Best Tires for RAV4: Drive Smoothly
With the best tires for RAV4, you can control your car better and enhance your driving experience
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Ever since the Toyota RAV4 was introduced in 1994, it's been a very popular compact crossover SUV. Toyota designed the car to be highly functional, fun to drive, and very reliable—and it is. Car buyers love it because it is well-designed, long-lasting, and spacious.
Because the Japanese crossover SUV is so popular, there are a lot of tires you can buy for it, both high-quality and low-quality. If you’re looking for new tires for your Toyota RAV4, there are many things you should consider, including braking, performance, tire size, and good traction. We've highlighted the best tires for the RAV4 in this review to make your buying decision easy.
Michelin Premier LTX Radial Tire
This tire offers reliable performance in both wet and dry conditions. It combines expanding rain grooves with a silica compound for excellent wet braking and grip. It is ideal for light trucks, SUVs, and pickups.
This ultra-safe tire has exceptional traction and stopping power. Sunflower oil in the tire's compound allows it to be more flexible in places with lower temperatures. Excellently blended materials ensure the tire maintains its traction and grip even as it wears out.
The tire does not perform well on ice and may cause your car to fishtail around corners. The tread life is fairly short.
Milestar MS932 All Season Radial Tire
This tire is designed to offer reliable all-season traction, and better handling and cornering grip. It is ideal for crossovers and SUVs, sport coupes, minivans, and sedans. It has a great tread design and comes in 14-20 inch sizes.
The tire offers good traction on dry pavements and enhanced cornering power. The tread compound and the pattern design have been enhanced for seasonal conditions. Wide circumferential ribs improve handling, stability, and lateral grip.
The tire does not last long and you may not even get 40,000 miles out of it. It does not grip the road well and wears out very fast.
Yokohama Parada Spec X High-Performance Tire
This tire combines impressive looks and reliable handling with year-round traction. You can drive it in a range of weather conditions, including light snow. It is created for performance pickups, SUVs, and modern muscle cars like the Dodge Magnum, the Dodge Charger, and the Chrysler 300.
The tire’s compound is molded into a directional tread design with linked shoulder blocks, differently-sized intermediate tread blocks, and two center ribs to improve braking, cornering, acceleration, and comfort.
Unlike most all-season tires, it's only rated for 40,000 miles. It produces a small amount of noise.
Ever since the Toyota RAV4 was introduced in 1994, it's been a very popular compact crossover SUV. Toyota designed the car to be highly functional, fun to drive, and very reliable—and it is. Car buyers love it because it is well-designed, long-lasting, and spacious.
Because the Japanese crossover SUV is so popular, there are a lot of tires you can buy for it, both high-quality and low-quality. If you’re looking for new tires for your Toyota RAV4, there are many things you should consider, including braking, performance, tire size, and good traction. We've highlighted the best tires for the RAV4 in this review to make your buying decision easy.
Benefits of Best Tires for RAV4
- Safety. New tires provide a cushion of safety to your vehicle. Most tires have a treadwear rating of 65,000-100,000 miles. They enhance your SUV's ability to go, turn, and stop.
- Better fuel consumption. One of the things that affects your car's fuel consumption is the condition of the tires. If the tires are worn out and have an uneven tread pattern, your car will use more fuel because it must work harder to put power to the ground. Replace the worn-out tires and take your vehicle to a professional mechanic for alignment to ensure that the new tires don't wear out prematurely.
- Enhanced performance. The quality of your tires will determine how long it takes your car to come to a stop and the speed at which it enters a turn. Tires also determine how much power your RAV4 puts to the ground and if you can brake fast enough to control it. The best RAV4 tires are performance-oriented and made from stickier compounds for aggressive tread designs.
- Better traction. Tire traction helps you to gauge a tire’s performance on wet and dry surfaces. It usually varies based on tire compounds and tread patterns. Each new tire usually has a traction rating that shows how well it stops on wet roads when it's properly inflated. Softer tires with thicker tread patterns are great for mud and snow while those with a soft tread are great for hot and rainy environments.
Types of RAV4 Tires
All-Season
All-season tires are meant to be used in temperatures above 7 degrees Celsius. They perform best in warm climates and during spring, summer, and fall. These tires usually have circumferential grooves and a symmetrical tread pattern for good grip in wet weather. If all-season tires are used when temperatures are very low, they may become stiff and not grip the road or evacuate ice, resulting in an increased risk of sliding.
