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The Vredestein Sprint+ is a summer touring tire with a simple tread pattern designed to look right on classic cars. I put a lot of miles on a set with my ’92 240SX, in town and on mountain roads, in a few different types of weather, to get a good sense of what they’re all about.
This tire review is focused on real-world driving impressions, feel, and feedback—vibes over VBOX numbers.
The Sprint+ is not a mass-appeal tire, but it has a wide range of applications within its niche. If you have an older (like, pre-2000) car that you want to preserve the classic looks of, while also hitting a nice balance of ride quality and performance, this is an appealing option. As of this writing, the Sprint+ only comes in five sizes, with fitments for 15- and 17-inch wheels. See full specs and sizes on Tire Rack.
| Vredestien Sprint+ | Driven |
|---|---|
| Test Car | 1992 Nissan 240SX (minor mods) |
| Tire Size | 195/60R15 (square) |
| Tire Weight | 17 lbs |
| UTQG | 300TW, Traction A, Temperature A |
| Suspension & Geometry | Stock suspension and alignment |
| How We’re Driving | City traffic, spirited canyon runs, out-of-town road trips |
| Where We’re Driving | Southern California |
| The Highs | Superb balance of handling and comfort |
| The Lows | Pricey, lean size options |
| Where To Buy | Check Price on TireRack.com |
Vredestien Sprint+: Explained
Old-school looks, modern ride quality, solid traction for spirited driving—that’s what these tires are about. As introduced by the company’s comms lead, Patrick Meeley: “The Sprint+ is a very niche line within the Vredestein product portfolio, aimed at enthusiasts looking for a spirited summer touring tire, while maintaining the OE sizing and looks of the vehicle. The tire has modern compound elements, but maintains the tread pattern and sidewall aesthetics of the vehicles produced in the ’70s and ’80s.” He also called out the tire’s “solid center rib, providing ultimate grip without void, during braking and acceleration. The shoulder elements of the Sprint+ provide exceptional control, during hard cornering.”
So yeah, the Vredestein Sprint+ is the brand’s grand touring summer tire, aimed primarily at classic and older enthusiast cars that still run original-size wheels. With a 300 treadwear rating, it’s a performance-oriented rubber designed to deliver improved grip and handling while maintaining period-correct sizing and appearance.
If you own a classic and want an OE-style replacement tire that delivers noticeably better grip and sharper handling without sacrificing originality, the Sprint+ is worth a look.
Vredestien Sprint+: Review
The Brand
Vredestein’s a century-old Dutch brand; not a household name in the US, but it has a good track record for premium European design and engineering. Vredestein officially launched in North America in 2020 and has been working to establish itself as a high-quality tire brand with a broad portfolio of offerings with a lot of performance-oriented options.
We asked Mr. Meeley how the brand differentiates itself in the market, and he articulated it like this: “Many large global brands have a long heritage in auto racing, using racing circuits to elevate their brand and product performance position. Partly because of our long history and working with some of the most sought-after OE makes globally, Vredestein proudly represents fitments on the most desired vehicles in the world; past and present.”
Vredestein’s been working hard to raise awareness in the last few years; you might have noticed various automotive influencers trying them out (now it’s our turn!)
The Price
As of this writing, the Vredestein Sprint+ on my 240 (195/60R15) lists at $194.36 per tire ($777.44 for a set) on TireRack. That’s very expensive for tires this small—Vredestien offers its HiTrac all-season for under $500 a set. But as far as performance-oriented options in this size, your options are limited—the only real alternatives are the Goodyear Eagle RS-A (much cheaper, just $112.52 per tire, but can be hard to find, and it’s not a dedicated summer tire). The BF Goodrich’s Radial T/A, which isn’t even readily available in this 195 width anymore, but ones that are close are comparably priced to the Vreds.
So all this to say, the Vredestien Sprint+ is spendy, but not outrageously priced for what it is. It’s just that most tires this small aren’t made for sporty driving, and it’s pretty much the only summer-optimized tire designed to look right on old cars.
