No doubt the GMC Sierra 1500 is a powerful and versatile pickup truck that delivers unparalleled performance and capability, but what makes it stand out from other full-size trucks is its spacious and luxurious interior as well as exterior. While passenger cars prioritize comfort and everyday commuting, the Sierra 1500 excels in hauling heavy loads, navigating challenging terrains, and accommodating up to six passengers.
Whether for personal or professional use, this truck redefines the standard for modern pickup trucks, offering strength, fulfillment, and dependability in one impressive package.
As tires are the only direct source of contact a vehicle has with the road, not using the right set of tires can eventually lead to disastrous situations. Therefore it is immensely important to thoroughly understand the different types of tires to ensure that you have picked the best one not only for yourself but also for your car.
Unfortunately, it is easier said than done. To select the proper set of tires for your Sierra that may prove to be a dependable driving partner for years to come, you must take into account aspects like your driving style, the state of the road, and the trim you are driving because at the end of the day, you are the one trusting your life with these tires.
However, have no fear, the best buying guide is here. After thoroughly reading and comprehending this guide, you will be able to distinguish between different types of tires based on their tread life, traction, and handling, among other factors.
Let’s get started right away and carefully analyze the following tires because your automobile deserves no less than the finest.
Best Budget Tires for GMC Sierra 1500:
General Grabber AT/X
The General Grabber AT/X proves to be an exceptional choice for the GMC Sierra 1500, offering a perfect combination of performance and adaptability for adventurous truck owners.
Its robust construction and aggressive tread design ensure improved traction on various terrains like gravel, mud, and dirt, making it ideal for weekend getaways and outdoor pursuits.
For GMC Sierra 1500 drivers, the General Grabber AT/X guarantees a smooth and comfortable highway ride, thanks to its optimized tread pattern that reduces road noise and vibrations. Whether it’s a rugged off-road excursion or daily city driving, this tire provides confident handling and stability, ensuring safety and peace of mind for both you and your passengers.
Additionally, the General Grabber AT/X performs well in both wet and dry conditions, offering reliable traction even during sudden rain showers or wet road surfaces. Though not intended for extreme winter conditions, it can handle light snow and icy patches, adding versatility for year-round driving.
All in all, the General Grabber AT/X stands as a dependable and durable tire option for GMC Sierra 1500 owners who desire a tire that can accompany them on thrilling adventures while delivering a comfortable and secure driving experience on their daily journeys.
Pros
- Balanced off-road traction with on-road performance
- Robust strength and durability
- Low road noise
- Long-lasting treadwear
Cons
- Doesn’t come with any maintenance indicators
- Doesn’t perform well in extreme winter conditions.
Continental ContiProContact
The Continental ContiProContact is a top-tier all-season touring tire custom-made for the GMC Sierra 1500, showcasing remarkable performance and driving experience.
It excels in rainy conditions with exceptional traction and braking, providing outstanding lateral grip and precise steering, enhancing the GMC Sierra 1500’s agile nature. Though the ride might be slightly firmer, the numerous advantages of this tire outweigh this minor concern.
One of its most impressive features is its versatility, especially in rugged terrains, making it perfect for the GMC Sierra 1500. Its durability and advanced rubber compound ensure it can handle off-road adventures and backcountry roads with ease, resisting impacts from challenging terrains and debris, making it a perfect choice for adventurous journeys.
Additionally, its dry and wet performance mirrors that of high-performance tires, with reliable grip, acceleration, and braking power.
However, what sets it apart is its outstanding snow traction, excelling in light snow and icy conditions, providing short stopping distances and excellent winter road performance.
Moreover, the Continental ContiProContact tire boasts excellent fuel efficiency due to its advanced tread design, appealing to drivers seeking to reduce the impact of rising gas prices. While it may not match the wear capabilities of some competitors, its overall performance compensates for this minor drawback.
With an impressive tread life of 80,000 miles, the ContiProContact surpasses many other tires in its category, making it a reliable and durable option for the GMC Sierra 1500.
Pros
- Exceptional traction and balanced handling on wet roads
- Excellent lateral grip and strong braking on dry roads
- Quick and linear steering
- Strong overall performance on light snow
- A long 70,000-mile treadwear warranty
- Exceptionally quiet, even at speed
Cons
- Harsh ride on broken roads
BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2
The GMC Sierra 1500 boasts impressive off-road capabilities, and the BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2 perfectly complements its performance. This tire not only offers protection from cuts and punctures but also features a double-thick tread compound, ensuring reliable performance on hard, loose, or soft surfaces.
