What are the Best Tires for Kentucky?

Locations in Kentucky: 5
First Kentucky location opening date: Jeffersontown KYL01 | January 2013
Common vehicles: four door sedans, crossovers, mid size SUVs, pickup trucks
Major regions/cities: Louisville, Lexington, Bowling Green, Owensboro, Covington, Richmond, Georgetown, Florence, Hopkinsville, Nicholasville
Road conditions: Rough roads with construction, road debris and potholes; urban congestion and winding, narrow country roads often wet due to frequent rains; ice in winter

With horse racing, bourbon, bluegrass, the best fried chicken in the country and a bustling agricultural and animal husbandry industry, the Bluegrass state has a lot to offer its 4.5 million residents. 

But Kentucky has its driving challenges, too. With narrow, winding country roads, frequent rain, urban congestion, a plethora of potholes and frigid streets in winter, driving in KY can be a challenge. Choosing the right tires to meet the obstacles and demands of your daily commute is important for keeping you and your vehicle safe.

But where to start? We’ve asked our experts in the field for their tire recommendations for the best car and tires for driving in Kentucky. Check them out!

According to Mike Nagy-Kasza, manager of the Middletown store in Lexington, Kentucky’s roads are, “Terrible! Everything’s under construction, so potholes galore.” Potholes and road debris are the leading causes of bent or broken wheels. But don’t worry, we’ve got the largest aftermarket selection of wheels! We also offer wheel services and repairs!

BEST CAR TIRES FOR KENTUCKY

It’s pretty common to see coupes, sedans, crossovers and luxury performance vehicles out and about in the Bluegrass State. And with its variable weather, the best car tires for Kentucky are definitely all-season tires.

Justin Prain over in the Jeffersontown Lexington, KY Discount Tire location suggests the Michelin Defender 2, which delivers amazing all-season traction, class-leading ride comfort and a very long service life. His customers love the 80k-mile warranty and IntelliSipe technology, which helps the T+H keep its grip on wet and snowy roads.

The Continental ControlContact Tour A/S Plus is another solid option according to Travis Price, manager at the Pleasure Park Ridge Lexington Discount Tire. This fuel-efficient tire helps you spend less time and money at the gas pump while delivering all-season security. Customers can’t argue with the 70 to 80,000-mile warranty, either!

Got a peppy little performance car? No problem. Justin suggests the ControlContact Sport SRS+ due to its ultra-high performance design, zippy maneuverability and all-season proficiency (this tire stays flexible even when things get cool!). You’ll also like the easy-to-read wear indicators that help you stay on top of tire maintenance. It’s topped with a 50,000-mile warranty and durable build.

Don’t worry about your wallet; Discount Tire has plenty of budget-friendly options that don’t compromise on performance!

Justin’s top selling budget tire over at Jeffersontown? The Sentury UHP thanks to its snappy steering, unrelenting traction and excellent wet weather performance. It includes a 40k-mile warranty.

Justin’s other top selling budget tire is the Ohtsu FP0612 A/S. Also with a 40,000-mile warranty, this all-season performance tire features a specialized all-season tread pattern and a hybrid touring design that gives you grip without sacrificing comfort.

Mike Nagy-Kasza’s second most popular selling tire at his Middletown location is the wallet-friendly Arizonian Silver Edition III. This Discount Tire exclusive offers responsive highway handling, as well as controlled braking and accelerating on both wet and dry roads. Long-lasting tread, a generous 55k-mile warranty and an all-season tread pattern makes this a tire worth considering!

BEST TRUCK TIRES FOR KENTUCKY

There are plenty of trucks on Kentucky’s winding roads (and off them, too). With a strong agrarian economy and plenty of rural areas that need traversing, pickup trucks are a common sight. And the most popular truck tire type? The all-terrain tire.

Justin’s gold standard truck tire choice is the BFGoodrich All Terrain T/A KO2, the go-to off-roading and all-terrain tire pick across the country. With its lengthy 50,000-mile warranty, 3PMS extreme weather rating and signature interlocking tread that gives you traction for miles to come, it’s easy to see why.

Many of Justin’s clients want an aggressive, showy tread that’ll turn heads even when they’re hanging out on the pavement. If you like the KO2’s raw off-road prowess but want a more unique look, Justin recommends the Nitto Ridge Grappler. Great for your daily driver that doubles as your weekend warrior, the Ridge Grappler is an all-terrain killer that’s as capable on-road as it is off.

Travis offers the Goodyear Wrangler UltraTerrain AT for your next set of truck tires in Kentucky. Like the Grappler, it also boasts performance-based features such as advanced computer modeling technology and an optimized void ratio to reduce noise and create a tame ride on the road. Don’t be fooled by its on-road manners, though. With its durable anti-chunking compound, aggressive shoulder, severe weather rating and traction capabilities, it can tear it up off-road, too.

