SUV/4*4 tyres vs car tyres - what's the difference (if any)?

[irocfan]

as it says above - what is the difference between a tyre for an SUV/4*4 and a passenger car?

[Ron99]

Probably higher load rating and XL sidewalls.

[edc]

You can also get all terrain or dedicated off road tread patterns. Many of these types are also mud and snow rated so will cope with more varied conditions.

[Watchman]

Ron99 said:

Probably higher load rating and XL sidewalls.

This. I have the higher rated load indexed tyres on my GL. You can buy the same brand/model tyres for other cars without this higher rating.

[Scrump]

Car tyres have to operate in a wide range of driving environments and conditions. They have to be stable at high speed motorway driving yet also cope with urban driving and be safe in rain and cold conditions.

SUV/4X4 tyres can be optimised for the environments in which these vehicles are used. These are special vehicles and demand special tyres to get the best out of the urban commute and to maximise ability for pavement parking during school runs.

[anonymous-user]

My observations so far have shown "SUV/4x4" tyres to be basically big wide road tyres that are hopeless off road when it's wet.

i.e. Goodyear Wranglers on my Disco 3 got me nowhere on muddy grass - had to run lots of air out of them. Whereas my GeneralGrabber AT2's were a world apart - got me though conditions towing a trailer where another disco got stuck after a few metres.

[irocfan]

curious since I'm some preliminary research for the next set of wheels/tyres and came across this:

https://www.tyreleader.co.uk/car-tyres/hankook/ven...


given that my Camaro weighs more than a Merc GLC () I'd have thought that the extra weight rating might be useful

[Bordtea]

I was wondering the same as most of the tyres available for my Jag XJ (275/40/20) come up as SUV tyres!

[Cold]

You might find the extra stiffness in the sidewalls isn't compensated for in the suspension attributes of your car compared with an SUV.
This may or may not translate into a harsher ride in the car, which may or may not be an issue for you.

[Watchman]

RogerDodger said:

My observations so far have shown "SUV/4x4" tyres to be basically big wide road tyres that are hopeless off road when it's wet.

i.e. Goodyear Wranglers on my Disco 3 got me nowhere on muddy grass - had to run lots of air out of them. Whereas my GeneralGrabber AT2's were a world apart - got me though conditions towing a trailer where another disco got stuck after a few metres.

It's true, some are not designed for anything other than paved roads but others are more general. Conti CrossContacts are reasonably good off road - maybe not in thick mud but they'll cope with wet grass. Also, most SUV winter tyres are pretty decent even in light muddy conditions.

[Fire99]

I have absolutely no idea about the science but when I ran General Grabber's on my Jeep Cherokee it would drive through snow just like driving on dry tarmac (other than braking distances of course).. Very capable and confidence-inspiring.
I've run some regular road-biased tyres and they've been pretty hopeless on an SUV in all but completely dry conditions..

[Watchman]

We had Grabbers on our Merc ML. They were fantastic in deep snow but less good on frosty, icy roads where proper winter tyres excelled.

The Grabbers were amazing when towing a nearly-2-tonne caravan off a wet grassy muddy fields.

We had the Grabbers though, not the Grabbers AT, or AT2, or AT3, which are not the same thing at all.

[edc]

Grabber AT2 were great on my P38. Plenty good enough for going off road, snow and good enough grip and noise for the road.

[anonymous-user]

Fire99 said:

I have absolutely no idea about the science but when I ran General Grabber's on my Jeep Cherokee it would drive through snow just like driving on dry tarmac (other than braking distances of course).. Very capable and confidence-inspiring.
I've run some regular road-biased tyres and they've been pretty hopeless on an SUV in all but completely dry conditions..

The science of snow performance :

What sticks to snow better than anything else?

Snow.

Think of sticking snowballs together, or arms on snowmen....

The small slits in the tyres (called sipes) fill with snow, which stays in there, and then grips the snow on the road.

My AT2's in deep snow were amazing.

[Bonefish Blues]

To revive an old thread, we're looking to change the summers on the family XC70 bus to the all seasons we normally run.

I like the look of the Hankook Kinergy 4S2. They do an X version specifically for 4x4/SUVs, but not in our size (235/50 R18 97). Our size is available in 101 XL.

We don't need any off-road capability, and I'm thinking that we'll be okay with the higher load XLs. Any thoughts on this?