Choosing the Right Touring Tire: What You Need to Know

Touring tires are designed for drivers who want a balance of performance and comfort. They typically have a higher speed rating than all-season tires, and they offer excellent traction in wet and dry conditions.

When choosing touring tires, it's important to consider the vehicle you'll be driving. For example, if you have a small car, you'll want to choose a tire that offers a smooth ride and high fuel economy.

When choosing a tire, ensure that it supports the vehicle's weight and provides good handling in both dry and wet conditions. Ultimately, the best touring tire for your needs will depend on your specific driving needs.

Touring tires are for you if:

• You're looking for a set of replacement tires for your daily driver
• You want the longest tread life, most comfortable ride, and quietest drive possible.

Touring tires are designed to absorb the impact of road imperfections. Touring tires typically have an all-season tread compound and symmetric tread design for a smooth and quiet ride.

Some models feature advanced noise reduction technology and specialized rubber-to-road contact.

Although touring tires are not typically recommended for extreme cornering performance or high-speed maneuvers on dry roads, they provide good wet traction and stable handling characteristics in response to sudden braking.

So what is a touring tire? They're specifically made to absorb the impact of road imperfections, often called 'non-uniformity.'

As the most common tire type, touring tires offer the best balance between what you see and do.

To be clear—this is a different kind of input from what you feel in the seat of your pants. The goal of tire designers is to minimize "non-uniformity noise"-imperfections you feel when you grip the wheel.

Touring tires are necessary for those who care about what happens to their tires on less-than-perfect roads. Touring tires come in many varieties depending on which make and model vehicle you own.

Touring tires are designed for a more compliant ride, and performance touring tires are designed for cars that get driven aggressively.

Touring tires are designed for your everyday driving needs instead of performance-based tires. Touring tires can also handle the wear and tear of daily driving better than other tires. They're made for comfort and a smooth ride, often with a low tread noise to keep you from feeling like you're driving over gravel.

Touring tires are designed to handle faster speeds, cornering, and handling while providing comfort. If you want the best of both worlds—great performance without sacrificing your ride—performance touring tires might be right.

All-Season Touring Tires - Don't let the name fool you. These tires have great year-round traction in everyday conditions, including rain and light snow.

• Don't let the name fool you. These tires have great year-round traction in everyday conditions, including rain and light snow.
• The all-season touring tire is not confused with off-roading wheels or winter wheels. All-season touring tires are made to accommodate year-round driving conditions. They are technical "all-season," but they will not perform as well in severe winter conditions as a high quality set of winter tires.

High Performance Touring Tires: These are typically found on high-end sedans and coupes, offered in various sizes.

Touring tires provide a spirited driving experience with precision handling and wet traction. They also offer touring tire treadwear ratings, enabling them to be driven for extended periods.

High performance Touring tires are available in both H- and V-speed rated sizes and are typically found on high-end sedans and coupes.

What You Need to Know:

• High performance touring tires provide precise handling and wet traction with a smooth ride.
• High performance touring tires come in H- or V-speed rating sizes.

Grand Touring Tires: These tend to be quieter and more comfortable, and many offer all-season traction.

What are grand touring tires?

Grand Touring tires are commonly used in cars and crossovers that commute at higher speeds. Tires designed for grand touring provide precise handling and quick cornering. They also reduce road noise for quieter riding.

They can assist with handling heavier vehicles such as SUVs or coupes with large engines by reducing understeer or pushing out when corners are turned.

Grand Touring tires typically offer excellent all-season traction, if not all-season grip. They offer good traction in wet, dry, and snowy conditions while offering even wear.

What vehicles do grand touring tires fit?

Grand Touring tires can be fitted to most passenger cars, minivans, cross-overs, and sports cars.

There is a right tire for you out there, even if you don't know it yet.

There is no doubt that touring tires are the most common type of tires that you will see on a car. While they can be used in many different driving conditions, they are designed to provide a smooth and quiet ride at high speeds.

