You Pilot’s tires have seen better days and it’s time to buy some replacements. But which tires are best?

Or more accurately, which tires are best for you? We’ve laid out a selection of “best of” tires below depending on how you might use your Pilot, what you want to get out of your tires and (perhaps most importantly) how much you want to spend.

What Tires Are Best For You?

It’s important to understand some of the different options available for the Pilot to make an educated decision.

All Season Tires: All-Season tires come in many different types, from performance all-seasons, to ones focused more on long life, fuel economy or a quiet ride. All-season tires off excellent grip in three seasons but generally fail to deliver in true winter grip.

Touring Tires: These tires are a sub-set of all-seasons and are on the more premium side. That doesn’t always mean they cost a lot more. In general it means they are focused more on a quiet and comfortable ride. They can sometimes sacrifice sporty performance as a result, though only in the smallest of ways. For a vehicle like the Pilot, Touring Tires make a lot of sense.

All-Terrain Tires: While we’ve included one such option on the list, generally speaking all-terrain tires are best for true SUVs and pickup trucks that get regular off-road use.

Below is our list of the best tires for Honda Pilot.

Best Tires for HondA Pilot

Bridgestone Dueler HL Alenza Plus

Offering the best mix of capability and performance, the Bridgesone Dueler HL Alenza Plus is very very hard to beat.

Grip in both the dry and wet is exceptional. Featuring a wide center tread rib, it’s particularly stable at speeds and responds to turn-in with authority. Meanwhile the larger tread blocks on the tire’s shoulders mean that it tracks nicely through the corner as well. Stopping performance is top-notch, as is grip in the wet.

Perfect for a larger crossover like the Pilot that’s designed to do plenty of family-duty, it’s a quiet tire and comfortable too.

We also recommend this tire if you use your Pilot for towing.

Add all this up and you’d have a very good tire. But what makes the Dueler HL Alenza Plus great is its 80,000 mile tread wear guarantee.

     

Best Touring Tire for Honda Pilot

Michelin Premiere LTX

Perhaps you spent quite a bundle on your top trim Limited Highlander with all the bells and whistles? Sure, it’s not a luxury SUV, but it’s got all the features of one, so you’d like a tire that delivers a luxury ride.

The Michelin Premiere LTX is just such a tire. From the experts at experts at all-things tire, Michelin, the Premiere LTX is what’s known as a Touring tire.

What that means is that it puts a higher priority on ride quality, with heightened levels of comfort and quietness. You’ll pay a bit of a premium for a tire like this, but you’re probably ok with that.

     

Longest Lasting Tire for Honda Pilot

Goodyear Assurance MaxLife

If getting more miles between purchases is your main goal with a set of new tires then look no further than the Goodyear Assurance MaxLife. With an 85,000 mile guarantee from the manufacturer, you won’t be replacing these tires any time soon.

Offering everything else you’ll want in tire, these Goodyears will also deliver excellent acceleration, braking and cornering on dry and wet roads. Plus they are plenty smooth and quiet too. We also love that they come with build-in wear gauges, although don’t expect to be checking them very regularly.

If there’s one drawback, thee tires are pricey. But they’re more than worth it.

     

Best Fuel Efficient Tire for Honda Pilot

Goodyear Assurance CS Fuel Max

If saving a few bucks at the pump is of interest to you, then we encourage you to check out the Goodyear Assurance CX Fuel Max tire.

Using a custom tread compound that helps minimize drag, without compromising grip, Goodyear claims these tires could save you up to 2,500 miles worth of fuel over the course of their lifetime.

As for the tire itself, it works to give traction in wet and dry conditions thanks to an interior tread block design with deep channels to evacuate water, while exterior should tread blocks work to deliver responsiveness and grip when changing direction in the dry.

     

Best Budget Tire for Honda Pilot

Kumho Crugen HP71

Maybe you don’t have the funds to buying a shiny new set of Michelins. Or maybe, more accurately, you just don’t want to. And we don’t blame you.

Tier-1 tires can be very expensive and while we do think that in many ways they are worth it, there are plenty of good options that can be had for a great price. Chief among these is the Kumho Crugen HP71.

These all-season tires perform well and all but the most demanding driver probably won’t see any shortcomings. With a 65,000 mile tread life guarantee, that’s anywhere from 5,000 to 15,000 fewer miles than you might get on some of the more expensive tires on this list. And that’s about the only real drawback you’re likely to notice.

More than making up for that, you’ll spend 25% less (or more) up front.

     

Best All-Terrain Tire for Honda Pilot

Falken Wildpeak A/T Trail

Falken has managed to engineer a very unique tire with the Wildpeak A/T Trail. While there are more capable options out there, like the Bridgestone All Terrain T/A KO2 or the Toyota Open Country AT III, these Wildpeaks are more to our liking for the Pilot. The tire is interesting in that it really is designed for continued light off-road use, as the name suggests.

Rather than offering the ultimate in off-road grip, they provide excellent grip, durability and handling on dirt and gravel roads and are designed to put in the miles in those conditions. In that sense, they’re kind of like an off-road-focused all-season tire.

Designed for modern crossovers and still delivering excellent on-road manners, it comes with a 2-ply polyester casing and fortified sidewalls to help protect against punctures, cuts and chips.

And it comes with a 65,000 mile tread life warranty.

     

Best Performance Tire for Honda Pilot

Continental CrossContact LX Sport

Let’s not get carried away by the term “performance” here. There are, certainly, other tire options that can deliver superior overall grip, but they’re not, in our opinion, very reasonable choices.

