What are the Best Tires for Mississippi?

Locations in Mississippi: 1
First Mississippi location opening date: Southaven MSN01 | August 7, 2015
Common vehicles: Primarily large vehicles like pickup trucks and SUVs or 4x4 vehicles; some sedans and crossover vehicles
Major regions/cities: Jackson, Gulfport, Southaven, Biloxi, Hattiesburg, Olive Branch, Tupelo, Meridian, Greenville, Clifton
Road conditions: Generally well-kept but rural and abrasive, lots of gravel in the winter, no shoulders and tons of rural roads and highways.

Named after its iconic river (sometimes called the Big Muddy), Mississippi is home to 2.9 million residents and built upon equally iconic historical moments like the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement. Its star studded lineup is impressive, with Elvis hailing from Tupelo and Oprah from Kosciusko, while Morgan Freeman currently calls Clarkdale home (he raises bees on 124 acres of land)! Ricky Stenhouse Jr., recent winner of the Daytona 500, is also a Mississippi native.

The Magnolia State is also home to a heck of a lot of rain, which is great for its strong agricultural sector of cotton, sweet potatoes, pulpwood and catfish farming. Primarily employed with blue collar workers who commute a fair distance or work on local roughshod terrain, Mississippians have a lot to contend with on the roadways— from torrential storms and tornadoes to hurricanes, potholes, gravel and more.

So what are the best tires for Mississippi?

We’ve asked our stores for a frontline take on their recommendations for the best tires for Missisipians. Take a look!

BEST CAR TIRES FOR MISSISSIPPI

Cars don’t make such a strong appearance in Mississippi as trucks and 4x4 enabled vehicles do, but they’re still common on roadways. Many Mississippi drivers tend to prefer full size sedans, like the Toyota Camry and Nissan Altima.

According to Blaine Neville, manager of the Southaven Discount Tire store, the Magnolia State’s roads are generally in good shape but tend to be abrasive due to the clay used in the pavement mix. Plus, gravel distributed on roads in the winter months for additional traction tends to eat up tires.

So with Mississippi’s generally hot but wet climate and need for extended tread life, the go-to tire type for your car is the all-season tire.

All-season tires have the chops to handle a range of temperatures and dry or wet road conditions. They also have longer tread lives than summer tires and offer more flexibility; no need to change when things cool down in late fall.

Blaine’s location in Southaven is a great example of the types of customers in Mississippi as they all require a wide range of features from their tires: performance, price point, sizes and so on. Car tire buyers are, however, often surprised by the cost of good quality tires and instead hope to survive with the cheapest option possible.

Many customers come in asking for the Sentury Touring, an all-season budget tire with a pitch optimized tread to reduce noise and a special compound to reduce uneven wear.

Budget tires are convenient for buyers who don’t worry about frequent or long distance travel, like students or people who rarely drive. However, many of Blaine’s customers commute 40 miles per day to their jobs or work in or near rough roads. They need a tire that will last longer than a few years. Blaine says that, in the end, a cheaper tire will cost you more to replace more frequently. Also, there are considerations to make regarding feature and performance trade-offs.

While a “Good” tire may be more affordable, it may not provide you with the tread life, premium comfort or peerless performance of a “Better” or “Best” tire. Check out our tire rating system to learn more!

Customers who come in hoping to grab the cheapest options often instead happily leave with a set of mid-range tires, like the Road Hugger GTP AS/02 or the Arizonian Silver Edition All Season. These tires offer the best price for the best performance before setting foot into the premium tire category. Their tread will last you longer, saving you coin as you won’t need to replace your tires so often.

The Road Hugger GTP AS/02 is our exclusive sporty asymmetric all-season tire with upgraded weather features and a long-wearing fuel efficient tread. It also comes backed with a 60K-mile warranty. It’s a great car tire for Mississippi thanks to its zig-zag weather siping and reduced wet stopping distance.

The Arizonian Silver Edition All Season is also a Discount Tire exclusive tire with a loyal customer following. It’s packed with high end features that really ramp up the value of this all-season champ, including a Low Noise Tread Pattern, responsive highway handling, a deep long lasting tread and increased siping for better weather grip.

If you’re the shopper who wants the lowest price, whether for your family sedan or high-end vehicle, Blaine has plenty of solid recommendations for you. And with Discount Tire’s Low Price Guarantee, you know you’re getting the best deal possible.

Always at the top of the list of premium tires is the Michelin Defender 2, the successor of the hugely popular Defender T+H. The Defender 2 boasts a slew of upgraded features such as EverTread 2.0 for ultra long life tread, a tire profile design specific to each size for better performance and SipeLock™ for surefooted grip in any weather. You’ll love its quiet comfort, capability and its robust 80k-mile warranty.