Its design includes a built-in rim protector, providing significant steering feedback and preventing curb damage to the wheels. The sidewall is equally thick as the tread compound, enhancing durability and stability. Additionally, the tire’s side-biter studs improve traction on snow-covered terrain, while mud-buster bars prevent it from getting stuck in the mud.
However, to fully maximize the advantages of this tire, it is advisable to consider wearing earplugs or avoiding driving with the windows completely rolled down. On highways and roads, the tire’s noise might become quite noticeable. Taking this precaution will allow you to fully enjoy the exceptional capabilities this tire offers while minimizing any potential discomfort from the noise.
Pros:
- Backed by a 50,000-mile treadwear warranty
- Performs reliably on rock, slush, and mud
- Offers class-leading snow traction
Cons:
- Might get loud on the highway
Best Mid-Priced Tires for GMC Sierra 1500:
Falken Wildpeak AT3W
The Falken Wildpeak AT3W embodies the essence of all-terrain tires. Its exceptional toughness and ultra-strong sidewall minimize the risk of punctures and allow it to handle heavy loads with ease.
Starting with the sidewall, its durability makes it effectively resistant to cuts, chips, tears, and punctures. This tire offers the same level of highway dependability as our top option because it is extremely resistant to punctures, especially on difficult terrain.
Additionally, the tread section of the sidewall has tiny perforations that act as heat diffusers. To ensure that the tire can pull or haul high loads without affecting performance, it is equipped with heat diffusers that allow any generated heat to evaporate.
The tread of the tire includes step-down etching and support ramps, enhancing its grip on gravel and expelling stones from within the tread area to minimize the risk of stone drilling and punctures.
However, similar to the BFG All-Terrain T/A KO2, the Wildpeak AT3W can become quite loud at high speeds. This is the only drawback that might deter some potential buyers from choosing this tire.
Pros:
- Offers long-lasting wear
- Resists cuts, chips, and punctures really well
- Offers a sharp steering response and feedback
Cons:
- Roars at high speeds
Cooper Discoverer H/T Plus
The Cooper Discoverer HTP ranks among our top tire recommendations for the GMC Sierra 1500. It’s a mid-priced highway tire that offers multiple benefits. The tire’s design incorporates three elements – serpentine sipes, biting edges, and circumferential grooves – that significantly enhance its wet traction and overall performance, ensuring reliable grip on slippery surfaces. The grooves also contribute to excellent hydroplaning resistance.
The GMC Sierra already offers a very smooth ride, but the Discoverer HTP can make it even better. A quieter and more comfortable ride is the result of its computer-optimized tread design.
The Discoverer HTP may seem less impressive than all-season tires with a 65,000-mile warranty, yet it performs admirably when compared to other highway tires. These tires frequently have greater load ratings, which prompts producers to provide somewhat shorter warranties.
The Discoverer HTP is not without flaws, though. Due to its marginally soft sidewall, it may be prudent to approach corners cautiously and pay attention to the speedometer.
Pros:
- Value priced
- Excellent treadwear warranty for a highway tire
- Brilliant wet traction and low road noise
Cons:
- Isn’t the best at high-speed cornering
Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2
The GMC Sierra 1500, equipped with this tire, boasts remarkable braking and control performance, making it a breeze for drivers to handle this powerful truck even at high speeds. The tire’s outstanding grip is a crucial factor in maintaining stability for the GMC Sierra 1500.
Drivers were thoroughly impressed with its snow performance, and the tire’s efficiency in snowy conditions did not require the use of complicated gauges to gauge its effectiveness.
Even after heavy snowfalls, where water puddles accumulate on the pavement, other snow tire models might struggle with wet performance. However, this Bridgestone product effortlessly overcomes these obstacles, allowing the Sierra 1500 to move smoothly, especially when navigating through large sinkholes and challenging road conditions.
Despite its overall impressive performance, it is worth noting that noticeable vibrations are apparent when traveling on rough terrain and remaining still in the driver’s seat on a gravel road with this tire may prove to be nearly impossible.
The MultiCell structure only covers the top 55% of the tread depth, which is the only drawback we can see with this tire. The performance of this model in the snow will start to suffer as soon as you use up half of the initial tread area, however, it won’t be fatal.
Pros:
- Has excellent braking power
- Offers superb traction on snow and ice
- Great hydroplaning resistance
- Stable movement even at high speed
Cons:
- Loss of smoothness on rough roads
- Comparatively short thread life
Best Superior Tires for GMC Sierra 1500:
Michelin Defender LTX M/S
The Michelin Defender LTX M/S possesses all the necessary qualities to be considered one of the best tire options for the GMC Sierra. Its EverTread compound strikes the perfect balance between firmness and flexibility, ensuring reliable year-round performance, particularly on the highway.