Consumers who live in temperate climates without severe weather should consider touring tires for their next purchase.

In addition to the vast selection of options we have at our site, we also have a unique return policy.

Purchasing your touring tires from us gives you 30 days from when it was shipped to return them for any reason whatsoever (with over 90% of those product returns being eligible for free freight). 

After the tire is mounted, you have an extra 100 days to decide whether to keep it or not—we even cover shipping.

What is a touring tire vs. all season?

Touring tires and all-season tires are two different categories of tires. Touring tires are specifically made to enhance the ride quality while having good traction in the rain. Tires designed for all-weather traction tend to sacrifice dry handling and braking ability.

All Season Tires have a tread design that emphasizes biting into wet and snowy roads for increased traction. Driving over uneven surfaces may reduce comfort by adding road noise, impact harshness, and vibration to the cabin.

The tread design on touring tires is designed to absorb impacts from road imperfections rather than bite into them like an all-season tire. As a result, you have a smoother ride, but some traction is lost on ice and snow. The lower rolling resistance also results in improved fuel economy.

How do touring tires differ from passenger tires?

Things to know:

• Touring tires are designed for passenger cars and crossovers. They're made to give a more comfortable ride, better fuel efficiency, and more grip on the road than passenger tires. Touring tires might be right for you if you want a smoother, quieter drive that's still sporty-ish (and who doesn't?).
• Drivers looking for aggressive performance on the weekends or a comfortable ride during the week can go with touring tires. They offer better all-season traction in wet and dry conditions, swifter response times, and less noise than regular touring tires.
• A performance touring tire falls under the umbrella of passenger car tires.

What is a touring tire vs. a performance tire?

Touring tires typically have a different compound and tread pattern than performance tires. Despite providing all-season traction, touring tires are designed to be quiet and comfortable. On the other hand, performance tires focus primarily on grip and cornering ability at the expense of comfort and noise.

What is a broadline touring tire?

A broadline touring tire is the most common touring tire. These tires are made to focus on maximizing the amount of tread and rubber in contact with the road. This results in better traction, more even wear, longer tread life, and improved fuel economy.

They also provide a smoother ride and better resistance to punctures and damage from road hazards.

Most broadline touring tires are designed for quiet performance, as well. These tires are often used for all-season driving and long road trips due to their stability and durability.

What is a good touring tire for my Toyota corolla?

We can help you determine which type of tire is right for your Toyota Corolla, if you are unsure. Touring tires are optimized for smooth, and even road surfaces as a general rule of thumb.

Compared to high-performance or all-season tires, touring tires provide better fuel efficiency and smoother rides. The rubber's design is more for comfort than traction, so handling isn't as good.

Check out our article on different types of tires to learn more about which ones might be best suited for your car.

There are many options available today as far as which exact tire you should get. Several tire lines are open with varying prices for consumers to choose from.

What is a grand touring all-season tire?

The all-season touring tire has been a go-to choice for many drivers who want to cover all their bases year-round, and they remain popular today. The grand touring all-season tire is a newer category of tires developed to address the need for good grip and long mileage.

Grand touring ultra high performance tires are the newest addition to this family. With the advent of more powerful sports cars and sports sedans, there was a gap in the market between high-performance summer tires and ultra high-performance tires.

These grand touring UHPs combine safety, comfort, long mileage, and adequate grip in summer and winter capability.

Are All-Season Tires Good For Winter Driving?

The simple answer is yes. All season tires are designed to perform well in various conditions, including dry and wet roads and light snow. In most conditions, all-season tires offer good traction, grip, and braking performance.

While all season tires are good for winter driving, they aren't ideal for heavy snowfall or extremely icy roads. The tread on all season tires won't be deep enough to handle these conditions well.

In extreme weather, they will perform worse, even if they can handle some colder temperatures and light snowfall. This is where winter/snow tires become a better choice.

What Are Touring All-Season Tires?

