Best tires for the Ford Thunderbird
Top picks across four categories for the Ford Thunderbird, anchored to the current-generation OEM size 235/50R17. Every recommendation is selected from our 22,000-tire catalog by ranking on UTQG treadwear, mileage warranty, cabin-noise rating, and season class; no commission-weighted reordering.
Daily driver
Best all-season touring
Long warranty, low noise, balanced ride. The one-tire compromise that works for 80% of owners.
Bridgestone
Turanza QuietTrack
UTQG 800 with a 80,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Ford Thunderbird owners.
Goodyear
Assurance MaxLife
UTQG 820 with a 85,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Ford Thunderbird owners.
Michelin
CrossClimate 2
UTQG 640 with a 60,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Ford Thunderbird owners.
Michelin
Defender 2
UTQG 800 with a 80,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Ford Thunderbird owners.
Lowest cost per mile
Best budget
Best price-per-warranty-mile in this size. Trade-off is shorter warranty vs premium options, not safety.
Goodyear
Assurance MaxLife
820 UTQG with a 85,000-mile warranty works out to roughly 0.00¢ per 100 miles before install. Best price-per-mile in this size; no premium-brand markup.
Bridgestone
Turanza QuietTrack
800 UTQG with a 80,000-mile warranty works out to roughly 0.00¢ per 100 miles before install. Best price-per-mile in this size; no premium-brand markup.
Hankook
Kinergy PT
800 UTQG with a 90,000-mile warranty works out to roughly 0.00¢ per 100 miles before install. Best price-per-mile in this size; no premium-brand markup.
Michelin
Defender 2
800 UTQG with a 80,000-mile warranty works out to roughly 0.00¢ per 100 miles before install. Best price-per-mile in this size; no premium-brand markup.
Lowest cabin noise
Best quiet
Tread patterns engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning. Pick this if you commute long highway distances daily.
Bridgestone
Turanza QuietTrack
68 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; library-quiet. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Michelin
Defender 2
68 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; library-quiet. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Goodyear
Assurance MaxLife
70 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; library-quiet. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Hankook
Kinergy PT
70 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; library-quiet. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Cold-weather grip
Best winter
Dedicated winter or all-weather compounds that stay pliable below 7 °C. Necessary for >5 snow days a year.
Side-by-side
Pick the trade-off that matches your driving
| All-season Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrack | Best budget Goodyear Assurance MaxLife | Best winter Michelin X-Ice Snow |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| UTQG treadwear | 800 | 820 | - |
| Mileage warranty | 80,000 mi | 85,000 mi | - |
| Cabin noise | 68 dB | 70 dB | 71 dB |
| Season class | all-season | all-season | winter |
| Type | touring | touring | passenger |
OEM tire sizes by year
What size does the ford thunderbird use?
Recommendations on this page are anchored to the latest model-year's OEM size. Confirm yours against the driver-door placard before purchase.
| Year | OEM size | |
|---|---|---|
| 1955–1956 | 205/75R15 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 1957–1960 | 195/75R14 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 1961–1963 | 205/65R15 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 1964–1971 | 195/75R15 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 1972–1976 | 215/75R15 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 1977–1979 | 225/60R15 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 1980–1982 | 195/75R14 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 1983–1984 | 205/70R14 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 1985–1986 | 225/60R15 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 1987–1997 | 225/60R16 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2002–2005 | 235/50R17 | Year-specific fitment → |
How we ranked these tires for the ford thunderbird
We started with the latest model-year's OEM tire size; 235/50R17; and filtered our catalog of 22,000+ tires to those offered in that exact size. From there, four parallel rankings:
- Best all-season ranks on a weighted score: tire type matches passenger car segment, season is "all-season", premium brand bonus (Michelin / Continental / Bridgestone / Pirelli / Goodyear / Nokian).
- Best budget ranks on cost-per-warranty-mile; the lower the better. Premium brands get no bonus here.
- Best quiet ranks on the EU tire-label dB rating; lower is quieter.
- Best winter filters to tires marked 3PMSF severe-snow rated or all-weather class, with a small premium-brand bonus because winter-compound R&D is capital-intensive.
For sedans and compacts, the all-season touring tire below is the best default; long warranty, low cabin noise, reasonable cost per mile. Switch to the quiet pick if highway droning is a deal-breaker; switch to the winter pick if you see significant snow each year. Use the side-by-side comparison above to weigh the trade-offs against your specific driving; highway-heavy, winter-state, performance-oriented, or budget-constrained.
