Best Tires for the Hyundai Tucson

You have loved driving your Hyundai Tucson for the last few years. But now it is time to get some new tires. When Hyundai built your crossover, they had to walk the fine line between cost and performance, and the choices they made might not line up with your goals in buying new tires.

Some tires are better for bad weather, some are better for warm weather performance, and some are designed to maximize fuel economy. Let’s dive in to figure out which tires are best for your driving style. The sizes and notes you see below apply to 2020 model-year Tucsons, but you can easily search online retailers to find the exact sizes for your vehicle.

Have an older Hyundai Tucson? See tire sizes for previous years.

Best Tires for the Hyundai Tucson SE/Value Trims:

Kumho Solus TA11 - Best budget tire

Continental TrueContact Tour - Best mid-priced tire

Michelin Crossclimate+ - Best superior tire

Best Tires for the Hyundai Tucson SEL/Limited/Ultimate Trims:

Bridgestone Dueler H/P Sport - Best budget tire

Cooper CS5 Grand Touring - Best mid-priced tire

Goodyear Assurance Weatherready - Best superior tire

Best Tires for the Hyundai Tucson Sport:

Kumho Crugen HP71 - Best budget tire

Michelin Primacy MXM4 - Best mid-priced tire

Continental ProContact TX - Best superior tire

Original Equipment Tucson Tires

What tires are on my Hyundai Tucson? The current generation Tucson is sold in multiple trims with three different tire sizes:

• The SE and Value trims come with 17-inch wheels and tires sized P225/60R17. The OEM tires can be one of three choices: the Fuzion Touring A/S, the Yokohama Iceguard G075, or the Michelin X-Ice Snow.
• The SEL, Limited, and Ultimate tims come with 18-inch wheels and P25/55R18 tires. The OE tire for this trim is the Michelin Primacy Tour A/S.
• The Tucson Sport comes with 19-inch wheels and tires sized 245/45R19. The OE tire for this trim is the Uniroyal Tire Paw GTZ All Season 2.

Top Replacement Tire Brands for Hyundai Tucson

We’ve recommended three replacement tires in 17-, 18-, and 19-inch sizes, in budget, moderately priced and cost-no-object varieties. Whether your pockets are deeper than the Mariana trench or Ebenezer Scrooge considers you a role model, don’t worry; we’ve got you covered. All of these tires have ratings of four-stars or higher based on consumer surveys:

17-inch Tires for Hyundai Tucson

• Budget: Kumho Solus TA11 - The Solus TA11 is one of the best affordable tires of any size. It’s got a 70,000-mile treadwear rating and excellent customer reviews.
• Moderately Priced: Continental TrueContact Tour - It doesn’t get much better than the Truecontact Tour. It’s got a staggering 80,000-mile treadwear rating, a strong eco focus and great reviews.
• Cost-No-Object: Michelin Crossclimate+ - We’ve said this a hundred times, but when in doubt, buy the Michelins.

18-inch Tires for Hyundai Tucson

• Budget: Bridgestone Dueler H/P Sport - Don’t let the “Sport” title fool you. These are serious everyday tires that sport excellent ratings and treadwear numbers.
• Moderately Priced: Cooper CS5 Grand Touring - It seems to be a theme with Tucson tires, but the CS5 Grand Touring has excellent treadwear numbers and great reviews.
• Cost-No-Object: Goodyear Assurance Weatherready - The Goodyear Assurance is just a good tire, no matter the weather, and though it’s the most expensive 18-inch tire we’re listing it’s still quite affordable.

19-inch Tires for Hyundai Tucson

• Budget: Kumho Crugen HP71 - Kumho rules the budget-friendly tire game. The Crugen HP71 has consistently ranked high on our lists.
• Moderately Priced: Michelin Primacy MXM4 - Michelin sells a few different Primacy tires that fit the Tucson Sport, but the MXM4 is one of the highest rated.
• Cost-No-Object: Continental ProContact TX - The tire selection for 19-inch Tucson wheels is slimmer than you’d think, especially at the top end of the price range. That said, the Procontact TX is an excellent choice with good ratings and decent treadwear numbers.

When Should You Replace Tires?

There are two regular milestones that will suggest that it’s time to replace the tires, not only on your Tucson, but any vehicle in your driveway: Time and mileage.

Considering most drivers cover between 12,000 and 15,000 miles per year, the vast majority of Tucson owners are going to be past the mileage that their original equipment tires were intended to cover before they’ll go past the tire’s usable age.

The life of your tire can be somewhat predicted by its UTQG (Uniform Tire Quality Grade) rating. Tire manufacturers apply their own grades to tires for treadwear, traction and temperature. When you’re researching tires online, a UTQG will come up next to the tire name in three digits and a number (ex. 500 A A).

You can glean a bit of info from the tires by reading this rating:

• 500 - The durability rating of a tire, compared to a control tire with a treadlife of 100. To obtain a grade, tires run on a 640 kilometer course for 11,520 km. Every 1,280 km, the tread depth is measured, to provide a projected tread life. The higher the number, the longer the predicted treadlife.
• A - This is the Traction rating of a tire, which indicates how well a tire stops in wet conditions. The highest letter grade is AA, followed by A, B and C.
• A - The second letter in the UTQG is the Temperature rating, which indicates how well a tire holds up to extreme heat. A is the highest, followed by B and C.