The Curb Appeal
At first glance, the Sprint+ looks sporty enough to excite any enthusiast. Mounted on stock wheels, I wasn’t expecting much, but compared to my previous all-seasons, the Sprint+ immediately looked better. The slightly sharper sidewall and streamline tread pattern gave the car a subtle visual upgrade. Even to the touch, it felt like a refined product overall.
I will note that the 195 width didn’t fill out the stock-height wheel gap as well as my previous 205s—though 205s aren’t available in the Sprint+—but it wasn’t a major concern.
The First 100 Miles
My first real impression of these tires came during a two-hour highway trip out of town. Right away, they felt smooth, but what stood out most was the lack of road noise. The stock speakers in my ’90s Nissan are pretty rough, so a tire that keeps cabin noise to a minimum is a big plus.
Dropping from a 205 to a 195 brought both a pro and a con. On one hand, the car sat slightly higher in the revs at cruising speed; on the other, it accelerated noticeably quicker.
The Casual Drive
Around town, the car felt like it was on regular all-season tires—in a good way. The tires do their job without you thinking about it. No annoying noises, no discomfort or oddness in low-speed maneuvering.
The Canyon Carve
With its traits like a sturdy shoulder and softer-than-average compound, I approached my backroads test with confidence. Even with less width than my previous setup, the Sprint+ raised the car’s performance ceiling. Every hairpin was confirmation that these tires offer more grip than I’d realistically need on a stock-suspension car of this class. Steering response was precise, with exceptional bite where other tires I’ve used would have shown noticeable sidewall flex. Braking performance was equally impressive, giving me full confidence that the car could stop as effectively as it could turn. Quicker acceleration from the slightly shorter tire height was also a bonus, and by the time I got home, I realized I had lost a rear passenger hubcap. It was small casualty and proof that my 240SX’s fun factor had just gone up.
The Foul-Weather Fling
Even sunny San Diego gets its winter rain. Driving around town during a day of moderate rainfall felt safe, with no signs of traction loss under normal conditions. The tires feature four deep channels between five wide ribs and plenty of grooves to aid water evacuation. Safe to say, wet performance never felt sketchy on these tires.
The Highway Drone Factor
As previously mentioned, this is what truly surprised me. I immediately think of a 300TW or any performance-oriented tire and assume road noise will be worse in turn. I’m happy to report the Sprint+ is well-mannered with no annoying hum. In fact, there is no noticeable difference compared to the previous ride-quality focused all-seasons with a slightly wider (205) contact patch.
The Passenger Review
Other than my girlfriend asking about the missing hub cab, I got no comments about the difference between the Vredesteins and my last setup. (I don’t know what to tell you guys, my editor Andrew asked me to include this.)
The Service Life
You’re going to see a lot of variability in the lifespan of sporty tires depending on what car they’re on and who’s driving. But based on the Uniform Tire Quality Grading (UTQG) rating of 300 A A, we’re expecting a good 20,000 to 30,000 miles out of these on our S13.
The usual rule-of-thumb tire math (multiply treadwear by 100, in this case 300 x 100 = 30,000), gives us a theoretical life of 30,000 miles, but since this is a performance-leaning touring tire, with a softer compound, and I do enjoy the occasional slide, that number will decrease a bit.
The Verdict
At $193 per tire, the Sprint+ isn’t cheap. But this class of tire is aimed at enthusiasts like myself, and we pay for both form and function. This tire makes a lot of sense for my OEM-ish 240SX because it’s available in the correct size and, with its softer 300TW compound, offered a clear upgrade over the 620TW all-season tires previously on the car.
In fact, the Vredestein Sprint+ line nearly stands in a league of its own. As the trend toward thinner tires persists, it’s becoming harder to find OE sizes for classic stock wheels that also deliver strong performance. The Sprint+ fills that void, injecting superb handling and comfort into OE-spec sizing for older cars.
Vredestien provided the set of tires for this review.