NHTSA-reported issues for ford thunderbird
Top issue category: Tread / Belt
Most reported: Tread / Belt (32) · Tires (General) (31) · Sidewall (4) · Bead (1) · Valve (1)
Reported across: 1960 – 2002 (16 years)
What owners described
Tread or belt separation appears in 24% of these reports; about 1.8× as often as across all tire complaints. Percentages are shares of the 37 reports covering every model year of the Ford Thunderbird that include a written account; a single report can describe more than one problem, so they do not total 100%.
| Reported problem | This subject | All tire complaints | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tread or belt separation | 24% | 13% | 1.8× |
| Blowout or sudden deflation | 19% | 20% | 0.9× |
| Sidewall failure | 11% | 15% | 0.7× |
| Cracking or dry rot | 5% | 9% | 0.6× |
| Loss of control, rollover or collision | 3% | 8% | 0.3× |
| Premature or uneven wear | 3% | 1% | 2.1× |
Mileage at failure
15 of these reports state an odometer reading. The middle report is at 30,000 miles, with 8 in 10 falling between 4,000 and 89,000 miles.
In owners' own words
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA about Ford Thunderbird. Reports are published by NHTSA as filed and are lightly cleaned here only to remove intake codes.
CONSUMER WILL ADD VIN.# AT LATER DATE. CONSUMER WAS MOUNTING THE TIRE UP. THE BEAD SEATING ONTO THE WHEEL BROKE, AND THE TIRE EXPLODED. COKER TIRE ID#--DY7FVLX208--- TIRE WAS PURCHASED OCT. 20, 1998. THE WHEEL MANUFACTURER HAS FOUND THAT THERE ARE (1) OUT OF EVERY (200) PURCHASED COKER TIRES THAT HAVE BEEN REPORTED TO EXPLODE.
THE FOREGOING PAGES ARE INCOMPLETE BUT I COULD NOT RETRIEVE THEM. THE 4 TIRES FAILED AT DIFFERENT TIMES PRIOR TO THE END OF THE LIFE OF THE TIRES. ON TWO OCCASIONS, TWO DIFFERENT TIRES, THE TREAD SEPARATED AND CAME OFF. THE 2ND INCIDENT WAS AFTER DRIVING OVER 200 MILES AT SPEEDS OF UP TO 70 MILES PER HOUR. THE BELT TORE OFF AND DAMAGED THE REAR PANEL AND SKIRT OF AUTOMOBILE.
THE TIRES CAME WITH THE THUNDERBIRD & ARE CRACKED ON THE INSIDE. THERE ARE HAIRLINE CRACKS ON THE OUTSIDE, AS WELL. THE CASING OF THE TIRES ARE BREAKING THE TIRES. DUE TO THE CRACKS, TIRES ARE 1/2 INCH FROM RIM. TAKING VEHICLE BACK TO DEALER. THE TIRES ARE LEE P21570R15 - PERFORMANCE RADIAL GT. IDLER PULLEY WENT OUT.
TIRES HAD 16,000-MILES, TIRE CAME APART ON I-70 IN COLORADO AT 75 M.P.H. WAS ABLE TO MAINTAIN CONTROL.WENT TO THE FIRESTONE DEALER AND GOT NEW TIRE FREE OF CHARGE. THE FOLLOWING YEAR THE REMAINING 3-TIRES CRACKED ALL THE WAY AROUND SIDEWALL. I WENT TO THE FIRESTONE DEALER AND THEY ADJUSTED THE 3-TIRES FOR 16.00 DOLLARS. MY QUETSION IS ARE THESE TIRES SAFE TO DRIVE? HAS ANYONE ELSE COMPLAINED ABOUT THIS SIZE? I HAVE ALL THE ADJUSTMENT PAPERS IN MY FILES. SIGNED: GARY SALYER. *AK (TIRESIZE: P21570 R15)
Complaints are voluntarily submitted to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation and are not verified by NHTSA; they represent owner-reported problems, not proven defects. Counts can be useful as a relative quality signal across comparable tires or vehicles.
Tire recalls & safety complaints for the Ford Thunderbird →
FAQ
What's the best all-season tire for the Ford Thunderbird?
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Last verified 2026-10-07.