The Continental Control Contact Tour A/S Plus is also a fantastic option for your coupe, sedan, crossover or even minivan! Fuel efficient, comfortable and with amazing all-season traction, the 70 to 80k-mile warranty is the icing on the cake for this Discount Tire exclusive tire. Commute from Clinton to Jackson with ease with this Continental tire!

Blaine’s customers also really enjoy the Yokohama YK-GTX, another exclusive all-season tire with performance perks. Extremely capable in every season, its luxurious quiet comfort comes from its multi-pitch tread design and closed outside shoulders. Boasting boosted traction in wet and dry conditions with a long-wearing tread compound, it’s rounded off nicely with a 70,000-mile treadwear warranty.

BEST TRUCK TIRES FOR MISSISSIPPI

Pickup trucks are easily the most common vehicle in MS, and the most common truck models in Mississippi include the Ford F-150 and Chevy Silverado.

Blaine says his truck and SUV customers tend to be more prepared when they come in looking for truck tires regarding price. They understand that handling rough roads, muddy hunting grounds and rugged worksites, they’ll need to invest in some good all-terrain or mud-terrain tires.

Mississippians use their trucks for work, play and just because! Duck and other game hunting or bumping along a friend’s parcel of land are common weekend activities. The Magnolia State’s propensity for rural roads, gravel driveways and dirt paths mean that truck drivers need either all-terrain or mud-terrain to get by.

The reigning favorite according to Blaine is the Nitto Ridge Grappler. Its aggressive, triangle-shaped tread is unique looking and capable on and off-road. People like this one, even if they don’t use it for its intended off-road purpose! With a rugged, durable tread that utilizes stone ejectors to resist stone drilling and staggered shoulder lugs to deliver unyielding grip in a variety of terrain, it’s an excellent premium option for your truck or 4x4.

The BFGoodrich All Terrain T/A KO2 is another popular option that offers premium performance and top levels in all-terrain features. It has a severe weather rating, very tough sidewalls via CoreGard Technology and excellent off-road traction in snow, rocks and mud (especially when aired down). And it includes a 50,000-mile warranty, a rarity for an all-terrain tire.

For mud-specific performance, turn to the Nitto Mud Grappler. It features a high-void tread for relentless traction in mud, sand and even hard terrain like rocks. Customers like that it feels good on-road too, with a slick dual sidewall design and an optimized tread block arrangement for strong on-road grip.

The Goodyear Wrangler UltraTerrain AT is another popular option. With its 3PMS severe weather rating, on-road comfort via advanced computer modeling tech and durable tread compound, it’s great for your commute and the trail.

On a budget? Get great mud-terrain traction with the Milestar Patagonia M/T. Built with a three-ply sidewall, a cut-and-chip resistant compound and stone ejectors, this tire really lasts. Angled center tread blocks yield increased traction over even the most unforgiving surfaces and wet conditions are a breeze with its pattern tread block siping.

Blaine’s SUV customers tend to prefer Michelin branded tires.

If you use your truck or SUV strictly for city or suburban commutes only, then you’ll love the Michelin Defender LTX M/S. This all-season touring truck tire is one of the most well known, reliable and capable tires on the market. Part of the iconic Defender family, it features shorter winter and wet weather stopping distances with MaxTouch Construction to reduce noise and vibration while increasing fuel efficiency. This go-to highway terrain tire includes a 50 to70k-mile treadwear warranty and two sidewall designs to choose from (modern black sidewall or raised, outlined white letters)!

DO I NEED SNOW TIRES IN MISSISSIPPI?

You really only need to change to winter tires if temperatures consistently stay below 45F in your area.

Though temps do occasionally drop to the 40s and 50s, they don’t often stay below that.. Residents typically make do with their all-season or severe weather rated all-terrain tires unless they intend to travel north during winter months.

Please note that (if you should be traveling to a true-winter state/region): neither all-season nor all-terrain and mud-tires perform as well as winter tires.

However, because the mercury can hover in those cool temps, it’s a good idea to consider all-weather tires. These are more flexible across a wider range of temps than regular all-season varieties, and their tread includes snow, slush and ice features to help navigate light winter weather better than all-season tires. So, if you’re heading north for the weekend or living in that nearly freezing-northern portion of the state, all-weathers are a good year-round option.

Mississippi gets about 50-65 inches of rain every year across the state. With all that rain, it’s a good idea to check your windshield wiper blades before you hit the road. We recommend changing wiper blades every 6 months, but if you need new wiper blades in Mississippi, you’re in luck! We have a full supply of high-quality, low-priced windshield wipers for sale right here and in store!

Are your rims dented up from road debris? Turn to us at Discount Tire. Some of our stores offer wheel services and repairs! Plus, we have the largest and best priced stock of aftermarket wheels in the industry to outfit you when yours are ready to retire!

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!

For more information on this and other tire and wheel services, check out our YouTube Channel or reach out to us on X, Facebook and Instagram.