Tire buyer's guide
Tires are the only part of a car that touches the road, and the difference between a good set and a mediocre one is measured in car lengths of braking distance. The choice is less about brand than about category, so start there.
1. Pick the category for your climate and car
- Standard touring all-season: commuters and family sedans in mild climates. Long life, quiet, moderate grip. Longest warranties.
- Grand touring all-season: the same use with better handling and a smoother ride; the usual replacement for the tires a sedan or crossover came with.
- All-weather: an all-season that carries the severe-snow symbol. The right choice where it snows a few times a year and you won't run a second set. See 3PMSF vs M+S.
- Ultra-high-performance all-season: sports sedans and coupes that see rain and occasional cold. W and Y speed ratings, shorter life.
- Max-performance summer: the most grip, dry and wet, in temperatures above about 45°F. Not for winter; the compound hardens and stops gripping. See all-season vs all-weather vs winter.
- Highway / crossover SUV: touring tires built for the weight of SUVs and light trucks.
- All-terrain: trucks and body-on-frame SUVs that leave pavement. Louder and shorter-lived on the road; most now carry 3PMSF.
If you live where winter is real, the honest answer is a dedicated winter set on its own wheels and summer or all-season tires the rest of the year. All-weather is the best single-set compromise.
2. Read the size off your current tire
Your tire size, like 225/45R17 94V, is on the sidewall and on the sticker in the driver's door jamb. Match width, aspect ratio and rim diameter exactly, and keep the load index and speed rating at or above the original. See how to read a sidewall.
3. Two or four?
Replace all four when you can. If only two, put the new tires on the rear axle regardless of which wheels drive the car: the rear losing grip first causes a spin, the front losing grip first causes understeer you can steer out of. Never mix categories across an axle.
4. What the grades tell you
Treadwear and traction grades on the sidewall are government-mandated and comparable within a brand. Mileage warranties are the maker's own bet on life. Both are on every model page here, with our reading of them in UTQG explained and treadwear warranties explained.
5. Check the date
The DOT code on the sidewall ends in four digits: the week and year of manufacture. Tires age whether or not they are driven; refuse anything more than a couple of years old at purchase, and plan to replace tires at six to ten years regardless of tread.
The two expensive mistakes
Buying on tread depth alone: a cheap tire with a lot of tread and poor wet grip is the false economy. And buying summer tires because they're the best in a test, then driving them through a cold winter. Category first, then our rankings within it.
Prices
Category reference sizes on this site are 225/45R17 for car tires, 235/65R17 for SUV, and 265/70R17 for all-terrain. Your size will differ; what carries over is the relative pricing. Mail-in rebates of $50 to $100 a set run most of the year at the big retailers and are worth timing.