Tire Ratings
When the rubber meets the road, tread life is one of the most important things to consider while shopping for tires.
View our ratings and reviews and browse our buying guide to find the best tires.
Tire Types
All-season tires come in sizes to fit everything from small cars to light-duty SUVs and pickups (and they come standard on many sedans and minivans). They are the most popular type of tire and are designed to handle most conditions, including dry and wet pavement and light to moderate snow.
All-season ultra-high-performance tires are commonly fitted to upscale sedans or sporty vehicles. These tires deliver high levels of dry and wet grip and handling but give up some light-duty winter traction.
Summer UHP tires are not intended for cold weather and won't grip in snowy or icy conditions. And like all-season ultra-high-performance tires these tires deliver the ultimate dry and wet grip and handling.
These tires are commonly used on SUVs and light-duty pickups. They are designed to handle most conditions, including dry and wet pavement and light to moderate snow, well.
All-terrain models differ from all-season tires in that they have a more aggressive tread pattern intended for use on-road and in moderate off-road conditions.
All-season SUV tires are specifically designed for modern SUVs, splitting the difference between car and truck tires. They are tuned for the performance, light-duty towing, and off-roading capabilities of those vehicles.
Winter tires have a tread with more biting edges for better grip on snow and ice than all season tires, and many have a softer rubber compound that remains flexible in extremely cold temperatures.
Truck winter/snow tires are specifically designed for pickups and SUVs. Like car winter/snow tires, always use truck winter/snow tires in a set of four for optimum grip to go, stop, and corner. But on cleared roads they might not grip as well as all-season tires, and they tend to wear more quickly.
Performance winter tires have higher levels of snow and ice grip and keep some of the handling and cornering capabilities of the performance tires they replace, but they're not always as good as all-season tires on dry and wet pavement and tend to wear out faster.
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