To enhance the tire’s performance, Michelin has employed a symmetric tread pattern, which effectively absorbs road vibrations and reduces road noise. The inclusion of multiple independent blocks in the tread pattern further improves high-speed handling and overall performance.
The tire performs well in mild snow situations thanks to the presence of numerous 3D sipes since these biting edges effectively cut through snow and ice while reducing sliding and slippage. The four circumferential grooves on the tread region also improve water drainage and hydroplaning resistance.
The LTX M/S’s contact patch widens when it contacts the road thanks to the MaxTouch Construction design, creating a greater contact area. This results in reduced rolling resistance and increased fuel efficiency, making this tire a solid choice to increase Sierra’s fuel efficiency.
The price, as Michelin tires are known for being more expensive, may be the one potential downside that prevents certain customers from purchasing them. However, taking into account the superb road manners, it is recommended to consider it as a worthwhile investment for the GMC Sierra.
Pros:
- Available in a large number of sizes
- Backed with an excellent 70,000-mile treadwear warranty
- Superb hydroplaning resistance
- Excellent levels of grip in dry and wet conditions
Cons:
- Doesn’t come cheap
Pirelli Scorpion Verde AS Plus
Pirelli’s Scorpion Verde All-season touring tire, designed specifically for crossovers and SUVs, slightly lags behind its premium competitors in rainy conditions.
While the tire still offers substantial traction, it may exhibit a somewhat nervous behavior at the limit. However, for most drivers, this should not raise significant concerns, as they will likely find the rain performance satisfactory.
In all other regards, the Scorpion Verde AS Plus shines with its exceptional performance. It excels on dry surfaces, boasting exceptional lateral grip and precise steering. Moreover, it performs remarkably well on snow-covered roads, delivering excellent traction and confident handling.
Pirelli tailored this model for optimal highway performance, ensuring a smooth and comfortable ride at any speed. Backed by a warranty, the tire’s remarkable tread life reaches up to 65,000 miles.
Nonetheless, it’s important to note that this tire isn’t specifically optimized for challenging terrains, or in simpler words better not to use it for off-road experiences.
Offered at a reasonable price point, the Scorpion Verde All Season Plus serves as an eco-friendly crossover tire suitable for various vehicles, including crossovers, pickup trucks, and SUVs.
Featuring a silica-enhanced tread compound, the Scorpion Verde tire excels in dry road handling and provides resistance to friction. Its design incorporates four circumferential grooves to efficiently disperse water, thus enhancing wet grip and stability on winter and damp roads.
While most of its attributes are superior, it’s worth noting that this tire might produce noticeable noise on rocky surfaces – a factor to consider when making your tire selection
Pros:
- Environmentally friendly materials
- Use suitable for all weather conditions
- Energy saving
- Sharp road handling ability
- Remains quiet at higher speeds
Cons:
- Nervous at the limit in rainy conditions
- Below-average traction on ice
Goodyear Excellence
The Goodyear tire designed for the GMC Sierra 1500 is a high-performance choice that brings exceptional handling and traction capabilities to truck owners. It stands out among premium tires, offering a smooth and comfortable ride without compromising its performance.
Even in challenging weather conditions, the Goodyear tire excels. It effectively disperses water, reducing the risk of hydroplaning and maintaining stability on wet roads. Goodyear’s ActiveBraking technology ensures impressive wet and dry performance, minimizing stopping distances and enhancing safety.
For drivers seeking a quiet ride, the tire’s asymmetric tread arrangement plays a crucial role in reducing tire noise, providing a peaceful driving experience.
In conclusion, the Goodyear tire designed for the GMC Sierra 1500 stands as a top-tier choice for truck owners in search of exceptional handling, traction, and comfort. With its race car-inspired technology, reliable wet and dry performance, and reduced noise levels, this tire proves to be a perfect match for the demands of the GMC Sierra 1500, offering an optimal driving experience in every aspect.
Pros:
- Exceptional dry and wet traction
- Remarkably short braking distance
- Stable handling and cornering abilities
- Comfortable ride
Cons:
- Some users report shorter tread life compared to other tires
- Limited two-year warranty.
GMC Sierra 1500 Tire Sizes:
The current generation of the GMC Sierra 1500 offers diverse original equipment tires across its different trim levels. As each truck configuration comes with varying wheel sizes, it may become difficult to differentiate between the tires used.
Therefore, we provide this complete list, emphasizing the most typical OEM tire for each different Sierra trim level, in order to clarify things and provide an in-depth perspective.
GMC makes sure that every Sierra owner has the ideal tire to fit their truck’s distinctive characteristics and driving habits, whether they are tough off-road enthusiasts or highway cruisers.