If your main concerns are longevity, highway handling and all-season grip, there’s a number of highway tires to choose from.

Both Mike and Travis find that their customers frequently turn to the Michelin Defender LTX M/S. A great option for SUVs and pickup trucks alike (even some CUVs!), it offers comfortable, predictable and high-end performance. Its all-season touring capabilities stem from its Evertread rubber compound, giving it highly effective traction when the weather gets rough. Responsive and dynamic, it’s obvious why it’s a crowd favorite. The 50 to 70,000-mile warranty doesn’t hurt, either.

Travis recommends the Cooper Discoverer HTP II for all-season highway performance. Especially focused on wet grip, this tire offers outstanding traction in wet and snowy conditions. Featuring Snow Claw tread elements and Wet Grip Technology, you’ll traverse your commute in confidence no matter what. It also comes with a mileage warranty for up to 65k miles. With improved fuel efficiency and a pitch-optimized pattern to reduce noise and increase comfort, it’s a well rounded truck tire.

If your budget is a concern, we’ve got you: the Corsa Highway Terrain Plus is a hot-seller according to Justin.

The Corsa Highway Terrain Plus offers long lasting durability and traction for both your light truck or your commercial vehicle. This high value tire delivers great steering response and considerable all-season capability, with a siped tread pattern for wet and light snow grip. Strong, with low noise and a 40,000-mile warranty, it’s great for long work days or commercial applications on a budget.

Customers wanting a budget all-terrain tire can look at this tire’s cousin, the Corsa AT, which offers competent grip in light mud, dirt, sand and gravel. Robust and with wet traction features, the Corsa AT is an excellent budget all-terrain tire.

DO I NEED SNOW TIRES IN KENTUCKY?

While some drivers may rely on snow tires to tackle their Kentucky winter driving needs, most drivers in the Bluegrass State will be able to make do with all-weather tires.

Although Kentucky doesn’t get much in the way of snow, it gets plenty of rain, which in turn freezes during the cold months, necessitating some serious ice and wet traction. These freezing conditions make most other tire types less effective compared to winter tires or all-weather tires.

(Don’t worry: Discount Tire is ready and waiting to help you with your winter tire changeover!)

Justin’s native customers lean heavily on all-season tires, but his customers from out of state buy winter tires because they have experienced their superior performance.

All-season tires don’t perform as well as winter tires (they also don’t brake as well) and even more bad news: all-terrain and mud tires don’t stack up against winter tires, either. Winter tires are engineered to provide security and confidence in extreme cold, wet, icy or snowy conditions.

For these reasons, we often recommend all-weather tires for most drivers. All-weather tires are a newer category; think of them as all-seasons on steroids. They offer significantly enhanced snow and ice traction and boosted wet condition performance.

We recommend the Michelin CrossClimate 2 all-weather tire, which is backed with the Three Peak Mountain snowflake severe weather rating. This adaptive tire can handle wet, dry and snowy weather thanks to its Thermal Adaptive Tread Compound and 3-D SipeLock technology. With its controlled steering response and PIANO noise reduction system, you’ll enjoy a quiet, safe ride 365 days a year.

Another popular all-weather tire is the Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady. Designated for severe weather, this tire offers superb performance across a great span of temperatures and road conditions. Its soybean oil-infused rubber compound remains pliable in ice and snow, so your grip will not waver. It’s a great option for wet, snow or icy conditions! That 60k-mile warranty is pretty nice, too!

If you want an all-weather tire from a brand that’s got decades of experience battling Scandinavian winters, turn to the Nokian Encompass AW01. The company behind the eminent Hakkapeliitta winter tire line has infused their innovation into this year-round tire. Also with a 60,000 mile warranty, this sturdily built tire features a wide range of snow and ice combatting features like Snow Claws and 3D Centipede siping to keep you in control.

However, if you tend to travel in the mountains or out of state in winter months where significant snow is a guarantee, then winter tires may be the best pick for you.

If you’re unsure where to start with winter tire shopping, you can’t go wrong with any tires from the Bridgestone Blizzak or Nokian Hakkapeliitta lines of winter tires!

Wildly popular, the Blizzak family of tires has proven to be one of the most reliable and progressively designed options available. With over 25 years of experience in the winter tire scene, Bridgestone’s Blizzak is understandably an automatic choice with many customers.

Coming in a variety of studded, studdable and studless winter tire designs, the Hakkapeliitta line of tires from Nokian is engineered to endure the fiercest winter weather on the planet.

Feeling overwhelmed with too many good options? Try Treadwell, our smart tire buying guide designed to help you find the right tires for 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 their products online and book an appointment ahead of time wait less time in-store!

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