One of the most neglected parts of a vehicle is the tires. Once the weather turns bad, however, that’s exactly where our attention goes, and then it becomes a priority. Either you realize you need new tires desperately or you begin to wonder if it’s time for an upgrade.
It’s at this time you say to yourself, “Why don’t we look at our options.” If you drive a Tacoma, you whip out your phone or laptop and type in, “Best Tires for Toyota Tacoma.” And BAM, about 40 different ads for tires fill your page, trying to coax you to buy their product. You start feeling overwhelmed, possibly even dizzy. You slam your laptop shut and scream to the tire gods, “WHAT TIRE DO I NEED?”
We aren’t tire gods, but we will try to give you some knowledge to help you determine what type of tires you need. We will also give you a top pick for a category to consider. Even if you choose to go with a different brand, at least you’ll have a mental image of the type of tire you want.
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Comparison of the Best Tires for a Tacoma
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How to Choose Tires for a Tacoma?
Obviously, for this article, we will be discussing the best tires for a Toyota Tacoma. Still, the information in this section can be applied when choosing a tire for most trucks. Tires are not all the same, but they all serve the same overall purpose. That purpose is to provide the best traction possible between the vehicle and the ground.
What is Your Tacoma Used For?
First, we want to determine what our Toyota Tacoma’s primary function is? If you spend all day driving in the city and never venture off paved roads, you’ll want a radial tread design made specifically for paved roads. If you work on a ranch in Montana and only use a paved road when you drive to town for supplies, then perhaps an aggressive all-terrain or light off-road tire is more appropriate.
Photo credit: Tiredeets.com
What Type of Load Are You Carrying?
If the only load your Tacoma carries is you, then chances are you don’t need a tire with reinforced sidewalls and steel belts. If you’re a construction worker who constantly carries heavy loads of materials, then having a tire with a higher load capacity is something you should look into.
What Driving Conditions Do You Drive in Most?
While we have this as the second main question, it could easily be tied for first. As mentioned above, the main function of our tires is to provide traction. So, determining what your driving conditions normally are should be a primary factor. For example, a person living in south Texas probably doesn’t need a tire designed for snow, but someone living in Chicago does.
Photo credit: Tacomaforum.com
Review of the Best Tires for a Tacoma
Below are the best tires for a Tacoma for an assortment of scenarios in which you and your Tacoma might find yourselves. We have done our best through personal experiences and research to provide products that fit particular driving environments. Hopefully, one of these scenarios fits your conditions.
Best Overall:Goodyear Wrangler All-Terrain Adventure with Kevlar
PROS
- Good load capacity
- Extra sidewall protection
- Comfortable and quiet on paved roads
- Dual steel belt with DuPont Kevlar construction
- Good all-terrain design for variable off-road conditions
CONS
- A little heavy
- Not rated for severe snow conditions
What Buyers Report
Those that purchased these tires were so thrilled with them, they often replaced them with another set when needed. Our research found it difficult to find any downside to the Goodyear Wrangler All-Terrain Adventure with Kevlar tires.
Why it Stands Out to Us
The Goodyear Wrangler All-Terrain Adventure with Kevlar is the premier tire available. These tires aren’t great in any specific category, but they are good in almost all categories. The only downfall to these tires is they aren’t rated for severe snow weather, but are acceptable in light snow. The Goodyear Wrangler All-Terrain Adventure with Kevlar features a good all-terrain tread design.
This design does well in all light off-road conditions and remains smooth and comfortable on hard pavement. The tire has a max load capacity of over 2,400 lbs. A great feature of these tires is the dual steel belt, DuPont Kevlar reinforced construction to add strength without losing comfort. The sidewalls are special also, featuring Goodyear’s Durawall Technology for added protection against sidewall punctures in offroad use.
Many tires are great for a specific application but lack severely in other areas. Rarely does a tire come along that does well in several different applications without giving anything up in return. The Goodyear Wrangler All-Terrain Adventure with Kevlar is good for almost anything you want to use it for. For that reason, it made our list of best tires for a Toyota Tacoma.
