LRR "Performance" tires?

They are contradictory, by definition you want higher resistance for traction. I don't like LRR tires on the street so took them off within a few thousand miles of getting my Volt, and unsurprisingly my range dropped 10% or so, but I feel the increase in traction is easily worth it. Stopping distance is improved, cornering is improved, traction is improved on acceleration (used to chirp the tires all the time starting the others were so low traction).

If you want to drive on the track, but keep LRR tire range on the street, get a cheap set of used wheels and put track tires on them, doesn't take long to swap them out before an autocross or track event. However, you have to store them which is the larger pain depending on your situation.

haha.. yeah.. I've been looking at getting a 2nd set of wheels and probably a set of these: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...sidewall=Blackwall&partnum=25WR7RZR&tab=Specs

I was just hoping to find a summertime compromise so I won't be switching wheels every weekend and/or sacrificing too much economy. I was also looking at these: Mercedes OE Eco tires: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...idewall=Blackwall&partnum=245WR7ADS&tab=Sizes

oh... and another option I've been toying with is going to the European size wheel/tire setup of 16" wheels and performance tires in that size

LRR "track" tires don't exist. If you want to track properly you should get a second set of rims and keep you track tires on them. Track tires are by definition very sticky and definitely not low rolling resistance.

Southcross said:

haha.. yeah.. I've been looking at getting a 2nd set of wheels and probably a set of these: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...sidewall=Blackwall&partnum=25WR7RZR&tab=Specs

I was just hoping to find a summertime compromise so I won't be switching wheels every weekend and/or sacrificing too much economy. I was also looking at these: Mercedes OE Eco tires: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...idewall=Blackwall&partnum=245WR7ADS&tab=Sizes

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I imagine there is some compromise there, probably not as good as factory LRR tires for economy, but probably better then a non LRR summer tire. I imagine they are also not quite as good handling as a regular summer tire.

To be fair, LRR tires attempt to reduce rolling resistance while maintaining traction (i.e. they want them to roll easily, but not slide), but there is still some compromise in my experience.

My previous summer tires were Michelin Pilot SuperSports, and my current tires are Conti ExtremeContact Sport DW 235/50 ZR17s. They are the same diameter so the speedometer/odometer is still accurate, and they are just a little wider than the rims so I won't take a chunk out of a rim on those tall sharp granite curbs...

I don't hypermile. That said there may be a very slight loss in range, but you can still do pretty darn well. I really, really enjoy not having to slow down for turns The less you have to slow down to turn, the less you'll have to speed up again, so the less energy you'll lose!

LRR tires are great and all, but I much prefer the sticky tires.

deekster_caddy said:

My previous summer tires were Michelin Pilot SuperSports, and my current tires are Conti ExtremeContact Sport DW 235/50 ZR17s. They are the same diameter so the speedometer/odometer is still accurate, and they are just a little wider than the rims so I won't take a chunk out of a rim on those tall sharp granite curbs...

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viking79 said:

I imagine there is some compromise there, probably not as good as factory LRR tires for economy, but probably better then a non LRR summer tire. I imagine they are also not quite as good handling as a regular summer tire.

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yes, exactly... I have a set of DOT slicks for autocrossing one of my cars (1984 GTI, completely gutted track car), those you can dig divits into the rubber with a fingernail. The exact polar opposite of a LRR tire... but a tire that compromises with a softer tread than LRR but still has good drivability/reasonable loss of economy. There are a lot of different tires out there: BFG Comp-2, SuperSports, etc etc... a set of tires that work great on a RWD/AWD/Light FWD car might not be so happy on a heavy FWD car... I need to find out what my buddy with a Bolt EV did about his traction issues.

Not exactly for the track, but I got 18" wheels and Yokohama Avid Ascends for my gen1 volt. The yokes were listed as LRR, but they are definitely much stickier than the OEM goodyears. It's not as good as a track tire for autocrossing, but if you are trying to kill two birds with one stone, this might be a good stone. I lost ev range, but it's hard to tell whether that came from the heavier wheels, the grippier tires, or the fact I stopped hypermiling - probably all 3.

Southcross said:

yes, exactly... I have a set of DOT slicks for autocrossing one of my cars (1984 GTI, completely gutted track car), those you can dig divits into the rubber with a fingernail. The exact polar opposite of a LRR tire... but a tire that compromises with a softer tread than LRR but still has good drivability/reasonable loss of economy. There are a lot of different tires out there: BFG Comp-2, SuperSports, etc etc... a set of tires that work great on a RWD/AWD/Light FWD car might not be so happy on a heavy FWD car... I need to find out what my buddy with a Bolt EV did about his traction issues.

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I mean, all I can say is if you like sticky tires, there's no substitute for sticky tires. If you want to hypermile, get some LRR tires. I really enjoy the grippy tires on the Volt. The tires I mentioned are just unbelievable in wet weather too (but don't ever try to use them in snow).