Best Tires Honda Pilot
Choosing the best replacement tires for the Honda Pilot can seem like a daunting decision at first. The need for new tires comes around every few years and they are an expensive part of maintenance for any vehicle.
Get the Best Deals on Tires
Choosing which tires are best for the Honda Pilot will depend on your lifestyle, driving habits, budget, and needs. This guide will help you find the best option to fit your needs. It could be you’re one of the few who fit the general use scenario that Honda had in mind when choosing an original equipment choice for tires. Or perhaps you need the most durable, all weather option due to where you live. Our overview of the best tire options for the Honda Pilot considers uses, costs, and more. This should help narrow down the choices for you.
Have an older Honda Pilot? See tire sizes for previous years.
Best Tires for the Honda Pilot With 18-inch Wheels:
- Sumitomo Encounter HT - Best budget tire
- Yokohama Geolandar A/T G015 - Best mid-priced tire
- Michelin Defender LTX M/S - Best superior tire
Best Tires for the Honda Pilot With 20-inch Wheels:
- General Altimax RT43 - Best budget tire
- Goodyear Eagle Sport All-Season - Best mid-priced tire
- Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady - Best superior tire
Original Equipment Honda Pilot Tires
What tires are on my Honda Pilot? The current generation Pilot is sold in multiple trims with two tire sizes:
- All front-wheel drive models and all-wheel drive models of the Pilot with 18-inch wheels were originally clad in Bridgestone Dueler H/P Sport AS tires in 245/60R18 105H.
- All models of the Pilot with 20-inch wheels were clad in Continental Crosscontact LX Sport tires, sized 245/50R20 102H.
Top Replacement Tire Brands for Honda Pilot
We’re recommending three tires each for the 18- and 20-inch wheels available on the current-generation Honda Pilot. These recommendations are based on consumer reviews, fit, tread life, and budget categories.
18-inch Tires for Honda Pilot
- Budget: Sumitomo Encounter HT - As the low-cost option, these tires don’t skimp on tread life or all-season performance.
- Moderately Priced: Yokohama Geolandar A/T G015 - With a good tread life expectation, these tires are also severe snow rated and rated for on-/off-road use.
- Cost-No-Object: Michelin Defender LTX M/S - With an extremely good tread life, excellent highway ride characteristics, and good all-season performance, these tires are highly recommended by consumers who’ve used them.
20-inch Tires for Honda Pilot
- Budget: General Altimax RT43 - With great tread life, these tires are a good grand touring, all-season option.
- Moderately Priced: Goodyear Eagle Sport All-Season - These high-performance, all-season tires are a good choice for those looking for a moderately-priced option.
- Cost-No-Object: Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady - With a severe snow rating, excellent tread life expectation, and high consumer feedback, these tires top our list.
When Should You Replace Tires?
Tires should be replaced at five years of age or when their tread runs thin. Most people are aware that tires become less effective as miles are put on them. There are numerous tricks (some of them kind of weird) for determining if your tires are beyond their tread life. We recommend keeping it simple and just using the built-in wear bars that tires have as an indicator and talking to a tire professional when you believe they’re getting close.
Time, however, is something most people don’t relate to tire wear. Every tire sold in the United States is required to have a DOT number embossed on it and that number includes the tire’s date of manufacture. After five years, the compounds in tires can begin to break down. Especially protection from the sun’s UV rays. At about five years of age, tires can begin to “dry out” as those compounds fail. The DOT number will have three groups of four numbers each and is located near the tire’s sizing information. The third group of four numbers is the made-on date for the tire.
The first two numbers are the week of the year the tire was made and the last two are the year. So a tire labeled 3019 will have been made on the 30th week of 2019, making its five-year mark on the 30th week of 2024 (July 22-28, 2024).
Most drivers, however, need not be too concerned with the date their tires “expire” from age. Most drivers cover between 12,000 and 15,000 miles per year on their vehicle. So your Pilot’s factory tires are likely to expire from tread wear before that five years is up. When buying tires, tread life can be generally predicted using the tire’s Uniform Tire Quality Grade (UTQG). This is provided by the manufacturer voluntarily and is a standard in the industry.
The UTQG rating is a simple code that includes expected tread life, traction, and high temperature resistance. The rating starts with a three-digit number, and two sets of letters (AA, A, B, or C). For example, a tire with a rating of 500 A A would have the following characteristics:
- 500 - The durability rating of a tire, compared to a control tire with a tread life 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.
