As a Mustang owner with a blog (thanks for reading lol), it’s really hard to keep my opinions to myself. Especially when it comes to tires.
TLDR: The best tires that I’ve ever had on any Mustang I’ve ever owned has been the Michelin Pilot Super Sport. They provided the best compromise between high performance and comfort, and my only complaint is that they didn’t last as long as I would have liked them to.
I know! The idea of picking the “best” tire for a car as diverse as the Mustang is kinda complicated. That’s why I’m going to tell you which tire I think is best for the 3 most common types of Mustang drivers:
- Drivers focused on spirited driving and all around high-performance (OTHER then straight line acceleration / drag racing)
- Drivers who are looking for all season performance
- Drivers who care about economy and comfort more than anything else
Please note: Some of the links in this article are affiliate links, which means that I may receive a small commission if you click on them and make a purchase (at no additional cost to you).
Best tires for high-performance Mustang drivers: Michelin Pilot Super Sport
I put a set of Michelin Pilot Super Sport on my 2012 Mustang GT the day that I bought it in 2016. I bought them from Tire Rack pre-installed with a set of Sparco Pro Corsa 18 inch wheels.
Honestly? I only chose the Super Sports because they looked cool. Thankfully, my blind (perhaps slightly irresponsible) gamble paid off, as these ended up being fantastic tires for my GT. I couldn’t have been happier with my purchase.
It’s worth noting that I am a fairly aggressive driver, and I got just under 10,000 miles out of my Pilot Super Sports (which included one really awesome smoky donut). The only reason why I had to replace them was because they started to dry rot after seven years.
This was one of the best set of tires that I’ve ever put on one of my Mustangs. For spirited daily driving with phenomenal dry performance (and decent-ish grip in the wet), they can’t be beat. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend these for drag racing. There are much better tires for that, which I won’t go into here since it’s a very specific niche which deserves it’s own separate writeup.
Best tires for Mustang drivers looking for all-season performance: Toyo Proxes Sport
I was perfectly happy with the Michelin Pilot Super Sports. Curiosity got the best of me when the time had come for a replacement however, so I decided to give the Toyo Proxes Sport a try. These are the tires that are on my car at the time of this writing.
Right off the bat, I could tell that the Toyo’s were not as sticky as the Michelin’s. There was far less road noise however, which was a nice compromise for long road trips. Grip is still excellent (much better than the tires that the car came with) and I don’t feel like they cause me to feel any loss of confidence during spirit driving.
The best part is that they seem to be lasting a lot longer than the Super Sports did. As a matter fact, the way things are going, it’s not inconceivable to think that I’ll get 30,000 miles out of these.
To be honest I think the Toyo’s are every bit as sticky as the Michelin’s in spirited daily driving. I can’t tell a difference on the street.
Best tires for Mustang drivers who care about economy and comfort the most: Continental PROCONTACT TX
First things first: I define ‘economy’ as both the cost of the tire and how economical they are on the car (in both fuel savings and overall life expectancy). Since nearly 70% of all Mustangs sold are non-V8’s, I can only assume that the majority of Mustang drivers care more about fuel economy and cost savings over high-performance driving. Yeah, I know it’s dangerous to make assumptions, but I’m doing it anyway.
For this type of driver, I can’t recommend the Continental PROCONTACT TX highly enough. Here’s why:
- It’s a high-quality all season tire for a very good price. Especially if you can get it on sale!
- The reviews over on Tire Rack are mostly positive. It scores highly in comfort and wet/dry performance.
- It’s a long lasting tire with a decent treadwear rating.
- It features a somewhat sporty tread pattern, which would look good on pretty much any generation of Mustang IMHO.
Mustang tire buying Pro Tip: Tire Rack is your best friend
If it wasn’t obvious by now, it’s worth saying that Tire Rack is my go-to source for buying tires. They are the largest online retailer for tires, and they make the process extremely simple.
They’ve got the largest selection, the best prices, and best of all, tons and tons of real world user reviews on everything they sell.
I especially like Tire Rack because:
- They make it explicitly clear whether or not any specific tire will fit your car
- If you have no idea what you’re looking for, they can show you a list of only the tires that will fit your car
- They will ship the tires directly to your favorite local shop for quick and easy installation
Just buy, wait for the confirmation that they have arrived at your local shop, and take your car in for installation. It’s that easy.
