Not sure which tires you should be using on your vehicle? We’ve all been there. Unfortunately, tires aren’t one-size-fits-all, and your choice of replacement tires depends on a variety of factors like your vehicle type, driving habits, climate, and personal preferences.
Let's dive into a few of the different types of tires you may have heard of and what differentiates them from one another. Hopefully by the end of this blog post, you’ll be ready to choose your new tires from one of these categories!
Minivans, Sedans, CUVs, and other vehicles that are designed to hold passengers and cargo are called touring vehicles. In fact, it’s likely that most of the readers of this post have a vehicle that falls into this category!
Touring vehicles come equipped with touring tires. A standard touring tire is built for three key benefits:
A long tread life
Balanced handling and traction in both wet and dry conditions
A quiet, comfortable, and smooth ride
The design of a touring tire plays into these three goals. They have a relatively wide tread, allowing for maximum grip on the road. Many popular models of touring tires are all-season tires (branded with an M+S on the sidewall), promising excellent traction on wet and dry roads, and even in light snow. These tires are built for comfort, not speed. Touring tires are great for drivers who put in a lot of miles in their day-to-day life: whether driving to work daily, running back and forth with errands, or making yearly road trips with the whole family.
If this sounds like you, you should choose a touring tire. Need a good option? Check out the Hankook Kinergy ST.
A grand touring tire has all the handling and traction benefits of a standard touring tire but is made for higher-power vehicles. Grand touring tires have higher speed capabilities, improved grip and traction capabilities, and come in larger sizes than standard touring tires.
If you have a vehicle with “sporty” features, but you still value fuel economy, quietness, and all-season performance, grand touring tires are a good choice. These are a good choice if you’re leaning more towards performance over comfort. You may opt for these tires if you drive a CUV, luxury vehicle, or sport sedan—you’ll get the tread life and quiet handling of a touring tire while having a little fun!
Need a good option? Check out the Firestone WeatherGrip.
If you drive a sports car and you prioritize getting the most out of your car’s capabilities and your driving experience, you’re most likely in the market for performance tires. However, when using performance tires you make sacrifices in fuel economy, tread life, and comfort.
Run-flat tires are tires that can support your vehicle’s weight with little to no air pressure in them (not indefinitely, however). In regular tires, the air pressure is what aids in the support of your vehicle’s weight; run-flat tires themselves are made to carry that weight. The benefit of having run-flat tires is that you’ll be able to make your way to a repair shop in the event that they suffer a puncture.
You should be aware of both the pros and cons of run-flat tires. Since they are made to support your vehicle’s weight, their sidewalls are reinforced with Polyimide and glass fibers—making them stiff, and your ride less comfortable. You may see decreased handling from run-flat tires. Once damaged, many run-flat tires should not be repaired, according to most tire manufacturers (hence the “Do Not Repair” printed on the sidewall). Worse, you’ll also find yourself paying more to replace them: they could cost around $100 more per tire than if you were purchasing a conventional tire.
Some performance vehicles like BMW and Mercedes-Benz come equipped with run-flat tires. If you own a vehicle with run-flat tires and want to replace them with more of the same, do your research and make an informed decision.
Looking to take your vehicle off the beaten path? Take on anything from the freeway to rocky paths and muddy trails with the right set of tires! Large tread blocks, aggressive tread pattern, and siping are a few characteristics you’ll want to look for in the tires’ design. In this regard, all-terrain (A/T) tires are designed generally for flexibility in a variety of terrains (as the name implies), while mud tires are designed specifically for off-roading. All-terrain tires will give you a smoother, quieter ride with their smaller tread and thinner walls; mudding tires will give you a louder ride, but more precise control in rocky, wet, and muddy conditions.
When choosing these tires, consider where you’ll spend more time. If you’re hitting the trails more often than not, choose mud-terrain (M/T) tires. If you’re spending the majority of your time on the road, choose all-terrain. For light trucks, crossovers, and SUVs doing mainly highway driving, choose a tire marked H/T on the sidewall. “H/T” on a tire means “highway-terrain.” Highway-terrain tires make for a more comfortable ride, longer tread life, better fuel economy, and better hauling performance on the highway.
When choosing the best tires for off-roading, don’t go by looks alone—tire professionals can help you make your decision!
What about the tires you may only use for a few months out of the year? We’ve got you covered!
lf you live in a place where the temperature consistently drops below 45ºF for 3-4 months out of the year, you should strongly consider a set of winter tires. Winter tires are commonly referred to as “snow tires,” so many drivers think they can get away without them because they don’t drive through that much snow. In reality, their proper name, “winter tires,” better describes when you need them: if you experience cold winters (like here in the Midwest!) these tires are right for you. Unlike a standard summer tire, they won’t stiffen up with cold temperatures: they stay flexible and are able to tightly grip the road in temperatures as cold as -45ºF.
Learn more about winter tires
All-weather tires are the closest you can get to a “one-tire-fits-all” for your vehicle. From dry pavement to rain, snow, and ice, all-weather tires stay flexible in a wide range of temperatures and conditions. Their tread composition is different from all-season, winter, and regular tires, allowing all-weather tires to do the job of all three. If you live in a region where there are hot summers, rainy springs, and cold, snowy winters (hello, Midwest!) these tires are an excellent choice for year-round use.
If you do a lot of highway driving in Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana, you have to deal with rainy springs, dry summers, and snowy winters. Many local drivers opt for an all-weather tire for their highway driving. These tires will give you fuel efficiency for all your highway miles and the ability to take on all seasons.
Learn more about all-weather tires and our favorite all-weather models.
As spring and summer come around in Michigan, we’re ready to get back to camping, boating, and other fun on Lake Michigan. But don’t leave for your destination without a careful assessment of your trailer tires! Choosing trailer tires can be a complicated process if you’re just used to the tires on your personal vehicle. You will need tires that are made to carry the weight of what you’re hauling.
Tires marked “ST” or “Special Trailer,” on the sidewall are specially made for trailers (as you can probably guess) with thick sidewalls to support the load. ST Tires are classified by their load range and speed rating. Your choice of tire will depend on what you’re hauling.
Whether hauling a boat, jet skis, or a camper, it’s critical that your tires can support their weight and are not overloaded or under-inflated. Ready to hit the road? Check the safety of your trailer tires first at a Wonderland Tire location.
Similarly, motorhome and RV tires have their own classifications: Class A, B, or C. Since every RV is different, you will have to look at your owner’s manual to determine what tire to choose based on the vehicle’s size, weight, Gross Vehicle Weight Rating, speed ratings, and more.
Find the size you need and get motorhome tire recommendations.
So, what type of tires do I need? First, consider your vehicle type. Then, consider your priorities behind the wheel: are you more about comfort, or a tire that’s built for higher speeds? Are you more concerned with fuel economy? Are you using these tires every day? What types of driving do you do: highway, off-road, or residential roads? Answering these questions can help inform your choice.
Need professional, in-person advice? Visit us today!
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