The Grand Touring Tire Guide: When Bigger, Wider Tires Are Worth It (And When They Aren’t)

What are Grand Touring Tires?

Grand touring tires, sometimes referred to as GT tires, are designed for responsive handling and a comfortable ride.

They are considered to be a step above all-season tires in terms of performance and features.

Some key characteristics of grand touring tires:

• Optimized for warm, dry conditions while still providing some wet weather capability. Not intended for snow.
• Focus on combining responsive, sporty handling with a quiet, comfortable ride.
• Made of an advanced tread compound formulated for longevity and traction.
• Equipped with an asymmetric tread pattern to enhance handling and minimize noise.
• Offer better grip and cornering than all-season tires.
• Provide a smooth, quiet ride by minimizing noise and vibration.
• More durable and longer-lasting tread life than high-performance tires.
• Available from premium tire brands and priced higher than all-season tires.

In summary, grand touring tires strike a balance between performance, comfort, and tread life.

They are ideal for drivers seeking responsive handling and a refined ride quality for their sports sedan, luxury vehicle, or performance coupe.

The advanced engineering provides impressive dry grip and cornering with a comfortable ride.

When are Grand Touring Tires Best Suited?

Grand touring tires are best suited for drivers who do a lot of highway driving in dry or wet conditions.

They provide a comfortable ride quality and responsive handling for daily commuting and long road trips.

The key driving conditions where grand touring tires excel include:

• Highway Driving: Grand touring tires are designed for stability and comfort at higher sustained speeds on highways and interstates. Their tread design resists irregular wear at high speeds.
• Dry Roads: The tread compound and pattern on grand touring tires grip well on dry pavement. They provide responsive steering and short braking distances.
• Wet Roads: Grand touring tires perform better on wet roads than all-season tires, channeling water effectively through tread grooves. Advanced tread compounds prevent hydroplaning.
• Light Snow: Some grand touring tires qualify for a 3-peak mountain snowflake rating, indicating improved traction on light snow. They are not optimized for heavy winter conditions.

The types of vehicles that benefit most from grand touring tires are:

• Sedans: Sedans used for daily commuting or road trips will appreciate the comfortable ride and low noise levels of grand touring tires.
• Crossovers & SUVs: Larger vehicles benefit from the load carrying capacity and durability of grand touring tires for highway driving.
• Sports Cars: Sports cars and other performance vehicles sacrifice little responsiveness with grand touring tires, which grip well when cornering.

For drivers who log a lot of miles on the highway in various conditions, grand touring tires strike an optimal balance of comfort, performance, and tread life.

They are a smart choice over all-seasons or high-performance tires for many drivers’ needs.

Key Features of Grand Touring Tires

Grand touring tires are designed for optimal performance, comfort, and longevity. Here are some of their standout features:

Tread Design

• Wide tread blocks and lateral grooves provide excellent wet traction and hydroplaning resistance
• Continuous center ribs enhance high-speed stability and straight-line tracking
• Siping and independent tread blocks improve snow and ice traction
• Low noise tread patterns reduce interior cabin noise

Compound

• Silica-enhanced tread compounds offer superior grip across various temperatures
• Softer rubber compounds provide better traction, even as the tires wear down
• Firm sidewalls resist deformation, enhancing handling and cornering

Construction

• Rigid internal construction prevents tread distortion at high speeds
• Multiple plies boost ride comfort and help resist impacts
• Reinforced sidewalls enhance stability during cornering
• Optimized profiles balance handling, comfort, and fuel efficiency

With their blend of comfort, control, and longevity, grand touring tires are ideal for drivers who regularly cruise at higher speeds or take long road trips.

Their well-rounded capabilities make them a popular choice for daily drivers and luxury vehicles.

Grand Touring vs All-Season Tires

Grand touring and all-season tires have some similarities but also key differences. Here’s an overview of how they compare:

Traction

• Grand touring tires generally provide better traction, especially in wet and dry conditions. Their tread patterns are optimized for performance driving.
• All-season tires offer decent traction across various weather conditions, but don’t excel in any one area. Their tread patterns aim for versatility rather than maximizing grip.

Handling

• Grand touring tires have stiffer sidewalls and optimized tread to improve handling, cornering, and responsiveness.
• All-season tires have more flex in the sidewalls, sacrificing some handling for a smoother, more comfortable ride. Their tread patterns compromise between responsiveness and stability.

Ride Comfort

• Grand touring tires tend to have a firmer ride due to the stiffer sidewalls. The focus is more on responsiveness than comfort.
• All-season tires aim for a balance of comfort and responsiveness. Their flexible sidewalls absorb more shock for a smoother ride.

