The Vredestein HiTrac is a grand touring all-season tire designed for comfort and longevity, offering a balanced performance across various conditions. In contrast, the Vredestein Hypertrac falls into the ultra-high performance all-season category, focusing on superior handling and responsiveness for a more dynamic driving experience. Let’s see which tire is better for you here.
Table of Contents
Key Takeaway
Overall, Hypertrac excels in:
- Snow traction: Enhanced by specialized siping slits.
- Dry handling: Improved with continuous central ribs.
- Cornering: Superior due to reinforced lugs and harder composition.
Detailed Review of Vredestein Hypertrac tire.
Whereas HiTrac excels in:
- Ice grip: Better with biting rubber and wave-like siping.
- Wet performance: Superior water dispersion reduces hydroplaning.
- Ride comfort: Quieter and smoother with a unique tread pattern.
- Tread life: Longer due to better wear resistance.
Info on Sizes
| Specification | Vredestein Hypertrac | Vredestein HiTrac |
|---|---|---|
| Rim Sizes | 16 to 20 inches | 15 to 20 inches |
| Speed Ratings | W and Y only | H and V only |
| Load Ratings | SL and XL | SL and XL |
| Tread Depth | 10.7/32″ on all | 10.2/32″ on all |
| Weight | 20 to 40 lbs | 15 to 37 lbs |
| UTQG | 500 AA A | 700 A A |
| Treadwear Warranty | 50k miles | 70k miles |
| Internal Structure | 2 ply polyester casing Twin steel belts Single polyamide cap ply | Similar to HyperTrac |
Dry Performance
Assessing the effectiveness of a tire’s grip and steering in dry conditions is key. So let’s examine these aspects in detail.
Directional Grip
Linear grip, referring to a tire’s traction during straightforward movement, is predominantly influenced by the tread’s central region.
The significance of the center lies in its role as the primary bearer of weight when driving in a straight line. This is why many all-season tires feature solid running ribs or denser lugs centrally, with variations towards the edges.
You can find all of these all-season tires here: https://tiredriver.com/all-season-tires/
Now, here comparatively, the Vredestein HiTrac All Season doesn’t quite hit the mark. Why? Well, this is mainly because of its narrower central rib, which limits road contact, reducing effectiveness.
Conversely, the Vredestein Hypertrac adopts a distinct design with three continuous central ribs and minimal tread features, enhancing consistent road contact and braking power.
But keep in mind, that the overall difference between these tires is subtle yet impactful, with braking tests indicating less than a half-foot variation on average when decelerating from 60 mph to a complete stop.
Overall Handling
Cornering efficiency largely comes down to the tire shoulders because they’re what really grip the road when you’re taking turns.
This effect is due to centripetal force, which is why you feel pushed outward in a turning car.
Now, the Vredestein HiTrac, with its robust shoulder lugs, offers great lateral traction.
However, the Hypertrac’s tire still takes the cake, shaving a whole second off lap times in tests.
Why’s that, you ask? Well, it boils down to how nimbly the tire responds to your steering.
Basically, the Vredestein Hypertrac All Season has a shallower tread depth, a harder rubber composition, and all its lugs are reinforced by an even stiffer secondary rubber layer. These features stop the lugs from getting too wobbly.
When lugs bend, they take their sweet time snapping back to shape. That delay can slow down your handling speed.
Plus, this tire provides better “on-center feel” and braking, which means it can enter and exit corners quicker, further improving its lap times in handling tests.
For Your Info: “On-center” is all about how quickly the tire gets its act together after a turn. A top-notch one bounces back fast for a silky-smooth exit. A not-so-great one might leave you dealing with some pesky wheel slip as you hit the gas to accelerate out of the turn.
Wet Performance
In the world of wet road performance, it’s all about the grooves and sipes in the tread pattern because they’re the key to how well a tire can clear water.
Grooves handle the majority of water here. Think of them as water highways, channeling the wet stuff away from the tire.
Sipes, those tiny cuts in the tread, are like the cleanup crew. They mop up whatever water the grooves left behind, helping the tire maintain its grip on the road.
Considering these elements, it’s no wonder the Vredestein HiTrac excels in wet conditions, outperforming many other grand touring tires. Its exceptional grip and stability are noteworthy, providing clear feedback on available traction.
But what makes it so effective? It’s largely thanks to the clever siping design, predominately.
I mean, the HiTrac’s sipes are engineered at varying angles, ensuring grip from every direction. And its circumferential grooves are interconnected in a way that excels at dispersing water.
So these grooves, being super efficient at water expulsion, not only enhance the tire’s hydroplaning resistance but also boost its overall wet grip. Why? Well because the more water they remove, the less there is for the sipes to deal with.
On the flip side, the Vredestein Hypertrac All Season, while offering decent grip and matching the HiTrac in wet braking, falls a bit short in steering responsiveness.
