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Sumitomo Encounter AT Review

2021-11-19_17-42-16

Brand: Sumitomo

Tire Type: Truck/SUV Off-Road

Ratings
Overall Rating:
 4.30/5
Dry Performance:
 4.4/5
Wet Performance:
 4.4/5
Comfort Performance:
 4.4/5
Treadwear Performance:
 4/5
* Snow/Ice Performance:
 4.3/5
* Off-Road Performance:
 4.2/5

* No stars means Not Rated!

UTQG: 660 A B

Speed Rating: T or S or R

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Sumitomo Encounter AT Performance

14

Overall Rank

The Encounter AT by Sumitomo is a truck/suv off-road tire with an overall rating of 4.3 / 5. This places it in spot #14 among the 39 truck/suv off-road tires we’ve reviewed.

Dry Performance

16

Dry Performance Rank

The Encounter AT received a Dry Performance rating of 4.4 / 5. This ranks it #16 among the 39 truck/suv off-road tires we’ve reviewed.

Considering this, you may be underwhelmed by its performance on dry roads. However, it may perform well in other categories.

Wet Performance

12

Wet Performance Rank

The Encounter AT received a Wet Performance rating of 4.4 / 5. This ranks it #12 among the 39 truck/suv off-road tires we’ve reviewed.

This is a decent rating, buyers are typically pleased with its performance on wet roads and hydroplane resistance.

Comfort Performance

9

Comfort Performance Rank

“Comfort” performance relates to the tire’s quietness, and smoothness. Better ratings will keep tire ‘roar’ or road-noise to a minimum. Great for luxury cars, or anybody looking for a quieter cabin.

With a Comfort Performance rating of 4.4 / 5, the Encounter AT is ranked #9 among the 39 truck/suv off-road tires we’ve reviewed.

This is an okay rating, this tire tends not to surprise buyers with too much road noise or feedback in the cabin. However, it’s not the best, so we advise you expect ‘some’ noise from these.

Treadwear Performance

28

Treadwear Performance Rank

Treadwear performance is a measure of how well the tire matched up to customers’ expectations of how many miles they will last. Keep in mind, this rating can be influenced significantly by users giving it 1-star or 5-stars because expectations were too extreme. Maybe their last set of tires lasted 100,000 miles and they now think all tires will last that long (that’s extremely rare). Or perhaps their alignment was really off, causing them to wear out in only a few thousand miles.

The Encounter AT received a Treadwear Performance rating of 4 / 5. This ranks it #28 among the 39 truck/suv off-road tires we’ve reviewed.

With this rating, most buyers were not very happy with how long this tire lasted. If you’re looking for a long-lasting tire, best pick something else.

UTQG Rating: What does 660 A B Mean?

The UTQG Specification is also relevant to discuss here. This is a specification provided by the manufacturer after testing. The rating for this tire is 660 A B. There are three parts to this specification: treadwear grade, traction grade, and temperature grade (in that order).

Treadwear Grade

The treadwear grade for this tire is 660. This treadwear grade is very high. This implies the rubber compounds are relatively hard compared to other tires. This tire should wear very slowly – however the trade-off here is usually poorer dry and wet traction.

Traction Grade

The traction grade for this tire is ‘A’. This is a great rating, and implies the tire can handle high g-forces before starting to skid.

Temperature Grade

The temperature grade for this tire is ‘B’. This rating refers to how well the tire dissipates heat at high speeds. If the tire gets too hot at high speeds, it may come apart. Keep in mind, these speeds are very high, and any tire manufactured these days is capable of maintaining highway speeds up to 80mph.

This temperature grade is not as high as A, but still implies the tire will not come apart due to heat at speeds between 100 and 115mph, which is plenty.

Snow & Ice Performance

7

Snow/Ice Performance Rank

Snow and Ice performance is tested on a specifically designed track to simulate these environments. These ratings represent how confident drivers in these conditions felt on these tires.

The Encounter AT received a Snow & Ice Performance rating of 4.3 / 5. This ranks it #7 among the 39 truck/suv off-road tires we’ve reviewed.

These tires rated relatively well for snow/ice. While not the absolute best, you can depend on these tires to get you through light/medium snowfall and occasional ice. However, if you frequently have deep snow or lots of ice, it would be our recommendation to find tires that fairs better in this category.

Off-Road Performance

19

Off-Road Performance Rank

The off-road ratings represent how satisfied other drivers were in these conditions. These conditions could include anything from dirt/gravel roads to extreme offroading/bouldering. If you intend to use these in more extreme conditions, we always recommend checking individual reviews on TireRack.com for specific examples.

The Encounter AT received an Off-Road Performance rating of 4.3 / 5. This ranks it #19 among the 39 truck/suv off-road tires we’ve reviewed.

These tires performed pretty well off-road. They aren’t top-tier, but buyers were relatively pleased with their performance. As long as you don’t intend to drive the Rubicon Trail in record time on these, they should meet your expectations!

Treadlife Warranty

Sumitomo does offer a treadlife warranty for this tire. You should see a time-frame and mileage provided in the ratings on this page. Note that this is a ‘whichever-comes-first’ scenario. So if it’s listed as 3 years, 50K miles – they can be warrantied as long as they are less than 3 years old AND have less than 50K miles on them. Manufacturer’s generally determine if a tire is claim-able for warranty by measuring remaining tread depth. See the documentation for the tire for more information.

TireRack Road Hazard Protection

Sumitomo Encounter AT Warranty Information

Manufacturer’s Treadlife Warranty: 5 yr | 60K

TireRack.com Road Hazard Coverage (Free!): Yes ✅

Sumitomo Encounter AT Sizes

*Note: Sizes are ordered by width (the first number) and go left to right!

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225/75R16
235/70R16
235/70R17
235/75R15
235/75R17
235/80R17
235/85R16
245/65R17
245/70R16
245/70R17
245/75R16
255/65R17
255/70R16
255/70R17
255/70R18
265/60R18
265/60R20
265/65R17
265/65R18
265/70R16
265/70R17
265/70R18
265/75R16
275/55R20
275/60R20
275/65R18
275/65R20
275/70R18
285/55R20
285/65R18
285/70R17
285/75R16
305/55R20
315/70R17
31×10.5R15
325/60R20
325/65R18
35×12.5R20


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