SUV Tire Requirements

• An SUV is any vehicle defined as having a gross vehicle weight greater than 8,500 lbs., and tires built specifically for them must have extra reinforcement that performance tires do not need.
  
  

Rubber Compound

• The greater loads placed on SUV tires mean that the rubber compound used for their tread must be very hard in order to last. Performance tires use a soft compound for maximum grip.
  
  

Side-Wall

• SUV tires tend to have very high and stiff sidewalls to absorb shock and bear heavy loads. Performance tires use short, thin sidewalls to increase handling response and save weight.
  
  

Tread Design

• Performance tires generally have as few water channels as possible for maximum traction, whereas SUV tires are usually more knobby to increase off-road traction.
  
  

Mixing

• SUV tires are fine for passenger cars, but it is never wise to use performance tires designed for cars on an SUV.