High Performance Tire

If you're looking for a good performing summer tire on a budget, take a look at the latest offering from Sumitomo. Their HTR Z III features an asymmetrical pattern that provides noticeable noise reduction when compared to the directional, previous generation HTR Z II.

While this tire may not be the top-ranked option in the Max Performance Summer category, it has one of the most attractive price points in the group. Developed for sports cars, sporty coupes and high performance sedans, the HTR Z III showcases Sumitomo's technical resources by providing high speed handling stability along with traction on dry and wet roads. The inside shoulder is linked by a continuous circumferential rib that enhances wear quality to help reduce noise throughout the tire's life, especially on vehicles with independent suspensions and alignment settings that specify negative camber. Straight and wide circumferential grooves along with long, sweeping lateral grooves evacuate water from under the tire's footprint to increase hydroplaning resistance and wet traction.

Through May 31, 2013, when you purchase a set of four Sumitomo HTR Z III tires you may be eligible to receive a $50 Tire Rack Prepaid MasterCard by mail. See special offer details here.

Since 2005, the primary size found on the Honda Odyssey has been 235/65R16. Due to the overall size ,weight and higher center of gravity than a car, the Odyssey's tire wear can be disappointing to some. The following popular options can help deliver better performance, ride quality and longevity than the Original Equipment.

Goodyear Assurance ComforTred Touring

Continental Cross Contact LX20 with EcoPlusTechnology

Michelin Defender

Goodyear's Assurance ComforTred Touring has been a favorite with our customers for a few years. Sitting solidly in third place in the Grand Touring All-Season category, the tire carries an 80,000-mile treadlife warranty. The Assurance ComforTred Touring features a mildly asymmetric tread design that combines indepedent shoulder blocks with notched intermediate ribs to blend dry and wet road traction and handling. Four circumferential grooves evacuate water from under the tread to enhance wet traction while the grooves, notches and sipes form biting edges to deliver all-season traction in light snow.

"I have had these Goodyear tires on my van for 31,000 miles now (90,000 currently), have balanced them every 5,000 miles and they are in excellent condition! No cupping, no road noise, plenty of treadlife left!" -- Tire Rack Consumer Review, 2007 Honda Odyssey

The Continental CrossContact LX20 with EcoPlus Technology is a newer entry to the market that quickly became a best seller. Designed to enhance driving pleasure, save fuel and maintain grip when braking on wet surfaces, this Continental tire provides long wear and all-season traction.

"I drive the family van quite hard and the grip and handling of these Continentals is far better than the O.E. Michelins." -- Tire Rack Consumer Review, 2010 Honda Odyssey

Michelin's Defender is the latest high mileage tire entry from the manufacturer and carries a 90,000-mile treadlife warranty. Currently ranked number one in its category by our customers, it appears Michelin has hit another home run with this offering. Defender tires enhance vehicle fuel economy by meeting Michelin's Green-X low rolling resistance objectives.

"This is the best tire I have ever purchased. Hands down!" -- Tire Rack Consumer Review, 2006 Honda Odyssey

The MAZDA3 came to the market in 2004 as a replacement for the Protege. It was later redesigned in 2010. With a number of configurations and trim levels offered, there are various tire size options in play. The first step will be using our shop by vehicle feature and verifying the size of tire that's on your vehicle. The following tires are some of the more popular and higher rated options in three of the most common sizes for this vehicle. Keep in mind, not all of these options may be available for your specific variation of the vehicle.

Bridgestone Turanza Serenity Plus

Continental ExtremeContact DWS

BFGoodrich g-Force Sport COMP-2

In 195/65R15, I would take a serious look at Bridgestone's Turanza Serenity Plus. This is the latest Grand Touring All-Season entry from this premium manufacturer. We tested this tire last season against three of the top competitors and it came in first. Designed to provide Bridgestone's ultimate in luxury, elegance and comfort, Turanza Serenity Plus tires blend long wear with dry, wet and wintertime traction, even in light snow.

205/55R16 is another common size for the MAZDA3 line of vehicles. This is one of the more popular sizes in the market, so there will be many choices. If you're looking for a performance oriented option, check out the Continental ExtremeContact DWS. This has been the top-rated Ultra High Performance All-Season tire by our customers for five years. It's particularly strong in the winter elements, while also receiving high marks in hydroplaning resistance, wet traction, dry traction and ride comfort.

The sports minded version of the MAZDA3 wears a 205/50R17. If this is the case for you, I would suggest the BFGoodrich g-Force Sport COMP-2. This Ultra High Performance Summer solution was released last year with great success. It's currently ranked number one in its category. If you're looking to accelerate faster, corner harder and brake shorter in dry and wet conditions, then take a look at the g-Force Sport COMP-2.

For more information on selecting the right tire, read "Shopping for Tires on Our Website."

Arguably, one of the best bang-for-the-buck performance cars available on the market today is the fifth-generation Corvette. While it doesn't have the power figures of the C6 or the magazine coverage of the new seventh-generation Stingray, this car and its popular LS1 engine is capable of excellent power.