Treadwear

• The softer, grippier rubber compounds in grand touring tires generally wear faster than all-season tires. Expect shorter tread life.
• All-season tires use harder rubber for longer treadwear. So while they don’t grip as well, the tread lasts longer before needing replacement.

Climate Suitability

• Grand touring tires are designed for warm, dry climates without snow. Using them in cold winter conditions is not recommended.
• All-season tires can tolerate a wider range of climates and temperatures, including light snow. But they don’t excel in winter conditions.

Price

• Grand touring tires are generally more expensive than all-season tires due to the higher-performance materials and technology used.
• All-season tires provide a more affordable option, sacrificing some performance for a lower price point. Their designs are more budget-friendly.

In summary, grand touring tires offer sharper handling and traction while all-season tires provide better tread life and ride comfort.

Consider your customer’s needs and priorities to decide which is the better fit.

Grand Touring vs High Performance Tires

Grand touring and high performance tires are both designed for responsive handling and grip, but they differ in some key ways that impact their ideal usage:

Dry Grip – High performance tires tend to have a bit more dry grip and sharper handling and steering response compared to grand touring tires. This makes them better suited for aggressive driving and track days. Grand touring tires offer strong dry grip as well, just not to the same max performance levels.

Wet Grip – Grand touring tires tend to perform a bit better in wet conditions. Their tread designs efficiently channel water away to maintain traction, while high performance tires with large tread blocks can hydroplane easier.

Ride Comfort – Grand touring tires emphasize ride comfort with their flexible sidewalls and profile designs. High performance tires have stiffer constructions for immediateresponse, but the tradeoff is a harsher ride. This makes grand touring tires better for daily commuting.

Noise – The tread of high performance tires generates more noise at speed. Grand touring tires are designed to run quietly for a refined driving experience.

Treadwear – Grand touring tires strike a balance of decent treadwear and performance. Their tread compounds and designs make them more durable for high mileage. High performance tires sacrifice treadlife for grip, needing replacement more frequently.

Ideal Use – With their well-rounded capabilities, grand touring tires suit daily drivers looking for a balance of responsive handling and a comfortable ride. High performance tires are best matched to sports cars or enthusiasts prioritizing maximum grip and steering precision.

So in summary, grand touring tires offer strong performance with more focus on real world ride comfort and tread durability compared to max performance high performance tires.

Consider your customer’s needs and driving behavior when deciding which option makes the most sense.

Grand Touring vs Winter Tires

Grand touring tires and winter tires are designed for very different weather and road conditions.

Here’s a look at how they compare:

Winter Tire Advantages

• Superior traction and braking in snow and ice. The tread is designed to grab snow and channel it away from the tire’s contact patch.
• Better cold weather performance. Winter tire rubber compounds stay soft and pliable even in freezing temperatures.
• Deep tread depths with aggressive blocks and sipes provide additional grip.

Grand Touring Tire Advantages

• Improved dry and wet road handling. The tread pattern is optimized for warm weather driving.
• Smoother, quieter ride quality on dry roads. Grand touring tires don’t generate as much road noise.
• Often better treadwear and longevity in warm climates. The rubber isn’t as soft so doesn’t wear down as quickly.

Key Differences

• Grand touring tires typically have shallower tread depths than winter tires. They may not cut through deep snow.
• The rubber compound in grand touring tires will begin to lose traction below 45°F. Winter tires remain grippy at much lower temps.
• While grand touring tires have some light snow traction, winter tires are engineered specifically for snow and ice.

So in areas with mild winters, grand touring tires can work well year-round. But for frequent snow and ice, dedicated winter tires are recommended for optimal performance and safety.

Top Grand Touring Tire Brands

Grand touring tires are designed for responsive handling, a smooth ride, and low noise levels. The leading manufacturers of grand touring tires include:

Michelin – Michelin is one of the world’s largest tire manufacturers, known for premium tires like the Pilot Sport 4S and CrossClimate 2. Their grand touring tires use advanced rubber compounds and tread designs to optimize dry grip, wet traction, comfort, and longevity. Popular models are the Defender and Premier lines.

Continental – Continental is another respected German brand that produces the ExtremeContact DWS grand touring tire. It uses Continental’s EcoPlus technology to reduce rolling resistance while providing a quiet, comfortable ride with strong wet/dry traction. Other options are the PureContact LS and PureContact.

Goodyear – Goodyear is an iconic American brand that produces grand touring tires like the Assurance ComforTred Touring. They focus on balancing responsive handling with ride comfort through the use of sound-absorbing materials and Goodyear’s Comfort Layer technology. The Eagle Touring is another well-regarded option.

