Best Tires for the Mustang in 2024

The best tires for your Ford Mustang will depend on your lifestyle, your driving style and your budget. When Ford chose the original tires for the Mustang, it aimed for a good balance between cost, treadwear, fuel economy, and performance. There's something for everyone, but that might not be the best tire for your needs. Are you strictly hitting the highway or navigating potholes on busy city streets? Do you have plans for some race track driving? How much winter weather do you have to endure each year? Car Talk can help you make the best tire decision for your Ford Mustang.

Have an older Ford Mustang? See tire sizes for previous years.

Best 17” Tires for the Ford Mustang EcoBoost I4:

• Riken Raptor ZR A/S - Best budget tire
• Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 - Best mid-priced tire
• Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady - Best superior tire

Best 18” Tires for the Ford Mustang EcoBoost I4:

• Laufenn S Fit AS - Best budget tire
• Pirelli Scorpion Verde All Season II - Best mid-priced tire
• Bridgestone DriveGuard - Best superior tire

Best 18” Tires for the Ford Mustang GT:

• Laufenn S Fit AS - Best budget tire
• Pirelli P Zero All Season Plus 3 - Best mid-priced tire
• Bridgestone DriveGuard - Best superior tire

Best 19” Tires for the Ford Mustang EcoBoost I4 and GT:

• Laufenn S Fit AS - Best budget tire
• Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate - Best mid-priced tire
• Michelin Pilot Sport 3 - Best superior tire

Best 19” Tires for the Ford Mustang Bullitt, GT Performance Package:

• Kumho Majesty 9 Solus TA91 - Best budget tire
• Pirelli P Zero - Best mid-priced tire
• Michelin Pilot Sport 3 - Best superior tire

Best 19” Tires for the Ford Mustang GT Performance Package Level 2:

• Kumho Ecsta PS91 - Best budget tire
• Bridgestone Potenza RE-71R - Best mid-priced tire
• Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R - Best superior tire

Best 19” Tires for the Ford Shelby GT350 Mustang:

• Michelin Pilot Super Sport - Best budget tire
• Pirelli P Zero (PZ4) - Best mid-priced tire
• Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 - Best superior tire

Best 19” Tires for the Ford Shelby GT350R Mustang:

• Michelin Pilot Super Sport - Best budget tire
• Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 Track Connect - Best superior tire

Best 20” Tires for the Ford Mustang EcoBoost I4 and GT:

• Kumho Ecsta PS91 - Best budget tire
• Michelin Pilot Sport 4S - Best mid-priced tire
• Dunlop SP Sport Maxx GT - Best superior tire

Original Equipment Ford Mustang Tires

What tires are on my Ford Mustang? The current generation Mustang is sold in multiple trims with four tire sizes:

• The EcoBoost I4 with 17-inch wheels has 235/55R17 tires. The OEM tire for this trim is a Hankook Ventus S1 Noble2
• The EcoBoost I4 with 18-inch wheels has 235/50R18 tires. The OEM tire for this trim is a Pirelli P Zero Nero All Season or a Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric All-Season.
• The EcoBoost I4 with 19-inch wheels has 255/40R19 tires. The OEM tire for this trim is a Pirelli P Zero Nero All Season.
• The EcoBoost I4 with 20-inch wheels has 265/30R20 tires. The OEM tire for this trim is a Pirelli P Zero.
• The GT with 18-inch wheels has 235/50ZR18 tires. The OEM tire for this trim is a Pirelli P Zero Nero All Season or a Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric All-Season.
• The GT with 19-inch wheels has 255/40ZR19 tires. The OEM tire for this trim is a Pirelli P Zero Nero All Season.
• The GT with 20-inch wheels has 265/35R20 tires. The OEM tire for this trim is a Pirelli P Zero.
• The GT Performance Package and Bullit have 19-inch wheels with 255/40ZR19 tires up front and 275/40ZR19 tires in back. The OEM tire for these trims is a Pirelli P Zero or Michelin Pilot Sport 4S.
• The GT Performance Package Level 2 has 19-inch wheels with 305/30ZR19 tires. The OEM tire for this trim is a Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2.
• The Shelby GT350 has 19-inch wheels with 295/35ZR19 tires up front and 305/35ZR19 tires in back. The OEM tire for this trim is a Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2.
• The Shelby GT350R has 19-inch wheels with 305/30ZR19 tires up front and 315/30ZR19 tires in back. The OEM tire for this trim is a Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 or Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 Track Connect.