It tends to understeer, primarily because of its more closed, longitudinally aligned ribs that don’t allow water to flow out laterally as effectively.
Though keep in mind, the overall difference in their wet performance is not a lot. And one can easily outperform another, considering these factors.
Tread Longevity
When it comes to judging tread life, you’ve really got to look at two things:
First off, how quickly the tire’s rubber wears down or how prone it is to wearing out fast. And second, how long it’ll be before the tire wears down to 2/32″.
Why 2/32″? Well, because that’s the point where it’s legally time for a change in the U.S. (Quick tip: you can check your tread with a penny, to see how far your tires are off 2/32″ tread depth).
Now, if we’re talking about the Vredestein HiTrac, you’re looking at pretty solid tread life, better than many others out there, including HyperTrac.
This makes sense, because the HyperTrac, being an ultra-high performance all-season tire, creates more rolling friction. I mean, even though it starts with a bit more tread depth across all sizes, it still wears down to 2/32″ quicker.
Plus, it’s a heavier tire, which doesn’t do it any favors here as well. So overall perforamance is better on HiTrac, which is not a surprise, as its a grand touring tires. Learn more about different all-season tires here.
Winter Performance
When we’re talking about checking out an all-season tire’s chops for the winter season, we’re really digging into three key things:
- How quickly does the tire get going?
- How’s the handling and steering feel?
- And how does it do across different types of cold-weather terrain, especially when we’re talking about soft snow and ice?
So, diving into these aspects, here’s the scoop: the Vredestein HiTrac is pretty much your go-to for icy spots. But when it comes to snow, the Vredestein Hypertrac is the one that really stands out.
But what makes the Hypertrac better in snow?
Well, it’s got these beefy siping slits specifically designed to grab onto snow particles.
Combine those with its side notches pointing sideways, and you’ve got yourself a tire that’s really good at making snow stick to snow (which is actually a big deal for traction).
Now, flipping over to the HiTrac, this tire is a better overall fit for colder icy tracks. It’s got this rubber that bites down hard, especially when you’re trying to stop or get moving on slick ice.
And its central rib of the tread, features wave-like siping that really grips the surface, particularly, providing more effective braking performance.
Plus, it’s packed with a bunch of different sipes that lock in and grab the ice better, relatively, giving you that extra confidence.
But hey, quick side note here: Neither of these tires really impress you, you know. I mean, for instance, they’re missing those 3-peak mountain snowflake ratings. So, if you’re more serious about tackling the cold, maybe swing by the site’s homepage and scope out my main all-season tires page.
Overall Ride Comfort
The comfort level while driving is affected by two main factors: the noise generated from the tire tread and the tire’s ability to cushion road defects. Let’s explore these crucial elements.
Noise Comfort
The design of a tire’s tread is a big deal when it comes to the road noise.
Now, for the main part, this noise comes from air smacking into the tire’s surface.
Here’s what happens: air slips into the tread through gaps at the edges, and when it hits, it makes noise that bounces around inside the tread grooves. That’s what we call in-groove resonance (in the tire world).
Now, when it comes to keeping things quiet, the Vredestein HiTrac, is a better fit here.
Its tread pattern is better engineered for it, designed to mix up the sounds it makes. Meaning, when air hits different parts of its tread, it makes different sounds. These sounds can actually cancel each other out, reducing the echo inside those grooves.
HyperTrac on the other hand, generates a lot more in-groove resonance (as they call it), so it shows up with greater decibel readings in comparison.
But let’s be clear, both tires are pretty solid in their own right, topping their categories for grand touring and ultra-high-performance all-season tires.
So, we’re talking about small differences here, but hey, every bit counts when you’re after a quiet ride!
Road Smoothness
Ride comfort is hugely influenced by how well a tire can soak up those annoying bumps and jitters from the road, and that’s all down to what the tire’s made of and its tread design.
In my own tests and from what I’ve personally felt, both Vredestein boys scored pretty evenly on this front.
To break it down, the Vredestein HyperTrac basically offers better stability, or I should say, controllability over bumps settling, while the HiTrac offers slightly better cushioning, smoothing out those rough patches between the car and the road.
Other than that, it’s tricky to declare a clear winner.
I mean, tires are complex creatures, and in this case, you’re not going to find one that’s outright better. But yes, it really comes down to what you value more in your ride, stability or cushioning.
Wrapping Up
When sizing up both Vredestein tires here, there’s a lot to consider.
For dry performance, HiTrac’s robust shoulder lugs offer great lateral traction, but its counterpart’s design and stiffer rubber composition give it an edge in stability and handling, especially in cornering.
In wet conditions, HiTrac’s innovative siping and grooves provide superior water clearance and grip, while HyperTrac tends to understeer due to its closed ribs.
In winter scenarios, HyperTrac stands out in snow with its specialized siping slits, while its grand touring competitor is a better pick for ice.
Other than this, the HiTrac offers superior tread life, fuel economy, and overall comfort.
