Best Tires For Arkansas

Locations in Arkansas: 9
First Arkansas location opening date: Fayetteville AR01 | July 2, 2015
Common vehicles: pickup trucks, SUVs and passenger vehicles
Major regions/cities: Little Rock, Fort Smith, Fayetteville, Springdale, Jonesboro, Rogers, North Little Rock, Conway, Bentonville, Pine Bluff
Road conditions: Frequently rainy with some freezing, lots of potholes and country roads with dirt and gravel, urban congestion; severe weather like tornadoes

With tempestuous storms, busy urban commuting centers, music festival enthusiasts, farm equipment rolling down country roads and tourists flocking to any one of its 52 state parks, drivers in Arkansas have a lot to contend with.

And Arkansas’ humid temps, occasionally freezing winters, significant rain and severe weather formations like tornadoes are just a fact of life.

With cantankerous weather, a brisk agricultural and tourist-based economy, over 3 million residents and several large urban centers, choosing the right tire for driving in Arkansas is even more important than ever. But where to start?

Well, we’ve asked our on-the-ground experts what the best car, truck and winter tires are for Arkansas. Check below for detailed looks at great tire options for you, your vehicle and your budget!

Travis Harris, senior assistant manager of the Conway, AR Discount Tire store notes, “There are LOTS of potholes, especially in the North Little Rock area.” Potholes and other road damage wreak havoc on your wheels. But good news: we sell and repair wheels and rims, too!

BEST CAR TIRES FOR ARKANSAS

With its humid subtropical climate, Arkansans typically equip their vehicles with all-season tires. These tires offer the best year-round traction and performance possible for a variety of weather and road conditions.

Touring tires are also a great option because they focus on a comfortable ride, handling, steering and sometimes include fuel efficient features. Frequently they incorporate all-season traction properties so you can keep them on your vehicle most of the year.

By and large the most popular car tire for Arkansas is the Michelin Defender 2. A long-lasting product with fantastic wet and winter performance, the Defender 2 is a powerhouse of desirable features (including an 80k-mile warranty).

Taylor Creech at the Fayetteville, AR Discount Tire store says the majority of his customers look to higher end tires for their trustworthiness, long service lives and performance. His customers tend to travel, so they need as many of these characteristics as possible.

Travis Harris over at the Conway, AR Discount Tire store finds some of his customers enjoy the Pirelli P Zero All Season Plus. It comes with a 50,000-mile warranty, top tier grip and handling in rain, snow and dry conditions and enhanced ride comfort.

Travis personally prefers and recommends the Yokohama YK-GTX. It’s comparable to the previously mentioned Michelin and Pirelli tires, yet it’s more affordable. In fact, he likes it so much, he has a set on his wife’s car.

If you’re looking for something different, consider the Continental ControlContact Tour A/S Plus, says Taylor. Great all-season traction, fuel efficient tech, a long-lasting tread and up to an 80k-mile warranty make it a fantastic touring and all-season option.

There are plenty of mid-tier tires that offer the right mixture of high performance and affordability. Taylor likes the Falken Pro G5 A/S. You can expect strong performance in both warm and cool, wet weather conditions. Backed with a 60k-mile warranty, it‘s designed with the passenger vehicle in mind.

You might also enjoy the Sentury UHP, he says, because it offers ultra-high performance levels of driving at bargain pricing. Frequently ranking in the top 5 recommended tires in store, this performance all-season tire is a surprise favorite with a loyal customer following.

Another mid-tier budget favorite? Austin Brown’s Fort Smith, AR Discount Tire customers like the Arizonian Silver Edition All Season. A Discount Tire exclusive, this quiet and comfortable touring tire offers all-season performance that contends with higher priced options. Backed with a 60k-mile warranty, responsive highway handling and precise steering, it’s easy to see why it’s a customer favorite.

Austin also sees his budget-conscious customers turning to the Ohtsu FP0612 A/S. Looking for reliable grip, a comfortable ride, responsive handling and all-season protection? Look no further than this hybrid touring and all-season tire. Oh, and it comes with a 40,000-mile treadwear warranty!

Taylor over in Fayetteville, AR offers the Sentury Touring as a comparable option to the Ohtsu. Also with a 40,000-mile warranty, it features a compound to resist uneven treadwear. Stable, comfortable and great in temperamental driving conditions like rain and light snow, it’s a budget option that packs a punch.

