In a perfect world, we’d drive purely for personal enjoyment, all have enough money to afford the coolest manual supercars and drive on the most premium tires available. Unfortunately for 99% of us, that isn’t actually the case. Instead, we have to balance affordability and performance with practicality, reliability, fuel economy, weather conditions and all sorts of other factors.
And because of that, the “best” performance tires aren’t always going to be a good fit for your vehicle, location or lifestyle. Maybe you actually do run Blizzaks on the Miata in the winter so you can drive it year-round (with the top down, of course), but I’m also willing to bet that isn’t the case for most people. For one thing, large parts of the country don’t even get cold enough to make it worth buying dedicated winter tires, but despite the stereotypes, odds are, most of our readers drive something other than a Miata.
Plus, there are so many tire brands out there, I know for a fact not everyone here is running Michelins. They may be the default recommendation since you can’t really go wrong with a set of Michelins, but pretty much all the major brands offer great tires, and that’s before you get into budget tires that are also far better than they used to be.
Daily tires
Sadly, despite having what some might describe as “eclectic taste” in vehicles, my tires aren’t very exciting. I drive a leased 2024 Fiat 500e, and there’s no way I’ll need new tires before my lease is up. As a result, my car rides on the Goodyear summer tires that came with it. For the life of me I can’t remember the exact model, and the car is currently more than 4,000 miles away from me, but they’re fine.
I have no major complaints, but I also don’t exactly love them. Then again, Georgia isn’t exactly known for its harsh winter weather, and I don’t really drive that car particularly hard, since press cars and motorcycles exist. It’s an appliance, and the main thing I wanted from the new 500e was something just grippy enough that I wasn’t constantly spinning the fronts any time I made a turn with a slightly heavy right foot. Mission accomplished on that front.
What about you, though? What tires are you running on your daily? Did you stick with the OEM tires or swap them for something better? Do you run all-seasons, or do you swap ’em out every time spring and fall? Let us know down in the comments, especially if you have particularly strong feelings about them.
