Best Tires for the Honda CR-V in 2022

The Honda CR-V is one of the most popular vehicles on the road today. So are the tires that come with. When Honda built your CR-V, they tried to walk the line between cost, performance, fuel economy, and treadwear. You might want something different when it comes time to replace your existing Honda’s tires. Maybe you want the most flashy, fancy money can buy. Or maybe you want something that will perform wonderfully in the rain and snow.

Whatever your preference, we hope our overview on the best tire options for the Honda CR-V crossover is helpful.

Have an older Honda CR-V? See tire sizes for previous years.

Best Tires for the Honda CR-V (LX trim):

Hankook Kinergy ST - Best Budget Tire

The best budget tire choice for 2022 is the Hankook Kinergy ST. This option is a standard all-season, dependable tire for crossovers, SUVs, couples, passenger cars and minivans. This tire is very affordable and still earns a four-star rating from owners. The design focus here is a long tread life and performance. This is the value choice.

• Long tread life
• Reasonable price point
• Great durability
• Performs well in light snow
• Available sizes: 13"-18"

Continental Truecontact Tour - Best Mid-Priced Tire

The TrueContact Tour all-season tires from Continental are our best choice for a mid-priced budget. This tire brand is well known in the industry for dependability, long tread life and excellent durability. While moderately priced, this tire earns a high 4.5 score and is rated Excellent or Good in all categories. Continental emphasized a quiet ride, smooth operation, and long tread life.

• Long tread life
• Solid reviews and ratings
• Excellent durability
• Quiet ride
• Available sizes: 15"-19"

Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady - Best Superior Tire

With a similar rating to the Continental, but at a higher price by about 20%, this tire may appeal to Goodyear fans. Although the Assurance WeatherReady is considered all season, it also comes with the Severe Snow Certification symbol. If you don’t want to also use winter tires and live in a snowy area, this is your pick.

• Long tread life
• Great reviews and ratings
• Excellent durability
• Severe Snow Certification symbol
• Available sizes: 15"-20"

Best Tires for the Honda CR-V (EX, EX-L and Touring trims):

Pirelli Scorpion Verde All Season Plus II - Best Budget Tire

Pirelli is a legendary brand in the tire world and the Scorpion line used as standard equipment on many fancy crossovers we’ve tested. The Scorpion Verde All-Season Plus II is an affordable choice from a trusted brand. This offering was created for the eco-friendly consumer, performs well in wet and dry conditions and maintains good reviews in light snow.

• Excellent tread compoud
• Great reviews and ratings
• Solid handling
• Great performance
• Available sizes: 18"-20"

Yokohama Geolandar H/T GO56 - Best Mid-Priced Tire

Yokohama is a well-known brand that Subaru turns to for its crossovers. The Geolandar is a popular tire model and is moderately priced. This tire’s focus is on fuel savings, handling, and treadwear. It earns good ratings in most categories and is a popular choice for the savvy consumer. The Geolandar also has good ratings for performance in wet and dry conditions.

• Long tread life
• Great handling
• Good fuel economy
• Solid reviews
• Available sizes: 15"-22"

Michelin Premier LTX - Best Superior Tire

Michelin is one of the largest and most established tire companies in the industy. The company has a model for most every occasion. The Premier LTX is rated excellent in wet and dry conditions, and has excellent ratings for durability and comfort. This well-rated tire is known for superior stopping power and handling, and even performs well in light snow.

• Excellent in wet and dry conditions
• Great performance
• Good durability
• Excellent ratings and reviews
• Available sizes: 16"-22"

Original Equipment CR-V Tires

The current generation Honda CR-V crossover is sold in multiple trims with two tire sizes:

• The LX trim comes with 17-inch wheels and either Hankook Kinergy GT or Bridgestone Ecopia H/L422 tires. Either way, the exact size specification is 235/65R17 1yoko
• The EX, EX-L and Touring trim all come with 18-inch wheels and have the same original equipment manufacturer (OEM) brand and model choices. However, the size specification changes to 235/60R18 103H.

Top Replacement Tire Brands for Honda CR-V

We’ve recommended three replacement tires in both 17- and 18-inch sizes, in the budget, moderately priced and cost-no-object varieties above. Whether your pockets are deeper than the Mariana trench or Ebenezer Scrooge considers you a role model, don’t worry; we’ve got you covered. All of these tires above have ratings of four-stars or higher based on consumer surveys.

When Should You Replace the Tires on Your CR-V?

There are two regular milestones that will suggest that it’s time to replace the tires, not only on your CR-V but any vehicle in your driveway: Time and Mileage.

Considering most drivers cover between 12,000 and 15,000 miles per year, the vast majority of CR-V owners are going to be past the mileage that their original equipment tires were intended to cover before they’ll go past the tire’s usable age.

The life of your tire can be somewhat predicted by its UTQG (Uniform Tire Quality Grade) rating. Tire manufacturers apply their own grades to tires for treadwear, traction, and temperature. When you’re researching tires online, a UTQG will come up next to the tire name in three digits and a number (ex. 500 A A).

You can glean a bit of info from the tires by reading this rating:

• 500 - The durability rating of a tire, compared to a control tire with a tread life of 100. To obtain a grade, tires run on a 640-kilometer course for 11,520 km. Every 1,280 km, the tread depth is measured, to provide a projected tread life. The higher the number, the longer the predicted tread life.
• A - This is the Traction rating of a tire, which indicates how well a tire stops in wet conditions. The highest letter grade is AA, followed by A, B, and C.
• A - The second letter in the UTQG is the Temperature rating, which indicates how well a tire holds up to extreme heat. A is the highest, followed by B and C.

