Popular Tire Types

When you walk into a Fox Lake tire shop you may notice that you have many options when choosing your tires. Even within the major categories of tires there are more sub-categories to sort through. So even though you may know what driving situation you find yourself driving in most, you may still have trouble choosing a tire. Here is a quick breakdown of the different kinds of tires so you know what to look for at your Fox Lake tire shop.

All Season Tires (Passenger) – All season tires are exactly what they sound like. They are made to be used all year round. They are build to be a balance between grip, performance, longevity, noise reduction, and wet weather safety. The rubber these tires are made of is harder than other tires in order to increase it tread life. These tires are often the original tires on new cars because how mutli-use they are.

There are a few varying performance levels for these tires. Ultra high takes away some traction for higher speed performance. High performance tires are great for sedans and sports coupes. And grand touring tires are good for longer riding.

Touring Tires (Passenger) – Touring tires are a combination of all season tires and performance tires. These tires can be used on most cars and minivans. While the look like performance tires, they have the handling, tread life, and smooth ride of all seasons.

The main difference found within the touring tires category are the varying stability and traction as well as the look of the tires. When shopping at a Woodstock tire store, just keep in mind your driving situation to help you choose a touring tire.

Performance Tires (Passenger) – These tires are designed for speed demons. The rubber of these tires is softer to increase traction and handling when speeding around corners. These tires also have wider treads than all season tires so they make better contact with the road.

Ultra High Performance Tires (Passenger) – These tires are rather self-explanatory. They have the best high speed traction and control of any tire. They also have a high speed rating of 150mph. They are made of a very soft rubber for the best grip on the road, though they give up traction for this grip.

Original Equipment Tires – These tires are the ones found on new cars. Car manufactures work with tire makers to produce the best possible tire for the car so when the new owners take it off the lot the ride is smooth. They also request the tire makers to put more markings on the tires to help the new owners buy new tires when the time comes. You wont find these at your Woodstock tire store.

Snow Tires – These tires are specially made for cold weather and snowy conditions. They are made of soft rubber so that they can grip the icy ground and they also heat up to melt the snow under it. They are made with more sipes than traditional tires so that they can move the snow out from under them so they can reach the road.

These are not tires you want to use year round. When the snow melts, make sure your switch your tires back to other tires meant for dry roads.

All Terrain Tires (Light Truck) – Many light trucks and SUVs use all terrain tires. They are made with stiff side walls in order to prevent punctures. They also have large block treads to give them a lot of traction on mud, sand, and dirt.

Mud Terrain Tires (Light Truck) – These tires are specially made for off roading. They have even larger block treads for driving through mud, dirt, and sand and they are also wider which prevents the tires from sinking into the terrain.