How To Choose the Right Tires For your Vehicle

Learn How to Pick the perfect tires for your Truck, jeep or Car

We never get tired of dealing with tires, it’s what makes our world go round. CTM Customs has been slinging tires since 2009 and we have seen every type of tire you can think of. Choosing the right type of tire is an essential part of your vehicle’s look and drivability. There are hundreds of tire brands but there are some that stand out when it comes to performance and durability. Your vehicle usually fits in with your lifestyle and the right set of tires is an enhancement to all of your endeavors and adventures. In this article we will break down the different categories of tires and the recommended brands for your vehicle.

Tire Categories:

Touring Tires

These are tires for a daily driven vehicle that will most likely not be getting too many aftermarket modifications. Touring tires provide comfort, longevity and a broad range of capabilities rather than being performance specific. If you are looking for a simple tire with the most common sizes and the longest life span then a touring tire is the one for you. Most Touring tires come with an All-Season rating but can also be Summer specific.

Example Brands & Models:

• GoodYear – Eagle
• Continental – Pro Contact
• BFGoodrich – Advantage

Performance Tires

These tires are for spirited drivers who want total control of the road. Performance tires are typically used on sports cars and luxury cars but can be used on regular sedans and some SUVs. These tires provide ultimate on-road traction but have less thread life than touring tires. Aside from the performance aspect, these tires usually have great looking designs and come in a wide range of sizes for aftermarket wheels. Performance tires are also available in an All-Season rating or Summer rating.

Example Brands & Models

• Michelin – Pilot Sport
• Toyo – Proxes
• Pirelli- P Zero

All-Terrain Tires

These tires are for those who seek adventure or just simply want a more aggressive looking tire. All-Terrain tires provide great off-road traction but can be a little noisier and more stiffer than a touring or performance tire. These tires also come with a more aggressive and unique sidewall design depending on the manufacturing brand. When you install a leveling kit or lift kit on your Jeep, truck or SUV and want to fill in the gap inside your fenders then all terrain tires are the ones for you. Most common sizes for A/T tires are 33”, 35” and 37” but also come in metric sizes for a wide range of possibilities.

Rugged-Terrain Tires

 In recent years some tire manufacturers have developed a hybrid Rugged-Terrain or R/T tire which falls under the All-Terrain category. The main difference between a regular All-Terrain tire and a Rugged Terrain tire is that it has a more aggressive looking sidewall than the average All-Terrain or A/T. The on-road performance aspect doesn’t change much between an A/T and an R/T but there a slight off-road performance increase in the R/T.

Example Brands & Models:

• Nitto – Recon Grappler
• Toyo – Open Country
• Cooper – Discoverer

Mud-Terrain Tires

These are the tires for the off-road enthusiasts and weekend warriors who mostly use their vehicle to hit the trail, rocks or mud. Mud-Terrain tires provide the ultimate off-road traction and have the most aggressive look of any tire. While some prefer to have Mud-Terrain tires on their daily driven Jeep, Truck or SUV it is not recommended as these type of tires do not provide the best comfort and have a shorter thread life span when driven on-road often. M/T tires come in various sizes but we recommend getting 35”, 37” or 40” tires if you plan on frequent off-roading.

Example Brands & Models:

• Mickey Thompson – Baja Boss
• Maxxis – Trepador
• Yokohama – Geolandar

Big Wheels & Tires

Whether you are lowering, leveling or lifting your Jeep, truck or SUV there are certain tires that will fit and complement any set of wheels. Some brands/manufacturers specialize in making tires for wheels ranging from 24” to 30” and on the contrary others that make a 44” tire for a 15” wheel.

Example Brands & Models:

• Fury – Country Hunter
• Interco – Super Swamper
• Venom Power – Terra Hunter

Top Tire Brands

Are you tired yet?

In conclusion, we know that choosing the right tire can be stressful and the many options can be overwhelming. We hope that this article can lead you in the right direction of choosing the rubber that meets the road. Here at CTM Customs our sales team is always working hard on providing as much information to our customers in order to make the experience of customizing your ride more enjoyable. If you decide to choose CTM as your shop to trust in purchasing and installing your next set of tires we would like for you to be confident in your decision. Consider answering these questions before making your decision on tires:

• How often do you drive your vehicle?
• What purpose will your vehicle be used for?
• What percentage of time will your vehicle be driven on-road in comparison to being driven off-road?
• Aesthetically, how much of a wheel to tire ratio would you like to have? In example: smaller wheel means you will have a bigger tire sidewall. A bigger wheel means you will have a smaller tire sidewall (low profile tire).
• What type of budget are you working with? There are hundreds of brands/manufacturers with a wide range of prices on different tires.

CTM Customs is a direct dealer for the best brands and manufacturers of tires and offers installation services with proper mounting, balancing and alignment. For more information about tires or any other upgrades you are considering for your vehicle please give us a call, come visit us during business hours or click on the link below to REQUEST A QUOTE. We look forward to serving you!