A guide to the variety of tires on the market with tips on how to shop for your next set.
Today's trucks and SUVs perform tasks ranging from die-hard work tool to family hauler to boulevard statement to weekend-warrior off-road toy. Whatever hat your truck or SUV wears, it must have proper tires for an effective machine. You wouldn't run a marathon in work boots, nor would you show up at a black-tie opera in white sneakers, so why expect your rig to do so? Vehicle manufacturers are now producing trucks that can gobble up some Ferraris from the '80s, tow a house from its foundation and keep on going, ascend a 90-percent off-road grade and turn around to come back down, and much more. However, as capable as all these vehicles are, no one truck can do it all. As such, no one tire is right for all trucks.
Whatever you drive, you'll get an idea of the variety of tires on the market from this buyer's guide, as well as tips on how to shop for your next set of tires.
Alphabet Soup
Keeping all the numbers and letters straight on a sidewall can be next to impossible. But all that alpha-numeric soup is hard to live without; it's the tire's genetic code--it tells you the size, tolerances, and basic need-to-knows about the tire.
So what's the difference between a 205/55R1688 V XGT V and a 225/45ZR17 90W? Tire junkies will point out that one is a Michelin and the other is a Pirelli and that they're performance-rated tires. Who made them isn't important for this exercise, but the knowledge that they're performance-rated is. How can you tell? The alpha-numeric code breaks down like this:
205 = width of the tire in millimeters
55 = aspect ratio or sidewall height (percentage of tire width)
R = radial construction
16 = wheel diameter in inches the tire fits
88 = numerical code associate with the maximum load the tire can carry
V = tire speed rating (up to 149 mph)
XGT V = manufacturer's code for the tire design