Sports Tyres

If you want to enhance your vehicle’s performance, sports tyres are some of the most popular ways to do so. These differ from traditional products by focusing on the sporting properties of your vehicle and they are popular with many motorists as a result.

What Are Sports Tyres?

Unlike summer and winter tyres, which are designed to handle a variety of conditions in a general setting, sports tyres are often designed to enhance the performance of the vehicle. This is why they may often be referred to as performance tyres. They focus on offering a low rolling resistance and greater control.

How Do Sports Tyres Perform?

A key aspect of sports tyres is the unique tread patterns used. Typically, sports tyres use an asymmetric tyre tread. This enables tyre designers to designate the outside areas for strong grip, with thick tread blocks, while the inside segments offer enhanced grip for turning and manoeuvrability.

As far as top speeds go, it is not uncommon to find sports products with speed index ratings far above typical summer and winter alternatives. These tyres are designed to handle under the pressure of immense speed. In fact, many premium sports products have an index rating of Y, which covers speeds of up to 186 miles per hour.

These products also typically feature a number of sipes and grooves, to support wet surfaces. However, they also often have a low profile and some specific models may be very smooth or slick in areas, which helps acceleration, rather than control.

What Weather Conditions Are Best For Sports Tyres?

Sports tyres typically work best in warm environments. They can often handle light amounts of water, with no fear of aquaplaning, but they are not designed for off-road environments and other rough surfaces.

Generally speaking, sports tyres are not designed for colder, winter environments. This is because the treads often aren’t designed with the grip required to handle icy conditions, in addition to the fact that sports tyres are also produced with competitive environments in mind, where a lot of heat is generated. As a result, the compound used in these tyres operates best in warmer environments, whereas winter tyres use a specialised compound for colder temperatures.

When Are Sports Tyres Used?

There are a number of situations where sports tyres can be used. As their namesake implies, they are highly used in racing environments, or to enhance the performance capabilities of luxury vehicles and sports cars.

Similarly, many drivers choose to use these products for the unique aesthetic appearance they provide. Sports tyres can be used in a variety of environments, such as towns and inner-city driving, where typical weather hazards do not occur and road surfaces are well maintained.

Consequently, they should not be used in winter conditions. While many sports products still ensure reasonable braking times, they are not as purpose-designed to cope in difficult situations when compared to dedicated seasonal tyres.

As earlier noted, many of these tyres feature exceptionally high speed index ratings. This is often traded off with an average or low load index. These tyres are designed for small, sporty cars, rather than heavy vehicles such as vans.