Winter
Also called snow tires, these are tires designed to be used on snow and ice. They are perfect for use when temperatures are below 7 degrees Celsius. Winter tires have tread designs with larger gaps that increase traction on ice and snow.
They are made of a soft rubber and stay soft in cold temperatures, gripping the road and evacuating ice and snow in low temperatures. Some winter tires have metallic or ceramic spikes that increase traction on snow and ice. However, if you use these tires during summer, the tire tread will wear down quickly.
All-Weather
All-weather tires are a combination of winter tires and all-season tires. They use softer rubber than all-season tires so as to maintain good grip in temperatures below 7 degrees Celsius. The rubber is also more rigid than that of winter tires and does not wear down in hot seasons. It stays flexible for superior stability and grip.
All-weather tires feature an aggressive tread pattern with thick blocks that bite ice and snow for good winter grip and stability. However, it is worth noting that these tires don't grip the road very effectively in cold temperatures like winter tires. They also wear down faster in hot weather than all-season tires.
Top Brands
Michelin
Michelin has been using its white marshmallow-looking mascot, Bibendum (Michelin Man), since 1894. The French tire company was established in 1889 and is one of the world's top tire brands. It makes all types of tires, from bicycle tires to tires for Jumbo jets. It uses top-grade rubber in its tires for exceptional fuel economy. The Michelin LTX M/S2 Radial Tire is a good tire for your RAV4.
Goodyear
One of the most reputable American tire companies, Goodyear is a staple in the industry and has its headquarters in Akron, Ohio. Its name is synonymous with high-quality and it has close ties to NASCAR. Goodyear makes tires that can be used by everyday commuters as well as professional racers. Its tires are known for exceptional wear, responsive handling, and tenacious grip. We think the Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max Radial Tire will be perfect for your crossover SUV.
Continental
Launched in 1871 as a rubber manufacturer, Continental never moved far away from its roots and uses high-quality rubber to make its tires. In 1904, the company became the first in the world to manufacture grooved car tires. It manufactures tires for every type of passenger vehicle as well as customized tires for luxury vehicle brands like Mercedes and BMW. The German manufacturing company makes a variety of products for the automotive and transportation industries. One of its best tires is the Continental TrueContact Tour All-Season Radial Tire.
RAV4 Tires Pricing
- $50-$100: These tires may be a bit cheaper but most offer great performance. They include all-season, all-weather, summer, and winter tires. Most have a treadwear rating of at least 40,000 miles.
- $100-$200: Tires in this category are made by top brands such as Bridgestone, BF Goodrich, Pirelli, Cooper, Falken, Yokohama, and Toyo. They have an aggressive tread pattern and offer good grip and stability. Additionally, they do not wear down fast.
Key Features
Traction
Traction tells us all we need to know about a tire’s performance. Tire manufacturers and third parties use a series of controlled tests to determine a tire's performance capability. Tires do not provide the same traction as they are not all designed to function optimally in different conditions. There are tires specially designed for wet traction and those built for dry traction.
Tires built for wet traction have tread patterns with deep grooves to keep water out. Tread compounds are also an important part of tire traction as they determine how flexible the tread pattern is on the road. Tires with the best dry traction usually have softer tread compounds.
Tread Life
Many car owners usually look at the tread life (treadwear rating) when shopping for new tires. It is important to note that tires with lengthy tread warranties have a less flexible, stiffer tread design and don't grip the road like high-traction tires.
Many all-season tires have mileage warranties that are based on how long the tread is expected to last. This is usually between 40,000 and 90,000 miles. Tires with the longest lifespan don't necessarily cost the most. And at times, the mileage warranty is more of a marketing gimmick than a valuable measure of longevity.
Fuel Efficiency
Tires with low rolling resistance save fuel. This is because they are rounder than regular tires. All tires have something called a contact patch, which is where the tires meet the road. This part is usually flatter because of all the pressure pushing down from the vehicle.
In low-resistance tires, this patch is smaller, which makes them more round. They are able to roll easily, saving gas because a car doesn't need a lot of fuel to push them. There is less friction because the contact patch is smaller so the tires are able to roll easily. But if you are looking for good traction, you need tires with more friction.
Other Considerations
- Tire terms. The icons and words on a tire allow you to know more about its performance. The UTQG (Uniform Tire Quality Grading) tells you the tire's treadwear, temperature, and traction. M+S means a tire is ideal for muddy and snowy roads, H/T means it's a highway terrain tire, A/T means it's an all-terrain tire, and M/T means it's a mud terrain tire. The DOT code identifies a tire and its age. It is used worldwide and is very useful in identifying tires during a product recall.