Wheel technology has brought a lot of advancement to the humble wheel, thanks to tire technology. While most automobile uses of the wheel go beyond mere transportation, it's safe to say you won't find any more common wheel than the touring tire.

The term 'tour' did not exist before the 1960s, but now there are six types of touring tires for everything from short trips to handling rough roads.

Pros of Touring All Season Tires

One of the greatest advantages of touring all-season tires is longer tread life. This greatly benefits those that drive long distances because the tires don't need replacing as often.

Touring tires also offer better wet and dry traction, which means driving in rain or snow is much safer and easier to handle.

Additionally, touring all-season tires provide better ride quality, better handling, and a quieter ride when compared to other types of tires. Touring all-season tires is the way if you're looking for something easy to handle and improve fuel economy.

Touring all season tires are specially designed for drivers who want an extra grip on snow and ice-covered roads.

Compared to other high-performance or winter tires, these tires are great for everyday driving. No matter how treacherous your commute, you'll feel safe behind the wheel when you have these tires on your car.

Cons of Touring All Season Tires  

• Touring tires for all season roads are not ideal for heavy snow. Touring tires are designed for dry and wet road conditions, so they may not have the same level of grip in deep snow as other tires.
• Touring tires are also not ideal for ice. Because the tire is designed for dry and wet conditions, it may leave you spinning on ice instead of providing traction.
• The tread pattern of touring all-season tires is not made to power through mud or dirt, so they might not be right for you either.
• Lastly, touring all-season tires is probably not the best choice if you drive at high speeds. If you're looking to regularly cruise down an open road at 80+ mph, these tires might wear out faster than others.

Should I Get Touring Tires?

Touring tires provide a smooth, quiet ride and good year-round traction, even in light snow. So if you regularly drive on rough roads or in rain and snow, a touring tire may be right for you.

• Compared to performance tires, touring tires have more compliant handling and reduce road imperfections. While they're not as stiff as performance tires, top touring tires offer a good handling response.
• Performance touring tires are designed for sporty cars (like sports sedans) that get driven aggressively. They combine responsive handling with smooth ride quality. The best performance touring tire designs include all-season traction for driving in rain and light snow.

Are Touring Tires Better Than All-Season Tires For Driving In Snow?

Touring tires are better than all season tires for driving in snow, but all season tires are better than touring tires when it's raining. The tread block of touring tires digs into the snow like a shovel and pulls your car forward in the snow like a dog on a leash.

All season tires don't have this tread block, but touring tires do. This is why touring and snow/winter tires typically out-perform all season tires in the snow.

However, all season tires provide better traction in the rain than other tire types (aside from maybe dedicated rain or extreme performance summer tires).

It has to give up some performance in one of the three seasons because touring is made to provide year-round traction. 

Hence, winter traction is sacrificed so they can handle and brake in dry weather - something they do most of the time.

Do Touring Tires Cost More Than All-Season Tires?

While touring tires are generally more expensive than all-season tires, they have a longer lifespan that often means you'll save money. Touring tires are designed with the rigors of road travel in mind, and as a result, they tend to wear more evenly and last longer than all-season tires do.

They are ideal for vehicles that spend a lot of time on long-distance highways or interstates because touring tires are designed for higher speeds and better highway performance.

What Is the Best Bicycle Touring Tire?

Picking out the best touring tire is a matter of balance between several important factors. For example, if you're planning on riding primarily on pavement, you'll want to prioritize puncture resistance, giving you the lowest risk of flats over time. If you plan on dealing with dirt regularly, durability becomes more important.

Unless you are trying to cross continents in record time, a fast-rolling tire with smooth tread is what you need. You could also try Continental Gatorskin tires or something similar.

But getting back to our core focus—durable and capable tires for long-distance travel—here are some recommendations:

Conclusion

If you're comfortable on long trips and looking for a tire that offers a quiet, smooth ride and great performance, then touring tires are a great choice for your vehicle.