Top Replacement Tire Brands for Ford Mustang

We’ve recommended three replacement tires in both 17-, 18-, 19-, and 20-inch sizes, in budget, moderately priced and cost-no-object varieties. Whether you have plenty of cash to spend or are watching every penny, don’t worry; we’ve got you covered. All these tires have ratings of four-stars or higher based on consumer surveys:

17-inch Tires for Ford Mustang

• Budget: BFGoodrich G-Force Comp-2 A/S Plus - Priced at just $136, this all-season tire gets high marks for wet, dry, and winter driving.

• Moderately Priced: Bridgestone Turanza Quiettrack - Coming in at $182, this tire offers a smooth ride with great treadwear and high ratings in wet and dry conditions.

• Cost-No-Object: Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady - At $210, this tire performs well in all conditions with a quiet ride and long-lasting tread.

18-inch Tires for Ford Mustang

• Budget: General G-Max RS - Priced at an affordable $131, this tire receives high marks in wet and dry conditions.

• Moderately Priced: Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 - This tire is priced at $168 with high ratings in wet and dry conditions along with a comfortable drive and good treadwear.

• Cost-No-Object: Bridgestone Turanza Quiettrack - This tire offers an exceptionally smooth ride with good treadwear and high ratings in both wet and dry conditions.

19-inch Tires for Ford Mustang

• Budget: General G-Max RS - Priced at an affordable $183, this tire is highly-rated in wet and dry conditions.

• Moderately Priced: Yokohama Avid Ascend GT - At $226, this tire has high ratings for wet and dry driving with top marks for treadwear.

• Cost-No-Object: Bridgestone Turanza Quiettrack - Priced at $321, this tire has a smooth ride with a long-lasting tread and high marks in wet and dry conditions.

20-inch Tires for Ford Mustang

• Budget: Falken Azenis FK510 - Priced at $198, this tire gets strong marks for wet and dry driving with good treadwear and a comfortable ride.

• Moderately Priced: Michelin Pilot Sport 4S - With a price of $353, this tire offers great performance in wet and dry conditions along with a comfortable ride.

• Cost-No-Object: Dunlop SP Sport Maxx GT - This summer performance tire is priced at $644 with high ratings for dry weather and ride comfort.

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 Mustang, but any vehicle in your driveway: Time and mileage.

Considering most drivers cover between 12,000 and 15,000 miles per year, most Mustang owners will pass the miles their original equipment tires were intended to cover well 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 Pirelli P Zero Nero All Season tires on the Mustang earn a 400 AA A UTQG rating. Unless they are damaged, these tires could last up to 40,000 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 sometime 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. At that point, it doesn’t matter how good they look. It’s time for replacements.

Why Not Replace with Original Equipment Tires?

There’s nothing wrong with putting on the same tires that were on your car when it came from the factory. Although they’re perfectly fine, you may be able to find a tire that’s better suited to your specific needs.

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 Ford Mustang Tire Sizes

Depending on the year and model, you may be shopping tires to fit anything between 15-inch for older models to 20-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 the wheel and tire the same. The reason is to avoid any speedometer inaccuracy. If you choose a tire with a much larger overall diameter, your speedometer will read significantly slower. 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.

How to Read Tire Sizes

When reading tire sizes, it’s important to understand what the numbers mean. The Ford Mustng’s 18-inch wheels come with P235/50ZR18 97W all-season tires:

• 235 - indicates the width of the tire from one sidewall to the other in millimeters. This tire is 235 millimeters wide.
• 50 - indicates the aspect ratio, or sidewall height, as a percentage of the tire’s width. In this case, it’s 50 percent or of the tire’s width.
• Z - is used to indicate any tire rated for over 149 mph.
• 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.
• 18 - indicates the wheel diameter.
• 97 - is the tire’s load rating.
• W - is the tire’s speed rating. W-rated tires have a maximum top speed of 168 mph.

You may have noticed that the Ford Mustang’s tire sizes have different diameters and 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 Mustang 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 Size By Year

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