Last Updated: November 8, 2024
The Toyota Tacoma is the mid-size truck king in North America. This best-selling truck has exceptional resale value and tough-as-nails durability. Its muscular and sporty finish helps it stand out from its competitors. In addition, a perfect combination of advanced technologies encourages off-road enthusiasts and truck lovers to invest in the Toyota Tacoma.
Like frequent maintenance, a good set of tires is crucial. The best tires for a Toyota Tacoma will enhance the truck’s functionality and traits, making its unrefined ride quality more bearable.
Though the Toyota Tacoma is a capable on-road and off-road truck, it will only be an excellent performer with quality tires. A good set of tires provides enough traction and ensures road safety. Unfortunately, every tire you see on the market is not designed to complement the design and traits of the Toyota Tacoma. So, how will you choose the best tires for this Japanese truck?
To help you find an excellent match for your mid-size truck, we will share some of the best tire models that work perfectly well with Tacoma’s abilities. Our list will include tires from different categories, including off-road, highway, all-terrain, performance, winter, and all-season tires to fit every truck owner’s lifestyle.
Best Tires for Toyota Tacoma
Here are our top picks for the list of the best Toyota Tacoma tires:
Best Overall: MICHELIN DEFENDER LTX M/S
The Michelin Defender LTX M/S is a top-tier all-season tire for light trucks and SUVs. Offering a blend of comfort, durability, and year-round traction, it is built with Michelin’s MaxTouch Construction technology, enhancing tread life and fuel efficiency.
A standout feature is its Evertread compound, designed to provide durable traction even in tough weather conditions. This compound, combined with lateral grooves and high-density 3D Active Sipes, offers superb wet and snow traction.
Moreover, the Defender LTX M/S is built for heavy-duty use, boasting a strong sidewall design and high load-carrying capacity, making it an ideal choice for towing and hauling. Regarding ride quality, these tires are engineered to minimize noise and vibration, ensuring a smooth and comfortable ride.
Overall, the Michelin Defender LTX M/S demonstrates Michelin’s commitment to quality and innovation. It combines durability, comfort, and performance, making it a popular choice among vehicle owners.
Pros
- This tire’s got killer grip and confident handling on dry pavement, making your ride smooth as silk.
- Exceptional stability and straight-line tracking on the highway – it’s a dream, even with a trailer in tow.
- Rainy day? No problem. This bad boy has excellent acceleration traction and braking performance on wet roads.
- Handling in the rain remains top-notch, even when the tire starts to wear.
- When the winter hits and light snow covers the road, this tire holds its ground, offering solid traction.
- The best in the league for tread life and durability – and an excellent treadwear warranty backs it up. It’s built to last!
- Thanks to its tough casing, This rugged tire allows light off-road action over hard-packed surfaces.
- It purrs like a cat on the road, keeping things super quiet, even when you’re gunning it on the highway.
- And let’s not forget the comfort – it offers a reasonably plush ride, even in LT-metric spec.
Cons
- Alright, let’s be real. It’s a bit on the pricey side. But remember, the fantastic tread life means you’ll save more in the long run.
- It might not be your first choice for hardcore off-roading on tough terrains. It excels on streets and can handle light off-road, but serious trailheads might challenge it.
Specifications:
- Weight: 23.00 Lbs – 60.19 Lbs
- Speed Rating: H – UP TO 130 MPH – T – UP TO 118 MPH
- Tire Aspect Ratio: 10.5 – 75
- Load Index Rating: 95 – 129
- Warranty: 50,000 – 70,000 miles
- Price: $155.00 – $472.00/each
Best Premium: BFGoodrich T/A KO2
BFGoodrich T/A KO2 is our top pick for the best Toyota Tacoma tires. The tire is famous for delivering the ultimate comfort and off-road performance. It is also available in sizes ranging from 15 to 24 inches to fit every truck model. In addition, the manufacturer claims that the improved version of the KO2 tire provides 10% more traction on mud, 19% in the snow, and 15% in sidewalk strength.