- GMC Sierra Base and SLE: 17-inch wheels
- GMC Sierra Elevation and SLT: 18 or 20-inch wheels
- GMC Sierra AT4: 18 or 20-inch wheels
- GMC Sierra Denali: 20 or 22-inch wheels
Furthermore, in addition to the information mentioned above, tires for the GMC Sierra 1500 generally come in the following sizes:
- P245/70R17
- P235/75R16
- P245/75R16
- P275/55R2
- P255/70R17
- LT245/70R17/C
- LT245/75R16/E
- P265/70R17
- P265/65R18
Choosing the Right Tires for Your GMC Sierra 1500:
You must take into account a number of crucial variables when choosing new tires for your GMC Sierra 1500 in order to ensure the performance and safety of your vehicle.
Failing to carefully consider such variables when choosing new tires for your GMC Sierra 1500 can lead to several risks like poor performance, safety issues, early wear, low fuel efficiency, uncomfortable rides, no warranty coverage, and potential legal problems.
Following are the factors you must take into account to make an informed decision:
- Check the recommended tire size and type in the owner’s manual for proper handling and performance.
- Assess your typical driving conditions and choose tires accordingly, like all-terrain for rough terrains or all-season for city commutes.
- Depending on your demands, choose a tread pattern with deep grooves for slick roads or aggressive patterns for off-road excursions.
- Ensure the tires have sufficient load capacity and speed rating for safe handling.
- Stick to your budget while aiming for higher-quality tires for better performance and fuel efficiency.
- For harsh winters, consider tires with a snowflake symbol or M+S designation for improved traction.
- Check the tire manufacturer’s warranty and customer service reputation for added support.
- Lastly, thoroughly read our guide to gain better knowledge about the tires best suited to your car.
FAQs
Do I need to replace all four tires at once?
To maintain balanced handling and stability, it is typically advised to replace all four tires at once, as combining new and old tires could lead to uneven performance.
However, if only one or two tires are damaged, you can replace them, but it’s essential to use the same dimensions and tire type for optimal performance, and ideally, stick with the same model already on your vehicle.
When should you replace the tires on your Sierra?
The enemies of tires on any vehicle, including your Sierra pickup, are time and mileage. Most tires have a lifespan of about five years from the date of manufacture, and truck tires usually last between 40,000 and 70,000 miles of road use.
Checking the “use by” date is simple, as every tire has a raised DOT number that indicates the week and year of manufacture. The more critical indicator for tire replacement is mileage, measured by tread wear rather than the vehicle’s odometer reading.
A tire rated for “70,000 miles” may need replacement at 65,000 or 75,000 miles based on the tread wear indicator.
Why not replace it with Original Equipment Tires?
There’s no harm in sticking with the factory-installed tires for your car, but depending on your driving preferences, there are compelling reasons to opt for something different.
Typically, you’ll only need to replace your tires once every four years, depending on your driving habits. Auto manufacturers purchase tires in large quantities, and their decision often revolves around price.
However, as a consumer, your considerations might be entirely different. If a tire offers better stopping distance for a slightly higher price than the original equipment, you’d likely choose the improved option. Aftermarket tires may offer better performance, handling, and/or longevity than OEM tires.
How often should I rotate my Sierra tires?
It is recommended to rotate your Sierra tires every 6,000 to 8,000 miles or every six months, whichever comes first. The recommended criss-cross pattern is ideal for rotation, although certain tire models may not allow this due to their specific tread pattern designs.
Therefore check your car’s manual or consult your mechanic before taking any action to ensure safety precautions.
What is the best pressure for GMC Sierra 1500 tires?
To maintain proper tire pressure for safety, fuel efficiency, and tire longevity, Sierra typically recommends the tires pressure to be between 32-36 PSI, but factors like load and temperature can affect the ideal pressure, so refer to the sticker on the driver’s side door sill or the owner’s manual for specific recommendations, and check tire pressure monthly, before long trips, or during significant temperature changes.
Which tires wear faster – summer or all-season?
Summer tires typically wear faster than all-season tires because they are made with softer rubber compounds that provide better grip and handling in warm weather conditions. Whereas all-season tires last longer as they are made from a stickier compound, aiming for higher grip in dry and wet conditions.
Conclusion
In conclusion, choosing the right tires for your GMC Sierra 1500 is essential for both safety and performance. Take into account elements like the recommended size and type, the driving environment, the tread pattern, the load capacity, and the speed rating.
Budget-friendly higher-quality tire purchases can result in improved long-term performance and fuel economy. Finally, for additional support, look at the reputation of the manufacturer’s warranty and customer service.
Remember, only by selecting the right tires and giving them the care they deserve can you enhance your driving experience and enjoy many miles of smooth and confident GMC Sierra 1500 journeys.
