Many people ask “How can I improve my handling without breaking the bank?”. There are many ways to improve your handling and if you are a car enthuisat who enjoys taking those turns hard, fear not this will be a quick guide as to how you can take your favorite turns with your foot off the brake. I will break this segment into two parts making a little easier to follow along.
A modification that you can purchase to significantly improve your handling will be changing out old rubber. Tires are such a vital part of our cars yet there are some people that do not see their value and purchase the cheapest tire their can find. They don’t make a cool sound or deliver power, but tires are where the power hits the road. Choosing the right tires for you requires endless amount of time of research to pick the correct tire that you looking for to suit your purposes. Using tire websites like tirerack will help with your search to finding the correct tire you wish to match your needs. For example if you live in a place that has snow in the Fall and Winter time you might want to get All Season tires, but if you live in a place that is constantly dry, like sunny California, then Summer tires are the way to go.
There are typically 4 factors that must be considered while selecting your tires:
- Handling
For you performance junkies out there, this might actually be the only factor you care about. Determining how a tire will grip the road under dry conditions is actually fairly straight forward. You want a soft tire with as much of the rubber contacting the pavement as possible. This will decrease performance in wet conditions, but who cares right? Summer tires are what you want. - Location/Weather
For many of us this can’t be ignored. If you live in a place that gets pretty rough winters or lots of rain, and you’ve only got your one car to get you around town, then you will need some tires that can handle multiple conditions. A set of all season tires will fit the bill in this area. They won’t perform as highly in dry weather as summer tires, but at least you won’t find yourself wrapped around a tree during the winter. As expected, all season tires suffer from “Jack of all trades, master of none” syndrome. They perform fairly well in all conditions, but not exceptional in any. - Tread Life/Durability
Since this article is headed “Cheap Modding” I can’t ignore the price of replacing tires. If you pick a tire composed of a very soft compound, you’ll notice improved performance, but you will also be going through tires at a much faster rate. Needless to say, this can get expensive. Fear not, as tires have a tread wear rating that will give you some insight as to how long they’ll last. - Road Noise
In terms of tire decision making factors, this is the red-headed stepchild. Believe it or not, all of that noise in the cabin of your car is not just the wind hitting the car or the Civic driver next to you with a 5 inch diameter exhaust tip. Much of the noise you hear is your tires hitting the pavement, and this can vary greatly. Some people are more sensitive to this than others, therefore it should not be ignored.
Recommendations
For the price it’s tough to beat the Falken 452. It’s a tire that has passed the test of time. For under 100 bucks a piece, the Falkens continue to deliver excellent value. For more details head on over to my Falken 452 review. Warren reviewed the Yokohama Advan Neova AD08s which are by no means a cheap alternative with a price of 2-3 times that of the 452s depending on where you buy them. However, if you want to get maximum grip without throwing on some race tires, these Yoks will get all that torque down to the ground without so much as a chirp. Below is a list of our tire reviews to date. Happy hunting.
Falken FK-452 Review
Yokohama Advan Neova AD08 Review
Sumitomo HTR Z III Performance Tires Review