Bottom Line
If you’re looking for a tire for your Toyota Tacoma but not sure exactly of your driving needs, then the Goodyear Wrangler All-Terrain Adventure with Kevlar tire is a good safe choice. Offering durability, all-season traction, puncture-resistant sidewalls, strong construction, and a smooth, quiet ride, this tire checks many blocks. It’s for these reasons, we feel the Goodyear Wrangler All-Terrain Adventure with Kevlar tires is the best overall tire for your Toyota Tacoma.
Runner-up and Best Tire for Carrying Loads:Nitto Dura Grappler
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PROS
- Comfortable ride
- Great load capacity
- Quiet on pavement
- Decent in most light inclement conditions
- Groove design helps keep traction in wet weather
CONS
- A little heavier than other tires
- Not great in more severe off-road conditions
Recent Buyers Report
The consumers who purchased these tires were happy with their purchase because they searched for a tire that met specific requirements. For this reason, finding negative comments about this tire proves difficult.
Why it Stands Out to Us
Many Toyota Tacoma buyers decided on this pickup because while work required light hauling capacity, life required something more fuel-efficient than a full-size truck. When composing this list of best tires for a Toyota Tacoma, we couldn’t overlook the blue-collar worker’s needs. We went looking for a tire that had better load capacity than an average tire and offered some light all-terrain capabilities.
We found the Nitto Dura Grappler was the best fit for this application. With a load capacity of about 3,000 lbs., these tires will handle whatever you put in the bed of your truck. The tread design is somewhere between an all-season highway and an all-terrain. Although not recommended for extremely muddy job sites, it’ll do well if there’s a thin layer of mud with hard-packed road composition underneath.
The Nitto Dura Grappler stands out because we understand that many people who drive the Toyota Tacoma are looking for a tire that fits a blue-collar worker’s needs. We also understand that those same workers like the comfort of a good ride when they’re off-duty.
Bottom Line
The Nitto Dura Grappler is a tire made for a specific application; large load capacity without sacrificing comfort. This tire also offers light all-terrain capabilities making it a versatile large load capacity tire. For these reasons, we think the Nitto Dura Grappler is the best large-load tire for Toyota Tacoma.
Best for the Money and Tire for Urban Driving:Kelly Edge HT
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PROS
- Smooth ride
- Good in all-seasons
- Quiet on paved roads
- Great for city commuters
- Designed for a longer lifespan
CONS
- Generic look
- Not suited for more severe conditions
Recent Buyers Report
Customers that have purchased the Kelly Edge HT light truck/SUV highway tires have been pleased. Many of the comments voice how smooth the tires ride and how quiet they are for a “truck” tire. Some reservations were voiced over their effectiveness in more severe conditions such as mud or heavy snow. These customers, however, admitted the tire isn’t designed for such conditions.
Why it Stands Out to Us
For some of us, the most aggressive driving environments we encounter come when Mother Nature decides to throw a wrench in our day. This tire offers a well-designed tire tread with several wide grooves to channel water and slush away. These grooves, partnered with sturdy shoulder blocks and a reinforced center rib, ensure confidence and comfort while driving.
The main reason this tire stands out to us is that it’s a great tire for urban drivers who love the Toyota Tacoma but don’t require a more aggressive tire. If potholes and the occasional severe storm are your biggest threats when driving, we believe the Kelly Edge HT light truck/SUV highway tire is the best pick for your Toyota Tacoma.
Bottom Line
When choosing a good tire for urban driving, a few things should stand out. First, look at the longitudinal grooves. These grooves should be relatively wide and deep. This design helps to channel water away to ensure positive traction when driving. Second, a smooth tread design. When choosing a street tire, some customers will run their hand over the face of the tread.
These customers are looking to see if the tread design grabs the meat of their hand too much. The more a tread grabs the hand, the louder the tire will be on paved roads. Lastly, know that a radial tire like the Kelly Edge HT light truck/SUV highway tire is designed for highway use. For this purpose, we feel this tire is the best urban tire for your Toyota Tacoma.
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Best Off-Road Tire:Mickey Thompson Baja MTZ P3
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PROS
- Good aggressive look
- Good handling on paved roads
- Special tread design for extra off-road traction
- Special sidewall construction for added protection
- Silica-reinforced tread compound for wet weather traction
CONS
- Loud on paved roads
- Shorter lifespan than all-terrains
Recent Buyers Report
People who bought the Mickey Thompson Baja MTZP3 tires are mostly impressed with how well these tires perform. They were either impressed with how well a radial off-road tire did off-road or impressed with how well they did on paved roads for being such an aggressive off-road tire.
