![]() Which tires are right for your particular CUV? They’re just built to take a little more abuse.” “And that’s why you don’t get sidewall punctures. “It’s not just the tread pattern of the tire being different, the whole construction on the tire is stouter,” said Edmonds. So if you ever plan to take a prolonged drive on the dirt that is so artfully presented in all the marketing and advertising material of every crossover and sport utility maker on the planet, even if it’s just on nicely graded dirt roads, there are advantages to getting the right tires. “It’s crazy, the CUV/SUV Touring All-Season and Passenger All-Season tires, these are not intended for off road,” said Matt Edmonds, executive vice president of Tire Rack. Your standard M+S tread that is on almost all crossovers is not really made for prolonged rocky roads such as you’ll find in the dry, dusty West. Have you ever walked on a gravel road in your bare feet? This is similar to what your tires feel.” “BFGoodrich tires that are designed for off-pavement use have tread pattern and upper sidewall design features that provide extra traction on a graded road that may be a little muddy and a tread compound and tread pattern design that takes into account moderate gravel road usage. “Tires that are designed for off-pavement use (I purposefully used the word “off-pavement” because when most people hear “off-road” tires, they think of aggressive all-terrain or mud terrain tires), most CUV owners don’t want to go that extreme or they would have purchased an SUV instead (like a Jeep Wrangler),” said Sturgis. Sturgis suggests snow tires for winter use, and off-road tires if you’re going to do enough off-road, or rather, off-highway. If those roads happen to get a little muddy (which could happen any time), or if they have gravel on them, or if there are elevation changes that require extra traction, or if you happen to climb high enough where you run into snow on the road, you’re going to want a specific tire for your CUV.” “If you only plan to take your CUV (RAV4, CR-V, or Forester) on a flat, graded, dry, dirt road at slow speeds with no need for extra traction, then the on-road-oriented tires that are very popular for these types of vehicles will suit you just fine. “I’ll give the engineering answer here: It depends,” said Brandon Sturgis, product manager for BFGoodrich CUV/SUV/LT/Off-Road Tires. But you should be aware of what tires you’re rolling on if you ever do set a wheel in the dirt.Īnd I’m not saying every crossover needs aggressive treads. But when you check out the tires on those adventure-ready CUVs, they’re almost always made for smooth pavement. I only bring up this whole subject because just about every crossover made today is marketed with beautiful people driving them into the wilderness and having wild adventures with other beautiful people amidst spectacular scenery, all thanks to the capabilities of their crossover utility vehicle. Of course, having purchased the new spare, from a set of four the Conoco guy had stacked up in the shop, I was therefore guaranteed that I would never have another flat the whole rest of the trip. The fact that they were not worth much at all out in the high country was something most buyers would never find out. So the major OE picked a tire that would be quiet on the highway, would last forever (on the highway), and cost next nothing. The major OE that had designed, engineered, and built this vehicle-and chose the tires for it-knew that no one would ever take the thing off-road, despite what their own advertisements suggested. He lived in the mighty San Juans, after all, and up there people went off-road all the time and they liked it. ![]() He didn’t so much hate the tires as he hated that they didn’t meet his needs of rugged trail-running. “I hate these tires,” said the young tire specialist at the Silverton Conoco station, eyeing the flat-treaded OE rubber he had just pulled off my borrowed rig. So when the first tire inevitably popped and went flat only about 10 or 15 miles outside of town, and with many long miles still to go (we had all week, after all), I made the correct call to turn around back to Silverton and buy me a new spare. How Winter Tires Are Different-and Important
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