Tire threads are pretty much like oil threads. Nothing wrong with that, but I wouldn't draw too many hard conclusions. And I think it is darn hard to do truly scientific tire testing, even if done by a major publication with significant resources. Just too many variables. I've seen too many tests where one publication rates Tire X dead last and the next rates it first. The difference could be just the type of pavement at the test facilities or the weather.
I wish we had something like Tire Rack for motorcycles where we could get thousands of motorcyclists to submit reviews and then rank from there. There is a lot of noise in this data also, but when you get a large-enough sample size, I think you can get some useful data and you notice some obvious trends. It's my primary resource in choosing car tires.
Tires do have a very different feel to different riders. This doesn't make one better than the other - just preference. Some riders like a tire that falls into a corner with little steering input, others what the more stable feel of a tire having to be pushed into a corner. For me, the thing I'm extremely sensitive to is whether a tire requires continuous bar pressure once into a corner. I'm really put off by tires that do but others may not be.
My opinion is that we have a lot of great tire choices for the S10. Despite what these tests say, I think the PR3's are a darn good street tire. For a 90-10 tire, I like the standard Tourances (not EXPs) for longevity. For a 50-50 tire, TCK80's are well proven, albeit expensive. But as long as Battlewings are available at such low prices (around $215 per pair shipped), I'll probably stick with them.
- Mark
I wish we had something like Tire Rack for motorcycles where we could get thousands of motorcyclists to submit reviews and then rank from there. There is a lot of noise in this data also, but when you get a large-enough sample size, I think you can get some useful data and you notice some obvious trends. It's my primary resource in choosing car tires.
Tires do have a very different feel to different riders. This doesn't make one better than the other - just preference. Some riders like a tire that falls into a corner with little steering input, others what the more stable feel of a tire having to be pushed into a corner. For me, the thing I'm extremely sensitive to is whether a tire requires continuous bar pressure once into a corner. I'm really put off by tires that do but others may not be.
My opinion is that we have a lot of great tire choices for the S10. Despite what these tests say, I think the PR3's are a darn good street tire. For a 90-10 tire, I like the standard Tourances (not EXPs) for longevity. For a 50-50 tire, TCK80's are well proven, albeit expensive. But as long as Battlewings are available at such low prices (around $215 per pair shipped), I'll probably stick with them.
- Mark