Whether you’re driving on hard or soft surfaces, T/A KO2 will offer good traction while being durable. The mud-terrain design and Sidewall Armor of BFGoodrich T/A KO2 contribute much to the heavy-duty off-road performance, including stone rejection, tread depth, bruise-resistant, and sidewall tread. Thanks to its flexible design, T/A KO2 can roll over many sharp obstacles without any problem. In addition, a Tri-Grand sidewall design improves the tire’s durability drastically. It allows the tire to withstand massive abuse, minimizing the risks of punctures and chips.
Along with excellent off-roading capabilities, T/A KO2 features exceptional on-road performance. With its superb driving dynamics and good levels of grip on dry tarmac, this tire also works as the best all-terrain tire. With its increased flexibility, prolonged durability, good tread wear warranty, and exceptional off-road performance, BFGoodrich T/A KO2 can be a good fit for Toyota Tacoma.
Pros
- Fantastic off-road performance
- Wide-ranging fitting
- Tough design
- Improved traction on muddy and slippery roads
- Exceptional off-road performance
- Improve footprint shape
- Impressive tread life
- Unique mud-terrain design
- Competitively priced
- Upgraded mileage and tread life warranty
Cons
- A bit noisy at higher speeds
- Heavyweight
Specifications:
- Weight: 33.05 Lbs – 78.00 Lbs
- Speed Rating: Q – UP TO 100 MPH – T – UP TO 118 MPH
- Tire Aspect Ratio: 10.5 – 9.5
- Load Index Rating: 100 – 129
- Warranty: 50,000
- Price: $196.00 – $674.00/tire
Goodyear Wrangler TrailRunner
Buckle up, folks! If you’re seeking top-drawer quality for your Toyota Tacoma without blowing your budget, it’s time you met the Goodyear Wrangler TrailRunner. Designed with the off-road aficionado in mind, this tire is ready to conquer any terrain with you.
The Wrangler TrailRunner is Goodyear’s secret sauce. It cleverly blends all-season and all-terrain compounds with a state-of-the-art, computer-optimized tread pattern to keep the noise and vibration to a bare minimum. The result? It’s a ride so smooth that you’d think you’re floating. Plus, the multi-angled sipes and saw-tooth block edges ensure a firm grip on slippery and muddy terrains. Grass, gravel, dirt, light snow – you name it, this tire’s got traction to spare. You won’t believe it until you try it, folks!
Pros
- Generous tread wear warranty
- Excellent performance for both dry and wet roads
- An ideal choice for off-roading
- Good traction for light snow-covered roads
Cons
- Costlier compared to other tires of the same category
- Not the best performer in heavy snow and deep mud
Specifications:
Weight: 41.00 Lbs – 53.00 Lbs
Speed Rating: S – UP TO 112 MPH
Tire Aspect Ratio: 60 – 65
Load Index Rating: 115 – 126
Warranty: 55,000 miles
Price: $208.00 – $325.00/tire
Firestone Destination LE3
Firestone’s Destination LE3 is one of the best highway all-season tires for Toyota Tacoma. It is an ideal alternative to other costlier tires, such as Wrangler TrailRunner. The tire works well in dry conditions, with balanced handling and solid traction. Highway stability is one of the prime reasons why Destination LE3 is the best tire for Toyota Tacoma.
With solid braking and surefooted handling, Destination LE3 also provides good traction in rainy conditions. The tire’s snow traction could be more impressive, but it is still far better than some of the cheapest highway all-season tires.
Pros
- Easy to drive on light snow-covered roads
- Intuitive steering
- Responsive highway all-season tire
- Good traction and drivability in rainy conditions
- A firmer grip on dry tarmac
Cons
- Too noisy
- Less smooth over bumpy surfaces
Specifications:
- Weight: 22.00 Lbs – 41.00 Lbs
- Speed Rating: H – UP TO 130 MPH – V – UP TO 149 MPH
- Tire Aspect Ratio: 45 – 75
- Load Index Rating: 95 – 116
- Warranty: 70,000 miles
- Price: $151.00 – $271.00/tire
Pirelli Scorpion AT Plus
Pirelli Scorpion AT Plus is another excellent Toyota Tacoma-compatible tire, capable of handling extreme off-road conditions. This tire is worth buying if you often attach deep mud, go off-roading, or navigate the most challenging terrains.
