Treadwear rating
A number on a tire’s sidewall indicating relative wear life. Lower generally means softer and grippier; 200 or better is the usual drift front recommendation.
Treadwear is a number moulded into a tire's sidewall as part of its US tire grading. Lower numbers generally indicate a softer compound that wears faster and grips more; higher numbers a harder, longer-lasting compound.
It is a rough guide rather than a precise measurement - manufacturers self-report it and there is no cross-brand calibration - but in practice it is the fastest way to tell roughly where a tire sits.
How drift uses it
Fronts: 200 treadwear or better. Drift grip is a front-end problem. The fronts hold the line while the rears are doing nothing useful, so this is the one place the softer, grippier, more expensive tire is the right call. Published drift guidance recommends 200TW and up.
Rears: whatever is cheapest. This is where the logic inverts and surprises people. A grippier rear tire makes the car *harder* to break traction on, and costs more per set. So on the rear, a high treadwear budget tire is both cheaper and easier to learn on. Part-worns and take-offs at $25 to $60 a tire are the standard answer.
What it means for your budget
The asymmetry is the useful part. Fronts at $120 to $220 each last several times longer than rears; our consumables model charges fronts at a quarter of a tire per event against two rear tires. So you buy expensive fronts rarely and cheap rears constantly, and the recurring cost is almost entirely rears.
An angle kit accelerates front wear - excessive tire wear and tramlining are named side effects of high-lock geometry - so budget more fronts once a kit is on.
Event rules
Some events will not allow heavily worn tires through technical inspection regardless of treadwear rating. Check before you turn up with a stack of part-worns.
It is self-reported, so treat it as a band
Manufacturers assign their own treadwear numbers and there is no cross-brand calibration, so a 200 from one company is not precisely equivalent to a 200 from another. What it is reliably good for is sorting tires into rough bands - a 180 and a 400 will behave very differently, a 200 and a 220 may not.
What else to look at
Age, because rubber hardens whether or not it has been used, and the date code on the sidewall tells you. Construction, because a tire built for grip has a stiffer sidewall than a cheap touring tire of the same treadwear. And width, because an angle kit changes how much front tire the car can clear at full lock.
Questions
What treadwear should I use for drifting?
200 or better on the front, where grip matters. On the rear, the highest treadwear budget tire you can find in quantity - less rear grip is genuinely easier to learn on and costs less.
Are low treadwear tires better?
On the front, generally yes for grip. On the rear, no - a softer rear tire makes the car harder to break loose and costs more, which is the opposite of what you want while learning.