Passenger Tires OK replacement for 2003 CRV?

[Rich]

Greetings,
My wife drives a 2003 4WD CRV that we bought in NJ & relocated to Phoenix, AZ (no snow or off-road use). We are in need of replacement tires. I noticed in a SEAR's tire ad that tires designated for SUV's were more expensive than equivalent size passenger tires. Inasmuch as this vehicle is a small SUV & driven only on paved city roads, could regular passenger tires be used to improve drive comfort & save money? I would like to have some informed opinion before I take on the inevitable protest of the tire salesman predicting the impending doom if I go this route.

Thanks, Rich

 

[John Horner]

Greetings,
My wife drives a 2003 4WD CRV that we bought in NJ & relocated to Phoenix, AZ (no snow or off-road use). We are in need of replacement tires. I noticed in a SEAR's tire ad that tires designated for SUV's were more expensive than equivalent size passenger tires. Inasmuch as this vehicle is a small SUV & driven only on paved city roads, could regular passenger tires be used to improve drive comfort & save money? I would like to have some informed opinion before I take on the inevitable protest of the tire salesman predicting the impending doom if I go this route.

Thanks, Rich

If you are never going to drive off road or in the snow then a more passenger style tire as opposed to a mud & snow type makes good sense. Your also want a tire with good heat resistance given your location and many SUV/truck tires are not the very best in that regard. Something with a speed rating of H or better would be a good idea.

You might try giving tire rack a call. They usually have good advice to offer (www.tirerack.com).

John

 

[Rich]

If you are never going to drive off road or in the snow then a more passenger style tire as opposed to a mud & snow type makes good sense. Your also want a tire with good heat resistance given your location and many SUV/truck tires are not the very best in that regard. Something with a speed rating of H or better would be a good idea.

You might try giving tire rack a call. They usually have good advice to offer (www.tirerack.com).

John

John,

Thank you for your reply. Your information concerning the heat resistance was particularly helpful & unknown to me. I already have noted the tire load requirements(max 1499 lbs) & will now add "H" or better for speed rating to my criteria. Thanks again.
Rich

 

[John Horner]

Thank you for your reply. Your information concerning the heat resistance was particularly helpful & unknown to me. I already have noted the tire load requirements(max 1499 lbs) & will now add "H" or better for speed rating to my criteria. Thanks again.
Rich

The load rating and speed/heat rating are combined into a three character identifier such as "95S". S in this case is the heat/speed rating. You can see a chart of the rating system here:

http://www.tireguides.com/tip2.html

Basically you want to have a tire with at least the same minimum load rating as came with your car (95 for the CRV I think) and also as good or better of a speed rating. I believe the CRV comes with S rated tires, but I recommend H or higher for dessert conditions.

Best of luck!

John