AT Plus utilizes a New Generation Compound for added protection against punctures, cuts, and chips. The AT Plus’s high void and symmetric tread pattern make it an ideal tire for Toyota Tacoma owners. In addition, the deep grooves supported by intended tread blocks help evacuate small rocks from the tread area.
The tire comes with a treadwear warranty of 50,000 miles, which is not one of the best warranties you will get from other all-terrain tires.
Pros
- Hydroplaning resistance
- 3PMSF certified
- Cut and chip resistant
- Improved traction for wet and dry roads
Cons
- Ride quality could be improved
- Shorter tread life
Specifications:
- Weight: 57.00 Lbs
- Speed Rating: UP TO 130 MPH
- Tire Aspect Ratio: 65
- Load Index Rating: 116
- Warranty: 50000 miles
- Price: $437/tire
Things to Consider When Buying the Best Toyota Tacoma Tires
The following suggestions will help you find a great set of tires for your Tacoma:
Type of Tire
Choose the right tire type that can satisfy your needs well. For example, dedicated winter tires with thick rubber compounds would be great if you drive in deep snow conditions. But if you tend to drive in an area that experiences the hottest summer days, a winter tire does not perform well.
An all-terrain tire can provide a smoother and safer ride regardless of road situations. With their impressive durability, quieter operation, and high off-road driving traction, all-terrain tires are a good choice for Toyota Tacoma owners.
Tire Profile
A tire profile refers to the aspect ratio between the width and height. When choosing the best Toyota Tacoma tires, opt for a model with a lower aspect ratio, as it will provide greater steering and better lateral stability.
Durability
Choose a Toyota Tacoma tire with a higher UTQG (Uniform Tire Quality Grade) rating. This rating indicates that your selected tire has better durability, improved traction, and withstands several temperature conditions.
Driver Soul Tire Testing Methodology
We take pride in providing thorough and unbiased reviews of the latest tire models. To ensure our ratings are accurate and consistent, we have developed a methodology that considers various factors and incorporates statistical analysis.
- Performance: We test tires for their performance in various driving conditions, including wet and dry roads, snow and ice, and off-road terrain. We also consider handling, braking, noise, and ride comfort factors. These tests are conducted using standardized procedures, and the results are analyzed using statistical methods to determine the mean and standard deviation.
- Durability: We assess tire durability based on tread life, resistance to punctures and cuts, and sidewall strength. These tests are conducted using standardized procedures or data gathered from third-party websites where real users share their experiences with the products we review. We then analyze the results using statistical methods to determine the mean and standard deviation.
- Value: We consider the tire’s price and compare it to its performance and durability to determine its overall value. We pay close attention to how long the tires last, their reported lifespan, and the ratio of those metrics to the price.
- Customer reviews: We consider the experiences and opinions of other drivers who have used the tire. We do our best to disregard what seems to be fake reviews (good or bad) and make judgment calls based on our ability to filter bogus reviews well. We are human; therefore, mistakes can be made. The best reviews we provide are the ones where we extensively test the products and share real-life experiences with our readers.
- Expert opinions: We consult industry experts and gather their insights and opinions on tires. An expert can even consist of a person with extensive knowledge of tire use and practical experience with them.
Our ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 5, with one being the lowest and five being the highest. We strive to provide detailed and comprehensive reviews that give drivers the information they need to make informed purchasing decisions. Overall, this methodology, which incorporates statistical analysis, allows us to provide accurate and reliable ratings for the tires we review on our site.
Best Tires for Toyota Tacoma: Bottom Line
Toyota Tacoma requires good tires to run smoothly on different terrains. The tires you choose must provide good traction for muddy and slippery terrains while gripping snow-covered roads firmly. You can choose any of the tires mentioned above to complement the functionalities of your Toyota Tacoma.