Original equipment Continental Procontact TX tires on the Tucson earn a decent 500 AA UTGQ rating. Unless they are damaged, these tires could last as long as 50,000 miles before you need to replace them.

The other consideration is time. Each tire has a raised date code on the sidewall. The number begins with the letters “DOT” followed by 12 digits in three four-digit groups. The date code is the third group of four digits. To decipher the date of your tires, the first two digits represent the WEEK the tire was produced, and the second two digits represent the YEAR.

For example, if your tire’s date code is 3217, that indicates the tire was manufactured in the 37th week of 2017, or some time between September 11 and 17th that year.

Once tires go beyond five years old, it’s time to consider replacing them. Tires are made up not just of rubber and steel or kevlar belts, but chemicals that help the tires resist UV rays, temperature changes and a lot of other environmental hazards. Those chemicals start to break down after five years or so, and the tires aren’t doing the job that they need to do.

Why Not Replace with Original Equipment Tires?

There’s no harm in replacing your tires with the shoes it came with from the factory. However, depending on what kind of driver you are, there are significant reasons to purchase something different.

You only need to purchase ONE set of tires for your car every four years or so, depending on how much you drive. When an auto manufacturer purchases tires, they buy them by the hundreds of thousands. For the manufacturer, the decision to choose a supplier one brand or another comes down to a price point.

For you, your consideration may be completely different. If you could get a tire that stopped 20 feet shorter for an additional $10 per tire over the original equipment, you’d probably do it. Similarly, if there was a tire that made less road noise for a minimal investment over stock, you’d probably decide on the slightly more expensive tire (that is, unless you’re trying to drown out the conversation of your back-seat-driving spouse.)

Changing Hyundai Tucson Tire Sizes

Depending on the year and model, you may be shopping tires to fit anything between 15-inch for older models to 19-inch wheels with various widths and sidewall sizes along the way. It is possible to change the wheel and tire sizes, but a general rule of thumb is to keep the total diameter of wheel and tire the same. So, that means that downsizing an 18-inch wheel to a 17-inch wheel would include a proportionate upsizing of the tire sidewall to compensate.

Downsizing wheels has its advantages. Benefits include:

• Better ride quality – More rubber means more cushion for poor road conditions.
• Cost reduction – Big tires are expensive, so moving to a smaller wheel size will mean less costly tire purchases.
• Seasonal changes – Winter and snow tires are available for a larger selection of smaller wheel sizes and the narrower footprint will provide better traction.
• Off-road – Many people choose to downsize wheels for off-road use to increase the vehicle’s shock absorption capabilities and bump traction on loose surfaces.

On the other side of the coin, going up in wheel size has its benefits:

• Better handling – Slimmer profile tires makes for less rubber to move around.
• Better looks – This one’s subjective, but many people feel that larger wheels look better than smaller wheels with more rubber.
• Better braking – Larger, wider wheels provide a bigger patch of rubber on the ground to slow the vehicle, reducing braking distance.

See our recommendations for the Best Extended Warranty for your Hyundai Tucson

How to Read Tire Sizes

When reading tire sizes, it’s important to understand what the numbers mean. The Hyundai Tucson’s 19-inch wheels come with P245/45R19 102H XL all-season tires:

• 245 - indicates the width of the tire from one sidewall to the other in millimeters. This tire is 245 millimeters wide
• 45 - indicates the aspect ratio, or sidewall height, as a percentage of the tire’s width. In this case, it’s 45 percent or of the tire’s width.
• R - means radial tires. Radials are the most common type of automotive tire and have fabric woven in at various angles with tread that is strengthened with additional layers of rubber
• 19 - indicates the wheel diameter
• 102 - is the tire’s load rating
• H - is the tire’s speed rating. H-rated tires have a maximum top speed of 130 mph

You may have noticed that the Hyundai Tucson’s three tire sizes have different diameters and also different aspect ratios. Generally, automakers choose tires that have the same outer diameter. This allows them to have only one speedometer setting.

Now that you know what comes on a new Tucson and how to read the size numbers, let’s look at the different types of tires available to you. Depending on the type of driving you’re doing, where you live, and the weather, you have a variety of choices for tire types:

• Touring and All-season tires - provide a smooth ride, good wet and dry traction, decent winter traction, and longer tread life. These tires are acceptable for winter use but can’t be expected to provide the traction and stopping power that a dedicated winter tire can.
• Performance tires - are focused on providing confident handling, better wet and dry traction, and a sporty feel. Their higher grip and speed ratings come with a tradeoff of shortened tread life and reduced ride quality.
• All-terrain tires - are built to maximize off-road traction and provide good durability overall. Their construction means more noise and less comfort on the road, but winter traction and tread wear is acceptable.
• Winter and snow tires - are made with special rubber compounds that maintain grip and pliability when temperatures drop. They are also built with special tread patterns to maximize the vehicle’s ability to start and stop on very slippery roads.

Tire Sizes By Year

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