Tires

Drag Slicks vs Drag Radial Tires: Which Do You Need?

Choose drag slicks if your car runs only at the track, and choose drag radials if it also needs to drive on the street. Slicks have no tread, so all of the rubber meets the track at launch. Their soft sidewalls wrinkle as the car leaves the line, which helps absorb shock and plant the tire.

Drag radials use radial construction, stiffer sidewalls, and minimal tread, and many are DOT-approved. They react quickly to suspension and launch settings, so you may need to retune your launch when you switch from slicks. Radials also let you drive to the track, race, and drive home on the same set.

Mickey Thompson builds both styles of drag-racing tires. The Mickey Thompson ET Street S/S Radial Tires are a DOT-approved drag radial for cars that see both street miles and passes down the strip. If you're comparing slick brands, read our Hoosier vs Mickey Thompson drag slicks comparison.

Performance Tires for Street and Road-Course Driving

Performance tires use grippier compounds and stiffer sidewalls than standard passenger tires, so you get sharper steering response and shorter stops on pavement. Pick a summer tire for warm-weather driving, an all-season tire for year-round use, or a competition tire for track days.

Michelin covers several of those needs. The Pilot Sport PS2 and Pilot Super Sport are summer tires built for dry and wet pavement, not snow or ice. The Pilot Sport All-Season 4 trades some summer grip for traction in colder months, and the X-Ice Snow handles winter roads.

For road-course events, Nitto offers the NT01, a DOT-approved competition tire for drivers who want track grip without switching to a race-only slick. Check the speed rating before you buy, since it should meet or exceed what your vehicle requires. If your car sees both street and strip duty, see our guide to 275 and 285 width tires for drag racing and street performance.

Bias-Ply and Whitewall Tires for Classic Cars

Bias-ply tires give a classic car its original look and ride, while nostalgia radials pair vintage styling with modern handling. Bias-ply tires stack fabric plies at crossing angles, which creates a taller, rounder sidewall and the period-correct feel many restorers want. Radials run their plies straight across the tire, which improves tread wear, steering precision, and highway comfort.

Coker Tire offers tires for vintage vehicles, including whitewall bias-ply tires, nostalgia radials, and military tires for older military vehicles. Use the Sidewall Style filter to narrow the look you want, then use Tire Construction to choose between bias-ply and radial.

If you're building a show car or a concours restoration, bias-ply tires keep the details correct. If you drive your classic often, a radial with a whitewall or vintage sidewall gives you the look with better road manners. Bias-ply tires can also develop temporary flat spots after sitting, which usually smooth out after a few miles.

All-Terrain and Mud-Terrain Tires for Trucks

Choose all-terrain tires if your truck splits time between pavement and trails, and mud-terrain tires if you spend more time in mud and rocks. All-terrain tires use a tighter tread pattern for quieter highway manners and longer wear. Mud-terrain tires use larger tread blocks and wider voids that clear mud, at the cost of more road noise.

Toyo Tires offers both styles: the Open Country A/T III for mixed driving and the Open Country M/T for heavier off-road use. If your truck or SUV stays on the highway, Michelin's LTX M/S2 and Defender LTX M/S focus on road comfort and all-season traction.

Towing and hauling put extra weight on every tire, so check the Load Rating and Max Load Single filters early in your search. Match those numbers to your vehicle's requirements, not just the tire size. If you need a matching backup for the road or trail, browse our Spare Tires selection.

How to Choose the Right Tires for Your Build

Start with how you'll use the vehicle, then match construction, ratings, and fitment to that use. The filters on this page let you narrow thousands of tires to the short list that fits your car or truck. Work through them in this order:

• Set Tire Type to show drag, street, classic, or off-road tires.
• Pick Tire Construction to choose between radial and bias-ply designs.
• Check DOT Approved if the tires will drive on public roads.
• Match Load Rating and Speed Rating to your vehicle's requirements.
• Use Position to separate front and rear tires for staggered or drag setups.
• Filter by Wheel Diameter to show tires that mount on your wheels.

Outside Diameter matters when you're changing tire height, since it affects gearing, speedometer readings, and fender clearance. For drag-racing and street fitment, the Mickey Thompson Tire Size Chart & Guide lists sizes and dimensions in one place. To pair new tires with new rims, shop the full Wheels & Tires category.