QuestionQUESTION: I'm thinking it may be impossible to be a cross between a highway and an all-terrain tire. Is that the case? I'm looking at tires that claim that four wide circumferential grooves improve wet traction; would that work? And would the same wide four circumferential grooves mean I'd have less rubber on the dry road, thus less control?
ANSWER: Kathleen,
"I'm thinking it may be impossible to be a cross between a highway and an all-terrain tire. Is that the case?"
No, this is a matter of degree and there isn't anything preventing a less agressive All Terrain or a more agresssive highway.
"I'm looking at tires that claim that four wide circumferential grooves improve wet traction; would that work?"
Perhaps.
"And would the same wide four circumferential grooves mean I'd have less rubber on the dry road, thus less control?"
No, this is also a matter of degree.
But traction is not just a metter of amount but also of the rubber compound itself.
There are a lot of ways to cook a turkey.
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: What rubber compounds should I be looking for to have adequate traction? Especially cornering in the rain ?
Thank you for your time.
AnswerKathleen,
Tire manufacturers are not going to reveal the particulars about their rubber compounds. They might say vague things like "silica" or "synthetic rubber" or some other non-specific term, but this is not going to help you sort this out. In fact, there is very little that is going to be specific enough to get you past the marketing hype, and into solid, data driven information.
Your best bet is to look for reviews or tests - and even then this may be highly subjective. Just be aware that every product is going to receive a wide range of opinions, so don't just track how many bad opinions you hear about. Those just might be a quirk of how those opinions are solicited.