- Noise. There are several features that cause tires to produce noise. The air chamber inside the tire, the tread pattern, and airflow can all be sources of noise. Tires with tread blocks that are uniformly shaped can emit a whining noise while those with tall tread blocks can squirm a bit. If you want quieter tires, look for those with softer rubber compounds, smaller blocks, small hash marks inside grooves, continuous circumferential ribs, and varied tread blocks.
Best Tires for RAV4 Reviews & Recommendations 2020
Michelin is one of the top tire manufacturers in the world and is renowned for its tires that decrease fuel consumption. If you drive an SUV, light truck, pickup, or sports utility vehicle, this all-season radial tire might be just what your car needs. It offers top performance in both wet and dry conditions and is quiet and durable.
The Michelin LTX all-season radial tire is ultra-safe and has superb traction and stopping power. Sunflower oil has been added to the compound, allowing the tire to be more flexible when temperatures are low. The tire features EverGrip technology and its tread maintains good traction even when worn. High amounts of silica in the tire compound make for excellent wet grip.
Michelin tires are some of the best in the industry and this one attests to that. It combines safety and fuel efficiency with durability. However, its performance is not the best on ice and your car may fishtail around corners. Additionally, the tread life is short.
If you're looking for a tire that is specially designed to provide reliable all-season traction and enhanced cornering grip and handling, this may just be it. It comes with a 50,000 mileage warranty and has been built for maximum dry traction. It is ideal for a variety of vehicles, from SUVs to minivans.
The tire comes in a variety of sizes, from 14 to 20 inches. Its rounded shoulders with large tread blocks provide increased cornering power and dry traction. We love how well it handles for such a low-priced tire. It's tread compound has been enhanced for great performance in different seasons. When you're driving on wet roads, the wide circumferential ribs and sipes around the tread get rid of water from under the tire and lower the risk of hydroplaning.
However, the tire fails to impress us when it comes to durability. It does not last very long and you may have to replace it after only a few months. It also wears out fast and does not grip the road well.
Specifically created for performance pickups, SUVs, and modern muscle cars like the Dodge Magnum, the Parada Spec X High-Performance Tire combines confident handling and impressive looks with year-round traction. You can drive it in a myriad of weather conditions, including light snow. You can also use it off-road.
The tire's aggressive directional tread design features variably-sized intermediate tread blocks, linked shoulder blocks, and two circumferential ribs for enhanced braking, cornering, acceleration, and comfort. Twin steel belts inside the tire that are reinforced by spirally-wrapped nylon offer uniformity, strength, and durability. The polyester cord body improves ride quality.
But if you prefer performance tires that do not produce any noise, you may want to look at other options because this tire produces a small amount of noise. What's more, its mileage rating is only 40,000 miles.
Tips
- Install new tires on the back axle, as this helps you to control your car better when on wet roads. If your rear tires lose traction, your car will spin. The back tires should always be in tip-top shape.
- Always ensure that the tire pressure is at the recommended level. When tires have low pressure, they can easily lose grip on wet surfaces. To know the amount of pressure your tires need, check the car manual or the car door.
- Check the tread depth regularly to ensure the tires maintain good traction on wet roads. One way you can check the tread depth is by inserting a quarter upside down into the tire groove. Start shopping for new tires if you can see above George Washington’s head.
FAQs
Q: What’s the lifespan of Toyota RAV4 tires?
A: If your new tires have a mileage rating of 50,000 miles, they should last for three years. If they last that long but you still have plenty of mileage, change them regardless of their condition.
Q: What’s the best tire pressure for Toyota RAV4 tires?
A: Check the inner part of the driver’s door and you’ll find a white and yellow label with the exact tire pressure indicated. The tire pressure written on the tire is usually the maximum pressure.
Q: How often should I rotate my car’s tires?
A: When you rotate tires regularly, they wear out at the same time. Rotate yours every 5,000 to 7,000 miles. The rotation interval will depend on your car. A RAV4 is a front-wheel drive-based car, so the front tires wear out quicker than the rear tires.
Final Thoughts
After examining many tires, we’ve chosen the Michelin Premier LTX Radial Tire as our top pick. It can fit different vehicles and offers brilliant grip and braking.
If you have a small budget, get the Milestar MS932 All Season Radial Tire. It provides good handling and cornering grip.
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Our reviews are driven by a combination of hands-on testing, expert input, “wisdom of the crowd” assessments from actual buyers, and our own expertise. We always aim to offer genuine, accurate guides to help you find the best picks.
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