The Continental CrossContact LX Sport, however, is a choice you can love and live with. In fact, it’s more of what we might call a touring tire than a true performance tire. Touring tires, it should be said, are essentially all-season tires that put a heightened focus on attributes like comfort and quietness.

This tire offers heightened qualities in those respects but also offers superior grip, with a grippier rubber compound and a UTQG rating of 480.

A word of concern here, we haven’t experienced any issues with these tires, but reviewers on Continental’s own website don’t speak favorably of the tire and with 141 reviews have given it just a 3.1 out of 5.

     

Best Winter Tire for Honda Pilot

Michelin Latitude X-ice Xi2

Maybe your Pilot has all-wheel drive. Maybe it doesn’t. Regardless, winter tires are a must. Not only do they help you get the power down, they help you under braking… something even Honda’s fancy AWD-system in the Pilot can’t.

We always have to point out that the name of these tires is very odd. They aren’t designed for people driving on some ice road highway in Alaska. Nope. They’re designed for regular cars in climates where the road gets icy. That’s not to say “where the road becomes a sheet of ice” but rather “where temperatures dip into the 40s and below.”

In other words, pretty much half the country, it not more.

The X-ice Xi2 achieves this grip from a unique tread compound that resists freezing itself. At the same time, handling on dry roads is still quite good and traction in actual snow is also very good (though if you’re looking for true in-snow traction we recommend the Blizzaks).

We always recommend winter tires. These are pricey though, so if you don’t want to spend a bundle, check out some more affordable options here.

     

Best All-Weather Tire for Honda Pilot

Michelin CrossClimate2

A growing segment, all-weather tire (as opposed to all-season tires) actually live up to the promise in their name. These are year-round tires that come certified for true winter use.

One of the newest tires in this segment is the very impressive Michelin CrossClimate2. They don’t look like other tires on the road with their unique V-shaped tread pattern. This works to evacuate water in the spring and slush in the winter. The long tread ribs also serve to provide balanced summer handling. A unique feature are the divisions in each of the tread ribs. These act as sipes in the winter to help snow stick to the tire and give it grip. However, under hard cornering in the summer they actually close up and provide a stable tread block.

Tire life is relatively low at 60,000 miles and they are quite expensive. For many folks who don’t want to deal with swapping tires twice a year, this can be an idea solution.

     

Honda Pilot Tire Sizes

Below is a list of all current Honda Pilot trim levels and the corresponding tire sizes available from the factory for each.

• Black Edition 245/50/20
• EX 245/60/18 or 245/50/20
• EX-L 245/60/18 or 245/50/20
• LX 245/60/18 or 245/50/20
• Touring 245/50/20
• Elite 245/50/20

What Tires Come on the Honda Pilot?

Honda uses three brands of tire on the Pilot depending on how it comes equipped from the factory. Many models come with the Bridgestone Dueler HP Sport AS in a 245/60/18 size. These cost around $180 for a replacement tire. Other models come with the Michelin Latitude Tour HP which retail for closer to $230 per tire. Trim levels with the 20-inch tire come equipped with the Continental Cross Contact LX Sport, which retails for around $210 per tire.

How Long do Honda Pilot Tires Last?

The factory tires fitted to a Honda Pilot should last in the range of 40,000 to 55, 000 miles. The Bridgestone OE tires are rated to last just around 40,000 miles, although we anticipate them to last slightly longer. The Michelin factory tires are built to last approximately 55,000 miles. This assumes proper rotation and tire inflation.

Tire Buying FAQ

Where can I find the best price on tires?

There is no one answer to this question unfortunately. Sites like Tire Rack and Discount tire offer deals all the time on specific brands. You can also find deals on Amazon though they are much harder to find and often only apply to a specific size or group of sizes. Visit our Tire Deals page for more info.

When is the best time to buy tires?

It’s common that many shoppers buy tires once its already too late. At that point you don’t have a lot of choice and can often over-pay. If you’re planning ahead, generally, retailers offer significant tire deals around major holiday weekends (especially in the summer), as well as Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

How much is Shipping?

Shipping is often included when you purchase tires online. Many retailers offer free shipping if you get your tires shipped to an installer that they recommend. Even if you ship to your home, Tire Rack offers free shipping on purchases over $50. And if you’re buying new tires, that won’t be hard.

How long does shipping take?

Shipping can take just a few days, or over a week in the worst cases. Often it depends on where you live. anyone in a larger urban center or living closer to a tire distribution center can get them quite quickly.

Does anyone offer mobile tire installation?

Depending on where you live, there may be numerous local mobile tire installers available. If you don’t want to deal with the hassle of tracking one down, TireRack offers its own service. You don’t even have to purchase tires from TireRack to use it.

While it’s more expensive than bringing your tires to the shop, it’s also a lot more convenient. Prices start at $25 per tire.

How much does it cost to install a tire?

Generally you’ll pay between $25 and $50 per tire for installation services. This includes mounting and balancing, while using the latest tools so your rims don’t get scuffed or scraped.

Do I need to replace the tire pressure monitoring system when I change tires?

It’s not necessary to replace TMPS sensors when you change tires, but you may want to consider it. The units can fail over time due to damage or corrosion. Also, most units contain a battery and as a sealed unit, they must be replaced when the battery wears down. While most tire installers will handle sourcing these parts for you, you can also buy your own here.

Do online tire retailers offer rebates?

Absolutely! In fact, rebates are offered by most brands (even premium ones). Often these incentives are offered with other deals including up-front discounts and credit card offers.