WSJ.com - Burning Rubber Gets Expensive

WSJ.com - Burning Rubber
Gets Expensive:

The new tires are shorter and wider than most standard tires, and can be considerably more expensive. Cars with fashionably giant wheels also usually require tires like these.

High-performance tires provide a quicker, crisper steering response and a more tenacious grip on dry and wet surfaces than most common tires. But not only do they cost more, they also tend to wear out faster, and perform worse in snow.

[...]

The high-performance trend is catching many car buyers off-guard, particularly after years of growing accustomed to increasingly longer-lasting tires. Part of the problem is that many people don't pay much attention to the tires when buying a vehicle, so they don't realize their new car comes with high-performance tires. Manufacturers such as Michelin and Bridgestone have a term for it: the "accidental performance customer."

When the rubber eventually wears out and needs to be replaced, it can be a double-whammy for the owner, says Eugene Petersen, an engineer at Consumer Reports' tire and automotive test center in East Haddam, Conn. "The first shock is how long it lasts. Next is cost." He says he has seen a stream of postings on the discussion boards at consumerreports.org about short-lived, high-priced tires.

This article (subscription required) is fine, as far as it goes, but Michelle Higgins should have consulted with a few retail tire dealers to learn more ugly facts about the problems posed with the introduction of low-profile high performance tires. She did not mention the vast increase in rim/wheel damage because the shorter stiffer sidewalls can no longer absorb a pothole or bump that would pass unnoticed in the past. She did not mention that the extra wide tread profiles are much more susceptible to hydroplaning, even with sophisticated new tread designs.