Why Not Replace with Original Equipment Tires?
The original tires Honda chose to put on your Pilot may be good enough and it’s a no-brainer to just go with them again. Honda chose those tires based on the generalized need of most drivers of the Pilot, Honda’s relationships with manufacturers, fuel economy returns, and costs.
Your use, however, may not be the same as the generic uses Honda predicted for buyers and you probably don’t have a business relationship with a tire manufacturer to consider. You may need more snow ratings for your tires. Or maybe you’re lucky and need less. You may also need or not need off-road/all-terrain tread. Maybe you need more highway life instead. Stopping power may be a more important consideration for you. That varies the need a lot and is a reason to consider something other than the OEM option.
Changing Honda Pilot Tire Sizes
Most Honda Pilot models will have 17-, 18-, or 20-inch wheels, depending on the year of the vehicle’s manufacture. To move from a smaller tire size to a larger one or from a larger wheel size to a smaller one (or any combination of this), it’s important that the total diameter of the tire itself remains consistent. If that changes, then so do several things with your Pilot that may be more important than just “my speedometer is off.”
A larger diameter means less turns for the same amount of speed. It also means a different turning radius, different stopping length, and a change in ride quality and stability. Similarly, a smaller diameter has those effects as well.
This is why any Honda Pilot of a given model year, even if offered with different wheel sizes, will have the same overall tire diameter. The sidewalls of the tire get smaller to compensate for the larger wheel or vice versa.
But there are reasons to change wheel sizes on a vehicle, including your Pilot.
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.
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 Honda Pilot
How to Read Tire Sizes
Tire sizes are important as well. Learning how to read those in order to not only purchase the right replacements, but also figure out what to get should you change wheels, is an important skill. Luckily, it’s pretty simple. Here’s a rundown using the 245/50R20 201H tires that come standard on the 2020 Honda Pilot with 20-inch wheels:
- 245 - is the measurement of the width of the tire’s tread, in this case 245 millimeters.
- 50 - is the aspect ratio that makes up the sidewall height of the tire. On these tires it’s 50 percent, so 122.5 mm. This is the number most important to overall diameter after we know the value after the R.
- R - means radial tires. Radials are the most common type of automotive tire and have metal and/or fabric woven in at various angles with tread that is strengthened with additional layers of rubber.
- 20 - indicates the wheel diameter in inches. So the overall diameter of the tire is 20 inches (508 mm) + sidewall height (122.5mm): 530.5mm.
- 102 - is the tire’s load rating. A standard tire chart shows both what this number equates to in pounds or kilograms as well as the speed rating (below).
- H - is the tire’s speed rating. H-rated tires have a maximum top speed of 130 mph.
Tires also have general attributes given by the category they belong to. Tires for the Honda Pilot, for example, will be rated as touring, all-season, or all-terrain. Here are the common tire categories used for passenger vehicle tires:
- 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
| Year | Trim | Size |
|---|
Shop Tires Online and Save
Online tire prices are usually less than in store
Honda Pilot Tire FAQ
- What are the best tires for a Honda Pilot?
That depends on what kind of driving you do, but the Yokohama Geolander A/T G015 is an excellent choice.
- What tires come on a Honda Pilot?
It varies depending on which year and trim level you have. It could either be the Bridgestone Dueler HP Sport AS, or the Continental Crosscontact LX Sport. Both are decent choices when it’s time to replace.
- What is the best tire pressure for my Pilot?
Check inside your driver’s side door for a white and yellow label that will tell you the exact tire pressure recommendations for your Honda Pilot model. That tire pressure can also change depending on the load of passengers you’re carrying, as well as the cargo load. Note that the pressure on the tire itself is never the correct setting, but rather a maximum.
- How often should I rotate my Pilot’s tires?
Rotating tires is more about the tire than it is about the car. A typical rotation interval is somewhere between 5,000 and 7,000 miles, though specific cars and tires may change those numbers some. The Pilot can be either front-wheel or all-wheel drive, so the tire rotations may vary according to the wear those drivetrains can have.
- What is the best Honda Pilot tire change kit?
Your Pilot should have come equipped with a spare tire and changing tools. In this case, you already have everything you need to physically change the tire, but you may want to carry an extra roadside emergency kit with an upgraded lug wrench, jumper cables, and emergency markers just in case.
