Regardless of what vehicle you drive, your manufacturer will have specified an OE tyre that is designed to work well with your vehicle.
Generally, the OE (original equipment) tyre is chosen based on market research and customer profiling based on who the manufacturer thinks will buy their vehicles. If you don’t fit that mould, you may find that you’ll get more from your vehicle, and enjoy it more, by upgrading your tyres.
Eco Friendly Tyres
You can find many articles about upgrading the tyres on your 4WD and SUV but what if you have a passenger car or don’t take your vehicle off road? What tyre upgrades and options are available for you?
When discussing high efficiency and eco friendly tyres, we mean tyres that are designed to reduce your fuel consumption. These tyres are specifically engineered to take advantage of the latest tyre compound technologies and construction techniques that provide fuel savings without sacrificing performance.
One of the key features of highly efficient tyres is ‘low rolling resistance’. This means that the tyre doesn’t lose as much energy when rolling as regular tyres. Tyres typically lose energy through heat, caused by deformation. If you ever get out of your car after a drive and put your hand on your tyre, you’ll feel the tread surface is a few degrees warmer than the rest of the tyre, this is wasted energy.
Tyres with low rolling resistance require less energy to move and to maintain speed, requiring less fuel in the process.
Another important feature of eco-friendly, efficient tyres is their tread design. Typically eco tyres feature narrower tread widths with smaller tread blocks, as well longitudinal grooves that help syphon water out from under the tyre with minimal effort.
Not only are the tread patterns specialised, but the compounds that make up the tyre are also fine tuned in order to chase efficiency. Extra additives are put into the tyre compound to modify its behaviour such as silica, oils, minerals and other secret tweaks to lessen rolling resistance without sacrificing wet weather performance, safety, noise and durability.
Overall, eco tyres are a great choice for drivers who want to reduce their fuel bill. But they’re not the right choice for every driver.
Touring Tyres
Touring tyres are a subset of high performance and ultra high performance tyres and they’re designed to be an eco-friendly alternative to the not-quite-a-race-tyre that comes factory fitted to sporty and high end vehicles.
Touring tyres are designed to provide a comfortable and durable ride for vehicles that see long distance travel and daily commuting. They typically feature the same taller sidewalls, narrower tread and tread compound additives that are found on eco tyres, but are offered in more sizes that are suitable for a larger range of fitments, including for luxury and performance vehicles.
While UHP tyres are designed for maximum grip, sharper handling response and wet weather performance, touring tyres tend to have more of a focus on providing a smoother and more comfortable drive. Touring tyres also typically last much longer than UHP tyres.
When to upgrade your tyres
There are several key factors you should consider when it comes time to replace your tyres and whether it’s worth changing to a different segment tyre:
Tread Wear
If you’re the sort of driver who frequently takes longer trips, either for work or leisure, it’s worth considering an eco or touring tyre. On long drives, droning road noise is a contributing factor to fatigue and tyres designed for touring aren’t only designed to soak up the kms, they’re designed to do it quietly.
Driving Conditions
Depending on whether you live in a dry or wet climate and the terrain you frequently travel on, the ideal tyre for you might not be the same as what the factory equipped your vehicle with. For example, if you frequently take your vehicle on curved, windy backroads for some spirited driving, you might opt for a more performance oriented tyre.
Vehicle Modifications
The standard tyre for your vehicle was chosen based on an unmodified example, and the more you modify your vehicle, the further you shift away from what the manufacturer intended. This is the same, whether you drive a lowered sports car, or a lifted 4WD. Chances are that you’re using your vehicle outside the envelope that your manufacturer originally intended and your needs could be served better by a different style of tyre.
Tyrepower. Your Local Experts
Regardless of what you drive, where you drive it, or how you drive it, the friendly team at your local Tyrepower can help.
With the power of Australia's largest independent tyre retail group, Tyrepower has the biggest range of tyres backed up by expert sales advice and experienced staff who can get you paired up with the right tyre for you.
