Commonly, most car owners and drivers only consider seasonal tyre changes when wintertime comes, where a grippy, hardy set of rubber is the only one that’ll properly handle General Frost. However, I bet you didn’t know that summer is prime time to reconsider what sort of tyres you’re running on your car too, huh? As much as they might be drummed up as some sort of marketing gimmick, premium-grade tyres do make a difference. We’ve seen all too often what happens when you cut corners and opt to install suspiciously cheap tyres. It’s not just a matter of speed, performance, and getting the most out of your car, either.
There’s the matter of your safety and that of other motorists, taking into account your braking distance, handling, and driveability. According to German motoring publication AutoBild, when they tested 50 different summer tyres, varying tyre quality made a big difference in how they handled braking. On average, at 50mph, their testing showcases a massive disparity of up to 15 metres in wet braking, between the lowest and highest grade of summer tyres. Meanwhile, in dry-weather braking, at 62mph, the disparity was around 7 metres. More often than not, premium-grade tyres, such as the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6, came out on top.
Higher Upfront Cost = More Long-Term Savings
Of course, in today’s economy and the ever-rising cost of living, the higher upfront cost of getting these premium-grade, higher-quality summer tyres might appear significant and painful. Yet, looking at car ownership over the long term, you’re likely to actually save way more cash in return. According to AutoBild’s testing, when comparing the maximum mileage that you’ll be able to safely eke out of 20 different summer tyres, the aforementioned Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6 came out on top. It was able to safely achieve a mileage of 39,200 miles, which is more than double the mileage you’ll be able to get out of the last-place summer tyres.
Diving deeper into their analysis, AutoBild also found that Goodyear’s Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6 will cost you, in terms of how much you’ll pay for every 1,000 miles, around £12.05 per 1,000 miles. On the other hand, the summer tyre that came in last place will otherwise cost you £22.34 per 1,000 miles. That’s a whopping 50% in savings if you’re willing to bite the bullet and install pricier premium summer tyres upfront, instead. In addition to long-term cost savings, you also take advantage of the benefits you get in terms of maximising your car’s performance. And, it ensures that you get the best of your car’s ride quality and comfort, as well as improved braking performance and much-reduced braking distances.
More Than Just Saving You Money
Different tyre brands and models have unique ways of min-maxing how much performance or braking you could get out of summer tyres, but in Goodyear’s case, the Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6 features the brand’s Dry Contact Plus Technology. These help to better adapt your tyres’ based on your driving style and what your vehicle demands. As such, they ought to aid you in further improving dry-weather performance. Furthermore, Goodyear has continually evolved their Wet Braking Pro Technology, thanks in part to their experience in motorsports. This entails adding improved micro-contact between the tyre’s contact patch and the road surface, resulting in better braking performance and handling.
Comfort and ride quality are other things that most of us tend to forget when shopping for new tyres, but premium rubber tends to be comfier. With Goodyear once again, the brand’s Sound Comfort tech can help reduce tyre roar and road noise, measured from the interior, up to 4dB. This is especially fitting for deathly silent electric vehicles. Speaking of, if you’re a new-age EV owner… Good news, as it’s easier than ever to find EV-optimised tyres for your car. With the Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6, or most other premium, high-quality summer tyres, they’re made with EVs (as well as ICE vehicles) in mind, too. Given the higher torque figures and the increased weight of battery-electric vehicles, the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6 should pair well.