C5 Corvettes from the factory (non-Z06 models) use a 245/45R17 front tire and 275/40R18 rear. For those looking to step away from run-flat tires, your options are numerous. However, if you wish to keep the car equipped with run-flats, there are not as many choices. Our most popular sellers in the aforementioned sizes are:

Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus ZP is designed to last considerably longer than a dedicated summer tire. This Ultra High Performance All-Season tire has a speed rating up to 186 mph and features a responsive sidewall with a harder tread compound than the Original Equipment offering. Buyers will notice sharp turn-in response that is commonly associated with high speed rated tires, but will give up some ultimate lateral grip when compared to a softer compounded summer tire. While these tires aren't intended for track use, they are more than capable for aggressive street driving.

Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 ZP has long been a front runner in the Max Performance Summer category. The PS2 is offered in a run-flat fitment for the C5 Corvette and is a great choice for a driver looking for a premium tire with excellent performance attributes. While the PS2 will sacrifice some wear compared to the A/S Plus ZP, its grip limit is exceptional. This tire has been well reviewed for its great performance and excellent road manners.

Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus ZP

Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 ZP

Shop by vehicle to view all tire options for your C5 Corvette.

Many enthusiasts have separate winter / snow tires for the colder months. They do this because they want the benefit of extra snow and ice traction. Drivers realize that all-season tires aren't nearly as good in snow and on ice as a dedicated snow tire. 

Using this same logic when it comes time to replace non-winter tires, many customers ask specifically for summer tires. Makes sense, right?  Well, this isn't the case for everyone. For someone who isn't an aggressive driver or does not drive a sporty vehicle, the benefits of all-season tires may be worth considering.

Any vehicle can benefit from the increased dry grip and faster steering response of a summer performance tire. However, here are some reasons why an all-season tire may make sense for you:

1. Longer treadwear - Most all-season tires are designed for longer treadwear than summer tires. Many drivers will see their all-season tires last two to three times longer.
2. Quiet ride - You might be thinking that all-season tires would be louder than summer tires, but this is a common misconception. While one can find relatively quiet summer tires, today's summer performance tires focus more on grip and handling performance. 
3. Smoother and softer ride - Most modern summer tires have a stiffer sidewall for better handling compared to most all-season tires. 
4. Lower price point - Many of today's summer tires are packed with the latest tire technology and are typically more expensive than all-season tires in most sizes.
5. Longer warranty - Depending on the size, all-season tires can have wear warranties as high as 90,000 miles. Very few summer tires offer a treadwear warranty.

Regardless if you have summer or all-season tires, you need to know the right time to put them on. To find out when the best time is, read "When Should I Take Off My Winter / Snow Tires?". 

Very few of the pickup trucks and SUVs on the road today will venture off-road. However, many vehicles are still designed with tough off-road suspensions and come equipped with knobby tread tires. If you want to give your truck better on-road manners, consider a set of Michelin LTX M/S2 tires.

Michelin has built a reputation for providing quiet and comfortable tires for passenger cars, as well as durable tires for commercial vehicles. They have used this experience to combine both attributes into their light truck tires, including their newest Highway All-Season tire, the LTX M/S2.

The LTX M/S2 features a symmetric tread design and a long wearing, silica-enhanced, all-season compound to provide a smooth, quiet ride with year-round traction in dry, wet and light snow conditions. With over seven million miles of reported use by our customers, the M/S2 has received high marks for ride and noise comfort. Currently, the tire is ranked second in our Tire Survey Results.

Take a look at what some of our customers are saying about their experience with the Michelin LTX M/S2:

"Best tires ever purchased. On my third set and would buy again whenever possible." -- Tire Rack Consumer Review, 2004 GMC Yukon Denali

"As I write this review, I am in the process of ordering a second set of the Michelin LTX M/S2, P275/65R-18 for my Tundra Crewmax. I have 56,000 miles on my old set and probably have another 5,000 or more on the tires (I drive a great deal of highway miles for work). Proper tire rotation has left me with very even wear. They are getting down there, so I want to stage the next set for replacement. Highly recommended tire!" -- Tire Rack Consumer Review, 2008 Toyota Tundra

"This is the best set of tires we have ever owned. These Michelins are on my wife's Honda Pilot and I must say, I am thoroughly impressed. They effortlessly handle our winter and the treadlife is outstanding. After witnessing the performance of these tires, I switched the tires on my Toyota to Michelins as well." -- Tire Rack Consumer Review, 2004 Honda Pilot EX

For the quietest and most durable light truck tire on the market, it's tough to beat Michelin's LTX M/S2. Shop by vehicle to see if the LTX M/S2 is available for your application.

When one thinks about tire design, one usually thinks about tread pattern. For those willing to dig a little bit deeper, tread compound and internal construction are at least as important to a tire's performance. How about the design of the letters on the sidewall? Purely cosmetic, right?

Not so, says Dunlop. Their research and testing indicates that the raised letters on the side of the tire contributes to turbulence around the tire. This disruption of the airflow creates drag, increasing the overall air resistance the vehicle must overcome to maintain its speed or accelerate.

