Choosing the Right Tires for Your Jeep_® Brand Vehicle

On any terrain, your tires are your vehicle’s first line of defense. When properly equipped and cared for, the right tires can help your vehicle accomplish incredible feats. But the wrong tires, or poorly maintained tires, can make a trip memorable for all the wrong reasons.

The Jeep_® Brand has always had a Go Anywhere. Do Anything.® attitude, so you better believe we take our tires seriously. That said, we also understand that all the different varieties of tires can be confusing to someone who’s not as obsessed with their vehicles as we are. So, to help you better understand what you need, here’s a look at different tire types and how each one can benefit you.

Are you driving on the tires you got at the dealership without upgrading them? Congratulations—you’re using all-season tires. These tires are designed for everyday drives and can be found on most vehicles right out of the dealership (unless you choose different available tires during the buying process, obviously). They’re quiet, stable and made for all basic seasonal conditions.

Let’s get serious! All-terrain tires are tires with distinct traits that make them especially good off-road tires, including an open-tread design for enhanced grip and traction, reinforced sidewalls for enhanced weight carrying ability and year-round utility. All-terrain tires are good in snow, so they don’t need to be changed seasonally. You can find these on select Trail Rated^® off-roading vehicles like the Jeep_® Wrangler and pickup trucks like the Jeep_® Gladiator.

Mud-terrain tires also have incredibly wide treads for off-roading—but theirs are even wider to accommodate and push out mud, chunks of dirt and other debris. They’re also huge, so they make your vehicle look boss. But it’s worth noting that unless you’re doing a whole lotta mudding, mud-terrain tires aren’t great for other types of off-roading, and really good all-terrain tires can also handle some mud.

Between all-terrain and mud-terrain tires are rugged-terrain tires, which kick the capability of all-terrain tires up a notch without being as aggressive as mud-terrain tires. Rugged-terrain tires have deeper treads, a more durable rubber compound and stronger sidewalls than your average all-terrain tires, making them perfect for most off-roading conditions.

Highway tires are designed for smooth sailing on paved roads. They have shallower treads and specific tread compound for quiet drives. Highway tires can also handle higher speeds than other types of tires, which makes them excellent for long, fast highway drives.

Winter tires, also called “snow tires,” are all about that grip. The treads on these tires are deep, and also include sipes, which are small slits in the rubber to help increase traction. The rubber used in these tires is also flexible in cold environments, which helps the tires grip the pavement. If you’ll be driving in heavy ice and snow, these are highly recommended.

Performance tires are touring tires with a real need for speed. The aggressive tread patterns and specialized rubber compounds of performance tires offer tight handling and great acceleration. They’re mostly reserved for sports cars, muscle cars and high-performance sedans, so they’re not always synonymous with the Jeep_® Brand—but hey, even outdoor adventurers want to feel the rush now and then!

Some tires are listed as all-season tires, while others are called all-weather tires. The difference is simple: all-season tires are made for simple drives in different seasonal weather, while all-weather SUV tires have specific features for enhanced capability. The one is for most drives, the other is for rougher weather conditions.

Now that you know about tire types and maintenance, you can create your own Jeep_® Brand vehicle from the ground up! For the average commuters, tires are basic pieces of equipment, but if you’re looking to drive beyond the norm, then making sure your wheels are properly equipped is a necessity. Drive safe, choose wisely and remember to pack your spare!