Pirelli – Pirelli from Italy makes the Cinturato P7 and P7 All Season Plus grand touring tires. They use an asymmetric tread design to minimize noise while enhancing handling and braking. Pirelli tires are original equipment on many luxury vehicles.

Bridgestone – Bridgestone grand touring tires like the Turanza QuietTrack emphasize comfort and quiet performance. They use Bridgestone’s ComfortCruise technology for shock absorption and heat diffusers to decrease noise. The Potenza is their grand touring tire geared more toward responsive handling.

These major brands continue to innovate and release new grand touring tires to meet drivers’ needs for a refined driving experience suitable for long highway journeys.

Cost Considerations

Grand touring tires are generally more expensive than all-season tires but cheaper than high performance tires.

Here’s a quick overview of pricing:

• All-Season Tires – $100-$200 per tire
  All-season tires are designed for year-round use and are the most common type of tire sold. They provide decent traction in most conditions without excelling in any one area.
• Grand Touring Tires – $150-$300 per tire
  Grand touring tires bridge the gap between all-seasons and high performance tires. They offer better handling and grip than all-seasons, while still maintaining ride comfort and tread life. Expect to pay around 1.5-2x the cost of all-seasons.
• High Performance Tires – $200-$500+ per tire
  High performance tires are optimized for responsive handling, grip, and traction. They use softer rubber compounds which improves grip but reduces tread life. These tires can cost 2-3x as much as all-seasons.
• Winter Tires – $100-$250 per tire
  Winter tires are made of specialized rubber to maximize cold weather traction and handling. They are ideal for snow and ice but wear quickly in warm weather. Pricing is similar to all-season tires.

When recommending grand touring tires, keep the customer’s budget and needs in mind.

They provide better performance than all-seasons for a moderate increase in cost. For most drivers, they strike the optimal balance of performance, comfort, and value.

When to Replace Grand Touring Tires

Grand touring tires are designed for longevity and typically have long service lives.

However, there are a few signs that indicate when it’s time to replace your grand touring tires:

Mileage Ratings

Most grand touring tires come with a mileage warranty from the manufacturer, usually somewhere between 40,000-80,000 miles. This is not necessarily an indicator of when to replace them, but provides a rough estimate of their expected lifespan under normal driving conditions. Once you’ve exceeded the mileage rating, it’s a good idea to closely monitor the tires for wear.

Wear Indicators

Wear indicators are built into the tire’s tread grooves, appearing as small bars or triangles. When the tire tread is worn down to 1/16th of an inch, the indicators will become flush with the rest of the tread. This is a sign your grand touring tire needs to be replaced. Checking wear indicators periodically will help you identify when replacement is needed.

Service Life

Even if a grand touring tire seems to have plenty of tread left, the rubber compounds can deteriorate over time. Most experts recommend replacing grand touring tires after 6-8 years, regardless of remaining tread depth. Heat, UV rays, and oxidation take a toll on the rubber, decreasing safety and performance. Replacing them at 6-8 years helps ensure you get the full benefits of a fresh set of tires.

Keeping an eye on mileage, wear indicators, and service life will help identify the optimal time to replace grand touring tires. This helps maximize their longevity while maintaining safety and performance. Proactively replacing them on schedule ensures you experience their comfortable ride and crisp handling for many miles.

Helping Customers Choose

When helping customers select new grand touring tires, there are some key questions to ask and factors to consider:

• What type of vehicle do they drive? Grand touring tires are designed for coupes, sedans, crossovers, and light trucks. They may not be suitable for sports cars or heavy-duty trucks.
• Where do they drive most often? Grand touring tires shine on long highway journeys and commuting, but may not provide enough traction for frequent mountain driving or winter conditions.
• What’s most important – ride comfort, handling, or longevity? Grand touring tires prioritize a smooth, quiet ride and long tread life over maximum dry/wet grip. This may influence the best choice.
• What’s their budget? Grand touring tires occupy a middle ground between all-seasons and high-performance tires. There are options at various price points to suit different budgets.
• How do they drive? If they frequently drive at high speeds, make sharp turns, or accelerate quickly, a high-performance tire may be preferable to a grand touring model.
• Do they rotate tires regularly? Grand touring tires can last over 60,000 miles, but need proper maintenance like rotation to maximize tread life. This should factor into a recommendation.

Asking the right questions upfront ensures customers get tires aligned with their needs and driving habits.

Test drives and manufacturer websites can further assist in finding the ideal grand touring tire.