyres started appearing

The Dunlop Direzza Star Specs I had on my S2k a decade ago were pretty close to a road legal track tyre.

Think they still sell them...

 

[Jetronic]

yeah, that's when those became more popular. It made the UHP category too big and diverse

 

[Pew]

The Dunlop Direzza Star Specs I had on my S2k a decade ago were pretty close to a road legal track tyre.

Think they still sell them...

The ZIIIs are out now. I think they're still the top tire for a 200tw limited time-attack class.

 

[RooflessVW]

The ZIIIs are out now. I think they're still the top tire for a 200tw limited time-attack class.

I'm sure it was ZI back in the day. Think I got ~5k out of the rears.

 

[dnewton3]

Why not ask *Tire Rack* if all of this makes any sense to them? If it does, maybe they'll explain it to you. Or... maybe if they see enough complaints about it, they'll do something to improve on it.

https://www.tirerack.com/content/tirerack/desktop/en/customer_support.html

I did email them; they've not replied yet.

 

[dnewton3]

https://m.tirerack.com/tires/types/tiretype.jsp

Yeah - that sort of answers my question, but honestly also reinforces my complaint ...

So let's see how TR tries to separate these two categories ...
Follow the text enhancements and see the total commonality; I'll quote directly from their site.

Max Performance Summer:
Designed to deliver the highest combination of dry and wet traction along with reasonable ride and treadwear. Not for winter conditions.

Ultra High Performance Summer:
Focused on nimble handling on dry and wet roads with acceptable ride quality and tread life. Not for winter conditions.



And though I'm not interested in A/S tires, they play the same game with these definitions:
Ultra High Performance All Season
Responsive handling, very good on dry and wet roads plus adequate winter traction. Reasonable comfort and tread life.

High Performance All Season
A nice balance of responsive handling, good year-round traction and acceptable treadlife.



Call me a simpleton if you wish, but I see nothing that helps me understand how those categories are different; there's nothing that I see that gives a unique capability over the other choice.

If you use their tire selection assitance tool, sometimes it will return the same tires for both, and other times it won't, depending upon your input preferences. IOW - they're not really providing helpful information; they're reinforcing your own unintended bias.


Not helpfult at all, Mr. Tire Rack.


.

 

[NitroM3]

Lest not forget that tire selection choices should also go hand-in-hand with the vehicles suspension condition, age and if upgraded in any way and also the intended usage. While everyone wants to be Speed Racer few really have those types of abilities and a UltramanS tires whatever you want to call them is are not going to make you a better driver.