BEST TRUCK TIRES FOR ARKANSAS

You probably won’t find many truck owners with a need for highway touring truck tires in Arkansas.

Thanks to a healthy agricultural and food production economy (and massive swathes of large, open and rural areas), Arkansas is home to a good number of pickup trucks and four-wheel drive vehicles.

Austin’s store primarily services pickup trucks: “About 65-70% of my customer base is trucks,” he states. “They 100% prefer all-terrain tread. Many live in rural areas with dirt and gravel and need something to hold up better. Or they have a work truck.”

Of course, some drivers just like that aggressive all-terrain tread!

Taylor in Fayetteville, AR sees quite a few Toyo Open Country A/T III’s rolling off his shelves. With its mileage warranty for up to 65k miles, aggressive tread and damage resistant tread compound, it’s an attractive off-road tire.

Austin in Fort Smith says you can’t go wrong with the BFGoodrich All Terrain T/A KO2. The go-to all-terrain tire for quite a few enthusiasts and businesses alike, it delivers rugged off-road traction over a wide variety of surfaces. It also provides stable handling (on and off-road) and has a three-peak mountain snowflake (3PMS) rating.

Travis in Conway, AR says the Nitto Ridge Grappler offers the extreme tread pattern many drivers crave. You can expect unyielding off-road performance complete with stone ejectors to keep your tread free of damaging debris. It also has a dual sidewall design, so you can spruce up your off-road rig the way you prefer.

You can find reliable all-terrain truck tires at value prices, too. Austin’s customers love the Pathfinder AT so much that it’s his #1 selling tire when he has it available. With long-lasting and affordable performance, a smooth ride and impressive traction off-road (and up to a 55k-mile warranty), it’s no wonder!

Travis also has trouble keeping the Pathfinder AT in stock, but his customers have landed on the Cooper Discoverer ATP II as a great replacement. He cites the longer mileage warranty, stone ejectors and serious inclement weather protection as the draw to this tire as an alternative. The Discoverer ATP II utilizes its Wet Grip Grooves and Snow Claw technology to keep your tires exactly where you want them to be.

DO I NEED SNOW TIRES IN ARKANSAS?

No, most drivers won’t need winter tires in Arkansas. There may be exceptions for drivers traveling across state lines in the cooler months.

Arkansas has a humid subtropical climate with occasional ice storms and even more rarely, snow. While temperatures do drop to near 45F, Arkansans don’t typically experience consistently frigid enough temperatures to warrant true winter tires.

It’s true that winter tires perform better than all-season tires in sub-freezing weather. That said, a true winter tire might just be overkill when your temps don’t regularly fall or remain below 45F.

But cooler temperatures do still affect your regular tires and your safety, so what to do?

All-weather is a newer tire category. Think of an all-weather tire as a beefed-up all-season option. All-weather tires have cranked up year-round performance, with capable braking, accelerating and cornering in winter weather. How do you know it’s an all-weather tire? It’ll be backed by the 3PMS rating.

All-weather tires are a great choice for Arkansans because they’ll ensure confident traction—even in a sudden frigid rainstorm and on ice or snow. The best part is, they can be equipped year round, so you don’t need to worry about changing over to a different set of tires.

One of our excellent exclusive tires, the Nokian Encompass AW01 is a great all-weather tire that boasts bolstered wet and winter grip, all backed by the 3PMS rating. It also delivers a quiet, comfortable ride thanks to its Silent Sidewall Technology! Plus, you get added confidence with its 60,000-mile warranty.

The Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady is another all-weather tire designed to give you foul-weather grip that doesn’t compromise on treadwear. The WeatherReady has a long-wearing tread, a severe weather rating and a 60k-mile warranty. Plus, it comes in a wide range of sizes, and customers love the cost to performance value.

Another top contender? The Michelin CrossClimate2. This all-weather tire features confident traction and grip in rain, snow and dry weather alike. It has amazing stopping power thanks to the V-ramp design on its tread block edges. Severe weather certified with a 60k-mile warranty backing, it’s a top tier option.

If we’ve given you too many good ideas and you’re still unsure where to start, try Treadwell. It’s our smart tire buying guide designed to help you find the right tire based on your unique driving needs.

If you have other questions or want to upgrade your wheels or tires, just give us a ring, drop by or make an appointment online! Customers who buy and book online first wait less time in-store!

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