Do Tire Patterns Affect a Car's Physical Performance?

Tire patterns will affect your car's physical performance.

The pattern of the tread on your tires is intended to assist the physical performance of your vehicle. Some treads are made for performance -- or hard and fast driving -- while others are made for rain, snow or long-term durability at the sacrifice of handling.

Performance Tires

Choose performance tires for fast driving. These tires offer repetitive patterns that put more rubber in contact with the road so the car can perform at high speeds and around tight corners. Performance tires often offer flashy patterns that look like feathers floating in the wind.

Rain and Snow Tires

Consider wet weather or snow tires if you frequently encounter inclement weather. Rain or aqua tires will have symmetrical road-gripping patterns on the outsides of the tire, meaning a lot of rubber comes in contact with the pavement, and may have one or two deep groves in the middle of the tire to expel water. Snow tires will have chunkier tread patterns and may include metal studs that grip the snow and ice.

All-Weather Tires

Purchase all-weather tires if you want them to last a long time and don't want to have to change them each season. These tires feature repetitive and symmetrical treads with usually more than two grooved lines in them to accommodate rain and snow, but still perform adequately on a dry day. All-weather tire treads sacrifice the speed and handling of performance tires, but have tread that can handle all types of surfaces.

References

• Car Bibles: Tyre Bible
• Tire Rack: Tire Tread Patterns