Original equipment Bridgestone Ecopia tires on the CR-V earn a solid 700 AA UTGQ rating. Unless they are damaged, these tires could last as long as 70,000 miles before you need to replace them.

The other consideration is time. Each tire has a raised date code on the sidewall. The number begins with the letters “DOT” followed by 12 digits in three four-digit groups. The date code is the third group of four digits. To decipher the date of your tires, the first two digits represent the WEEK the tire was produced, and the second two digits represent the YEAR.

For example, if your tire’s date code is 3217, that indicates the tire was manufactured in the 37th week of 2017, or sometime between September 11 and 17th that year.

Once tires go beyond five years old, it’s time to consider replacing them. Tires are made up not just of rubber and steel or kevlar belts, but chemicals that help the tires resist UV rays, temperature changes and a lot of other environmental hazards. Those chemicals start to break down after five years or so, and the tires aren’t doing the job that they need to do.

See our recommendations for the Best Insurance for your Honda CR-V

See our recommendations for the Best Extended Warranty for your Honda CR-V

Why Not Replace with Original Honda Equipment Tires?

There’s no harm in replacing your tires with the shoes it came with from the factory. However, depending on what kind of driver you are, there are significant reasons to purchase something different.

You only need to purchase ONE set of tires for your car every four years or so, depending on how much you drive. When an auto manufacturer purchases tires, they buy them by the hundreds of thousands. For the manufacturer, the decision to choose a supplier one brand or another comes down to a price point.

For you, your consideration may be completely different. If you could get a tire that stopped 20 feet shorter for an additional $10 per tire over the original equipment, you’d probably do it. Similarly, if there was a tire that for a minimal investment overstock, you’d probably decide on the slightly more expensive tire. (that is unless you’re trying to drown out the conversation of your back-seat-driving spouse.)

Changing Honda CR-V Tire Sizes

Depending on the year and model, you may be shopping tires to fit anything between 15-inch for older models to 18-inch wheels with various widths and sidewall sizes along the way. It is possible to change the wheel and tire sizes, but a general rule of thumb is to keep the total diameter of the wheel and tire the same. So, that means that downsizing an 18-inch wheel to a 17-inch wheel would include a proportionate upsizing of the tire sidewall to compensate.

Downsizing wheels has its advantages. Benefits include:

• Better ride quality – More rubber means more cushion for poor road conditions.
• Cost reduction – Big tires are expensive, so moving to a smaller wheel size will mean less costly tire purchases.
• Seasonal changes – Winter and snow tires are available for a larger selection of smaller wheel sizes and the narrower footprint will provide better traction.
• Off-road – Many people choose to downsize wheels for off-road use to increase the vehicle’s shock absorption capabilities and bump traction on loose surfaces.

On the other side of the coin, going up in wheel size has its benefits:

• Better handling – Slimmer profile tires make for less rubber to move around.
• Better looks – This one’s subjective, but many people feel that larger wheels look better than smaller wheels with more rubber.
• Better braking – Larger, wider wheels provide a bigger patch of rubber on the ground to slow the vehicle, reducing braking distance.

How to Read Tire Sizes

When reading tire sizes, it’s important to understand what the numbers mean. The Honda CR-V’s 17-inch wheels come with 235/65R17 103H all-season tires:

• 235 - indicates the width of the tire from one sidewall to the other in millimeters. This tire is 235 millimeters wide.
• 65 - indicates the aspect ratio, or sidewall height, as a percentage of the tire’s width. In this case, it’s 50 percent or of the tire’s width.
• R - means radial tires. Radials are the most common type of automotive tire and have fabric woven in at various angles with a tread that is strengthened with additional layers of rubber.
• 17 - indicates the wheel diameter.
• 103 - is the tire’s load rating.
• H - is the tire’s speed rating. H-rated tires have a maximum top speed of 130 mph.

You may have noticed that the Honda CR-V’s two tire sizes have different diameters and also different aspect ratios. Generally, automakers choose tires that have the same outer diameter. This allows them to have only one speedometer setting.

Now that you know what comes on the new CR-V and how to read the size numbers, let’s look at the different types of tires available to you. Depending on the type of driving you’re doing, where you live, and the weather, you have a variety of choices for tire types:

• Touring and All-season tires - provide a smooth ride, good wet and dry traction, decent winter traction, and longer tread life. These tires are acceptable for winter use but can’t be expected to provide the traction and stopping power that a dedicated winter tire can.
• Performance tires - are focused on providing confident handling, better wet and dry traction, and a sporty feel. Their higher grip and speed ratings come with a tradeoff of shortened tread life and reduced ride quality.
• All-terrain tires - are built to maximize off-road traction and provide good durability overall. Their construction means more noise and less comfort on the road, but winter traction and tread wear are acceptable.
• Winter and snow tires - are made with special rubber compounds that maintain grip and pliability when temperatures drop. patterns to maximize the vehicle’s ability to start and stop on very slippery roads.

Tires Sizes By Year

See our overall recommendations for Best Tires.

See our recommendations for the 10 Best Tire Brands for 2022.

Read more on the Best Places to Buy Tires Online and Save Hundreds here.