With these findings, the new Dunlop Sport Maxx RT has all of its sidewall lettering indented below the surface of the sidewall rather than raised above it. This creates a smoother surface that minimizes turbulence around the tire. How much of a difference will this make? Likely not enough to be noticed by a driver at normal road speeds. However, any extra efficiency is good from a performance and fuel economy point of view.

Also, it doesn't hurt that the design yields a sleek, high-tech appearance for the tire's sidewall. The driver gets some added functional benefits that he or she may not notice, while gaining the very visible benefit of a modern-looking, attractive tire.

View the full-screen image of the tire to see the distinctive sidewall design.

Porsche vehicles are known throughout the auto industry as one of the most highly engineered driving machines. Their engineers meticulously analyze every aspect of the vehicle's execution from weight savings and balance, all the way down to how the tires perform.

Porsche vehicles from 911 Carreras to Cayennes have tires that are specifically engineered for the vehicle through collaboration between tire manufacturers and Porsche themselves. Original Equipment Porsche tires are commonly referred to as N-Spec tires because the sidewall of the tire will be branded N0, N1, N2 or N3 and so on. The "N" is the designation for Porsche approved tires and the corresponding number identifies the version, with the higher number assigned to newer generations of the tire.

For instance, if you shop by vehicle and look at the 2011 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S Coupe, when you choose "View Original Equipment Tires" the website will display all of the tires that may have come on the vehicle as Original Equipment from Porsche. You will find on the list the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 N2, Pirelli P Zero N2, Bridgestone Potenza RE050A N0, and Bridgestone Potenza RE050A N1.

Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 N2 Porsche

Bridgestone Potenza RE050A N1 Porsche

Pirelli P Zero N2 Porsche

Bridgestone Potenza RE050A N0 Porsche

For more information, read "Porsche N-Specification Tire Approvals."

Two of the most recognizable and respected brands in the industry are Michelin and Goodyear. Both brands have their fans, both brands have their detractors, but ask any sampling of people in the United States to name a couple of tire brands and Goodyear and Michelin will probably dominate the responses. A common question that we receive is: "Which brand is better?" The answer depends on the tire category and the specific needs of the driver, but I'll try to give an overview by comparing the top tires from each brand by category. This comparison focuses on categories for cars.

Category: Passenger All-Season

Contenders: Goodyear Assurance TripleTred All-Season vs. Michelin Energy Saver A/S

Verdict: The Goodyear has the advantage in bad weather traction. Michelin's Energy Saver A/S optimizes rolling resistance to slightly enhance fuel economy. Both have very good treadwear and rate well in our customer surveys, but the Goodyear is currently higher. Two strong contenders, however the Goodyear wins with superior traction in bad weather.

Category: Standard Touring All-Season

Contenders: Goodyear (none) vs. Michelin Defender

Verdict: No contest here as Michelin has the number one tire in the class and Goodyear has no entry. Michelin wins by default. Goodyear would need a heroic new entry to unseat the current king of this class.

Category: Grand Touring All-Season

Contenders: Goodyear Assurance ComforTred Touring vs. Michelin Primacy MXV4

Verdict: These two tires are both excellent entries into the category. I've driven both of these and prefer the Michelin, which also has slightly higher survey results over a larger number of miles. This round goes to Michelin.

Category: High Performance All-Season

Contenders: Goodyear Eagle GT vs. Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S

Verdict: The Eagle GT is solid but the Pilot Exalto A/S remains one of the best all-around tires in the category. It blends ride, handling and traction in a wide variety of conditions. The Pilot Exalto A/S takes this round for Michelin as well.

Category: Ultra High Performance All-Season

Contenders: Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric All-Season vs. Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus

Verdict: These tires are both right in the top tier of the category. We have not tested them directly against one another, and the Goodyear is relatively new. Both earned similar results against other tires in the category in tests one year apart. This one is too close to call.

Category: Max Performance Summer

Contenders: Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 vs. Michelin Pilot Super Sport

Verdict: This is an excellent match-up of two of the newest and stickiest tires in the Max Performance Summer category. The Michelin won their head-to-head test, and having done some of the driving for the test, I agree with the results. Honorable mention to the Goodyear, which is an excellent tire in its own right, but the Pilot Super Sport is the class of the field right now.

Category: Extreme Performance Summer

Contenders: Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar G: 2 vs. Michelin (none)

Verdict: Goodyear makes the Supercar G: 2 in very few sizes, but does enough to take the category unopposed. Any tire that looks this cool merits some points in a brand shoot by virtue of the halo effect it brings to the brand:

Roundup:

• Goodyear wins two categories: Passenger All-Season and Extreme Performance Summer.
• Michelin wins four categories: Standard Touring All-Season, Grand Touring All-Season, High Performance All Season and Max Performance Summer.

Whether you're a Goodyear or Michelin fan, both brands provide great options. Choose the tire from the brand you like that best suits how and where you drive.