What are the best brands of car tires to buy?

Car tires come in all-season passenger car tires, summer car tires, on-road tires for light trucks and SUVs, and off-road tires for trucks and SUVs.

Among the many moving parts that make up a car, its tires are literally the most important. The manufacturer uses an entire team of engineers and product planners to ensure that each of its vehicles leaves the factory with the most appropriate tire size, weight and tread pattern. However, when it comes time to buy a new set, you don't have the luxury of having a whole team of engineers help you make a decision.

Let's break down the various popular tires and help you make a smarter buying decision. We will compare them on several indicators, such as size, functionality, season, price and quality.

All season car tires

An all-season tire is a jack-of-all-trades, but not the best option for your car. Given the size range of the above five, most passenger all-seasons are designed for cars and light-duty crossovers. The Firestone Precision Touring is a highly rated standard tire often found on vehicles fresh from the factory. They perform well in almost every quality category: wet and dry performance, road noise, comfort and even snow grip.

The Goodyear Integrity is a little different in that its main goal is to maximize fuel economy by reducing rolling resistance. This is a great choice if you have a hybrid or travel long distances. For a sportier feel, the Kumho Ecsta Lx Platinum offers improved dry and wet performance by reducing snow grip. 34 sizes is a great tire for every BMW in your life.

Want a little more grip? Try the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 or the BFGoodrich G-Force Super Sport A/S. These high-performance all-season tires mimic summer tyres, but deliver higher performance all year round. While they may have a shorter lifespan than other offerings, both BFG and Michelin will turn any subcompact into a year-round autocrosser. G-Force is even available for a 15-inch wheel.

Summer car tires

If there is no snow where you live, or if your car is only meant for fine weather, summer tires will improve your driving performance with snow grip and durability. All of these examples are not designed to be used in all weather, and some are hardly suitable for outdoor use. The Bridgestone Turanza ER30 is the most civilized model in the group, often fitted to standard Grand Touring vehicles such as BMWs and Infiniti, and also available in premium SUV sizes.

If you're looking for maximum traction for just about any vehicle, the insanely affordable Yokohama S. Drive is a great all-rounder with strong traction on both dry and wet roads. Need something quieter with low rolling resistance? The Michelin Pilot Sport 3 is a great compromise, and manufacturers often use it for higher-level, performance-oriented trims.

However, if you just want to be competitive in autocross but drive your car up and down the track on the same set of tires, both the Toyo Proxes R1R and the BFGoodrich G-Force Rival S are good for you. The R1R is more friendly to small older cars. while the G-Force has large and wide dimensions similar to the Corvette.

Road tires for light trucks and SUVs

For the SUV and truck in your life that operate primarily on the street and highway, you'll need a strong, durable light truck tire. Available in larger sizes, they are focused on maximum weight distribution and stability, and some offerings even blur the line between truck and car performance.

The Michelin LTX M/S2 is one of the best-known off-road tires on the market, renowned for its durability and quiet operation. The Yokohama Geolander H/T G056 is similar to the Michelin but is more focused on dry performance than all season durability. What Yokohama offers is a wide selection of sizes, including inch sizes such as 30×9.5×15.

For greater road holding, perhaps as a replacement for a premium SUV tyre, the BFGoodrich Long Trail T/A Tour forgoes wet and snow performance for increased traction and dry grip. Taking this concept a step further, the General Grabber UHP mimics a street car tire, but with large and aggressive dimensions. This is by no means an off-road tire, so think carefully before installing the kit on your truck or SUV. Generals are mostly associated with understated classics or "dubs".

Tires for SUVs and SUVs

Non-competition off-road tires typically come in three different varieties: all-terrain tires that perform well on the street and in mud, mud tires that forgo winter performance in favor of superior grip on mud and rocks with high wear resistance, and radial tires for competitions. maximum off-road grip.

Both the BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2 and the Yokohama Geolander A/TS offer a reliable combination of year-round traction and unpaved traction. They are used as winter tires and are excellent for road and expedition vehicles. Where all terrains lag behind is in mud grip and sidewall strength.

To excel in the mud, you'll need more specialized mud terrain like the Mickey Thompson Baja MTZ P3 or the brand new Dick Cepek Extreme Country. Both have reinforced sidewalls for ventilated durability for off-road performance, and both clean up well when dunked in mud. Mud terrain generally performs poorly in winter and on ice, and road noise increases as mileage increases.

If you're looking for ultimate off-road performance at the expense of road noise, tread life and pavement performance, stick with the Interco Super Swampers line. The TSL Radial is heavy, thick and loud mud terrain that comes in a variety of odd and obscure sizes, including one for the 16.5-inch wheels found on military HUMVEEs.

As you can imagine, choosing the right tire for your vehicle can be tricky. The lists above are just a small selection of what is available, and tire manufacturers are announcing new examples every minute. If you still have questions about which tire is best for your ride, want to know how to maintain your tires, or just want to have your tires swapped without visiting a repair shop, be sure to check with your local AvtoTachki technician. We will come to you, wherever you are, and help you find and repair the right tire for you.