Why it Stands Out to Us
We couldn’t compile a list of best tires for Toyota Tacoma without including a top pick for an off-road tire. For some of us Tacoma drivers, it’s hard to decide if our Toyota looks better clean or muddy. So, if your weekends are full of playing in a mudhole or getting to your favorite fishing spot but you have to drive to the office on Monday, the Mickey Thompson Baja MTZP3 is the tire for you. These tires rank pretty high with our off-road enthusiasts. Mickey Thompson Baja MTZP3 tires are some of the best looking off-road radial tires on the market.
Don’t let the term radial fool you. These tires are aggressive off-road tires that won’t let you down when you leave paved roads. They are noisy but not as bad as you would expect from such a mean-looking tire. The Mickey Thompsons don’t just look aggressive, they are aggressive. With Mickey Thompson’s special tread design that features high-void tread and angled shoulder scallops, traction will be the last of your worries.
These tires also offer Four-Pitch Sidebiter® and 3-ply sidewall design. This feature not only gives extra sidewall protection but gives them traction for those deeper ruts or mud bogs. Still not convinced? These tires also have stone ejectors to prevent rocks from getting stuck in the tread.
The Mickey Thompson Baja MTZP3 tires stand out to us because these tires fulfill the off-road enthusiasts’ desires while still being practical for daily driving. Yes, they are a little loud, but they are relatively quiet compared to some other tires. Most importantly, these tires are specifically designed for light trucks like the Toyota Tacoma.
Bottom Line
Mickey Thompson Baja MTZP3 tires are off-road tires that are either great off-road tires that do well on paved roads or good paved road tires that are awesome off-road. We aren’t saying these tires are for the extreme off-road enthusiast, but they are one step below them.
These tires offer a plethora of special features that make them good tires. One of their best features is their “wow” factor. Pull up to the office with a set of these, and no one will notice the coffee stain on your shirt. For all of these reasons, the Mickey Thompson Baja MTZP3, in our opinion, is the best off-road tires for your Toyota Tacoma.
Best Tire for All-Terrain Plus Snow:General Grabber A/TX
PROS
- True all-terrain
- 3PMSF symbol
- Studding available
- Quiet on paved roads
- Meets severe snow service requirements
CONS
- Fails in more extreme situations
- Might make drivers overconfident
Recent Buyer Report
Most of the reviews our researchers saw while determining whether this was the best all-terrain tire were stellar. So much so we had difficulty finding cons to list. Overall, the customers have been extremely pleased with the General Grabber A/TX.
Why it Stands Out to Us
One of the most searched tires for a Toyota Tacoma is a good all-terrain tire, at least in the United States. The reason for this is because all-terrain suggests a tire is great at everything. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. Many tire companies throw the title “all-terrain” on their tires, but they are radial all-season tires. There are also all-terrain tires that are multi-terrain tires but aren’t well suited for certain conditions like snow.
When searching for the best all-terrain tire for a Toyota Tacoma, we set our criteria to find a good tire in as many conditions and scenarios as possible. That search led us to the General Grabber A/TX. This tire satisfies the scrutiny of our researchers and tire enthusiasts. Its design gives good traction in muddy off-road conditions while not being too loud on the pavement.
One of the features that impressed our tire experts was that General Grabber met the severe snow service requirements, boasts the three-peak mountain snowflake symbol (3PMSF), and the tread design allows for studding if faced with icy conditions.
General Grabber A/TX stands out because it’s one of the few all-terrain tires that tick almost all the boxes while not being too expensive. This tire’s key feature is its snow capability, which made it stand out to us as a true all-terrain tire.
Bottom Line
When our researchers and tire enthusiasts began discussing this article, this section might have had the most heated debate. All-terrains might be the one category that’s most dependent on needs and wants. It would be best if you had a good tire in all conditions but want a tire that isn’t insanely loud.
Our team split up and, when they came back, almost all of them agreed the General Grabber A/TX was an all-terrain tire. This tire meets all the criteria needed to be the best all-terrain tire for your Toyota Tacoma.
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When is it Time to Replace My Tires?
When is it time to replace your tires is a question many people ask? A few different answers are depending on what types of tires you have. Regardless, the answer is in your pocket. Well, it’s in your pocket if you have a U.S. Quarter hidden there.
