Selecting the right tire is an essential ingredient of road safety and vehicle maintenance. How do you know whether to get touring tires or performance tires? Keep reading to discover my touring vs performance tires comparison.
Are touring tires good for your vehicle? Or are performance tires what you really need? You’re about to find out. But first, let’s take a look at our key takeaways.
Key Takeaways
- If you’re like most drivers, you’ll need touring tires.
- Performance tires have a shorter life and they are more expensive. They’re meant for sports cars and other specialty vehicles.
- While performance tires look impressive, they’re probably not right for you.
Touring vs Performance Tires (a quick summary)
Most drivers will find that touring tires are better than performance tires. Touring tires will work on most vehicles you want to drive around on a day-to-day basis, providing good traction and performance for the price. They also ensure that you have a quiet ride, avoiding a lot of noise while driving around. You can also enjoy that many touring tires are considered all-season, so they will do well in light snow.
For most drivers, touring tires are going to be the best bet. While performance tires can add a little fun and will get your car noticed, they tend to only work on specialty cars, not on some of the traditional vehicles that most people drive around.
Performance tires are also loud and bad on gas mileage. They also don’t tend to last as long and will have to be replaced more quickly.
For everyday driving, most customers find that touring tires are exactly what they need.
They’ll be able to get good traction on many road conditions, a longer tire life, and good gas mileage. Touring tires provide a comfortable and quiet ride on the road.
All of this comes together to provide the best type of tire for them to use, which is why most will choose the touring tire.
What are Touring Tires?
Touring tires are a good tire option if you need new tires for your passenger vehicle, SUV, minivan, or sedan. They’re for everyday types of driving, for example running errands, taking the kids to school, and regular travel.
Good quality touring tires offer good handling that allows for a quiet and comfortable ride.
The top brands will provide you with the right traction, whether you’re on dry or wet roads.
Touring tires have a wider tread compared to other types of tires, making it easier for them to increase their contact with the road and gain more traction.
Thanks to their design, they’ll be able to offer excellent handling. They also ensure your ride is comfortable and quiet and most of them will be all-season tires, so they’ll provide the best traction for both dry and wet conditions and a bit of traction in snow.
For most drivers, touring tires are the ones they need. They’ll get the traction they need without having to worry about spending too much on tires they don’t need.
What are Performance Tires?
Performance tires are appropriate for sports cars and other exotic vehicles. These tires can really make these cars shine even more than they would otherwise, creating shorter stopping times and tighter cornering.
They’re also great for the road conditions that come in the summer.
While performance tires are superior in many ways, they do have some drawbacks. For example, they tend to be noisy and they mean you’ll get less gas mileage. They also don’t last as long as touring tires.
There are a few performance tires that tend to do well in all seasons. However, most of them excel in the summer but are unsuitable for winter conditions.
Performance tires aren’t appropriate for daily driving.
However, these tires often come with some unique patterns in the tread and rubber compounds that heighten your enjoyment of the driving experience.
They can also help to improve a sports car’s racetrack-inspired features, such as cornering abilities and shorter stopping time.
Which is Better: Performance Tires or Touring Tires?
The first step to deciding between touring and performance tires is considering what kind of vehicle you have.
Look at the guidelines provided by your car manufacturer. They may have specific rules on what tire you need to choose for your vehicle.
Once you’ve found out what those guidelines require, you can focus on some of your driving preferences.
There are a few factors to consider when it is time to decide whether a touring tire or a performance tire is right for you. Some of these include:
Do You Want Sporty Responsiveness?
If you have the right type of vehicle (such as a sports car) and you’d like to have top-notch sporty responsiveness, a performance tire could be a good option.
Performance tires will stand out among the crowd and can look nice as well.
If you don’t have a sports car, however, performance tires won’t be appropriate. Go for touring tires, instead.
Do You Want All-Season Versatility?
Customers will find that performance and touring tires function well in both dry and wet conditions.
But if you really need to worry about different weather conditions and need all-season driving, then the touring tires are going to win.
There are a few performance tires that are considered all-season, but these are more expensive. All-season touring tires are the best bet for tires you can use all year.
Is Gas Mileage Important?
For those who choose to take the car out and drive on a daily basis for a commute to work or to run errands, gas mileage is going to be important to help save money.
And unfortunately, performance tires are not going to provide the best in gas mileage.
If gas mileage is important to you, you should go with touring tires.
Do You Want a Comfortable Ride?
Performance tires can pack a good punch and be fun when showing off on the road, but they’re generally not the most comfortable tires that you can choose.
Touring tires score much better in this category, often due to the fact that the tread will have more contact with the road.
Most performance tires aren’t going to provide the same comfort because performance is the priority. You’ll have to choose how important comfort is when you drive.
Does the Lifespan of the Tire Matter?
You will see a big difference between the lifespans of touring and performance tires.
Performance tires, often due to how they’re designed and used, won’t have very long lifespans.
If you choose to use the tire often, you’ll find that it will die out much faster than traditional tires.
Treads on touring tires will typically last longer.
However, even though the performance tire may have a shorter lifespan, they give you more control.
Are Handling and Responsiveness Important to You?
If you have a sports car and handling and responsiveness are top priorities for you, you should go with performance tires.
Performance tires perform better with turning corners quickly and braking.
Final Thoughts On Touring vs Performance Tires
Unless you own a sports car or another type of specialty car and would really like to show off your ride, there isn’t much reason to get performance tires.
They look cool and can give you great performance on certain cars, but the drawbacks make them impractical for daily use.
For most vehicles, touring tires are their better choice because of their affordable price, good gas mileage, and durability.