There are differences between SUV tires and car tires. Owners should be aware that they are not interchangeable.
Passenger cars are built to run on paved roads whereby the comfortability, handling and safety of tires are the top priority. Therefore, most car tires are designed with small tread blocks/patterns, fine lateral patterns, three large longitudinal grooves instead of vertical and horizontal grooves. SUV tires must have certain performance on non-paved roads whereby tires are required to quickly clean themselves of dirt, stones and other debris to maintain the best traction. Therefore, the tread patterns of SUV tires are larger and deeper, and there are more vertical and horizontal grooves than that of car tires.
Car tires mostly have smaller width, inner diameter and higher aspect ratio, which provide better comfortability. SUV tires generally have extended section width and rim width, and shorter rim diameter to increase the ground contact and reduce the ground pressure, thereby improving off-road capability.
There are generally three indicators on tires: tread wear, traction, and heat buildup. SUV tires and car tires have great differences in these three values. Usually, car tire wear index is between 160-300, a very standard rating. However, the wear index of an excellent SUV tire is between 300-540, which is suitable for all terrains.