Place the quarter head first into your tire’s longitudinal tread grooves, start at the groove closest to the outside sidewall, and repeat in each groove until you reach the inside sidewall of the tire. If the tread doesn’t reach the top of George Washington’s head, you need new tires.
The process is the same with all-terrain tires, except that the tread should reach the middle of old George’s forehead. With mud-tires, it should reach his nose.
What Size Tires Do I Need for My Toyota Tacoma?
The tires needed for a Toyota Tacoma depend mostly on the year model and the type of Tacoma you have. Here we put in the tire sizes for the different Toyota Tacoma models:
Photo credit: Tacomahq.com
- Toyota Tacoma Limited V6, you’ll need P265/60R16
- Toyota Tacoma TRD Sport V6, you’ll need P265/65R17
- Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro V6, you’ll need P265/70R16
- Toyota Tacoma SR; SR5; SR V6; or SR5 V6, you’ll need P245/75R16
A lot of numbers, as you can see. Look at the sidewall of your current tires and go with that unless you want larger tires. If you want larger tires, it’s best to first call your local tire shop and ask them what is the largest size tire that can fit stock on your make and model Tacoma and then go from there.
Most people make the mistake of not paying attention to the last number in the series, the R#. This number represents the radial construct or the size of your rim or wheel. It’s imperative to know you cannot go lower than the number that’s stock to your Tacoma. The reason is that a smaller rim, or wheel, won’t fit over the wheel hub, which is where the rim attaches. You can go larger but not smaller.
Off-Road Tire vs All-Terrain Tire
All-terrain tires are less aggressive than off-road tires; that’s just the facts. All-terrain tires are designed to be primarily on paved roads with the occasional off-road experience or lousy weather. In contrast, off-road tires are engineered for being in the mud and dirt more.
Photo credit: Dirtlegal.com
Because of this sharp difference, your off-road tires will typically have softer rubber and a more knobby tread pattern than an all-terrain tire. So, if you drive more on softer roads than on hard paved roads, off-road tires are your choice, but if the opposite is true, you’ll want to go with an all-terrain as they will last longer on hard paved roads.
Conclusion
When we first decided to put this article together, we thought it should be pretty straightforward. We had no idea it would be the cause of conflict amongst our researchers and our experienced experts. Regardless, they came together and helped design this article. Now you know that you need to ask yourself a few questions first to determine exactly what type of tire you need before looking for a tire. Once you do that, we hope that this short list of best choices per category helps you determine the best tire for your Toyota Tacoma.
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People Also Ask
There are always some further questions after an informative article. In this section, we did our best to think about some of those questions and answered them.
Can You Fit 33″ Tires on Your Stock Tacoma?
Yes, the largest tire for a stock Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro is a 285/75R16. Because the tire’s height is directly related to the tire’s width, this is the largest tire that can be applied without the tire rubbing the wheel wells of the body or the frame. 285 is about 11 inches wide, and the tire’s overall height will be about 33 inches.
How Much Do Tires Cost?
This largely depends on the type of tire you choose. Radial street tires will be significantly cheaper than a tire designed for a specific application, like off-road tires. Generally, tires can range from $100.00 to $400.00 depending on wants and needs.
Photo credit: Trucktrend.com
What Does PreRunner Mean for Tacoma?
The PreRunner is simply a Toyota Tacoma 2WD pickup with the same suspension and lug-bolt setup as the 4×4 Tacoma.
What Tire Pressure for Toyota Tacoma?
Again, this depends on the type of tire. The information for tire pressure can be found on the sidewall of the tire near the rim. The high load capacity tires might have a tire capacity of 80psi (pounds per square inch), where an off-road tire might run on paved roads at 35psi but deflate to 25psi when off-road. Off-roaders do this with their tires because it offers better traction and allows the tire to disperse the vehicle’s weight better in the mud.
However, it wouldn’t be recommended to go much below 25psi because the tire might begin to slip around the rim, in which case you’ll experience a flat. When looking in magazines, you might see extreme off-roaders with their tires drastically deflated. They can deflate their tires so much because they have what is known as Beadlock wheels. Beadlock wheels physically attach the tire to the rim, preventing the tire from slipping around the rim when deflated.