Best tires for the GMC Suburban
Top picks across four categories for the GMC Suburban, anchored to the current-generation OEM size 235/75R15. 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.
Hankook
Kinergy PT
UTQG 800 with a 90,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for GMC Suburban owners.
BFGoodrich
All-Terrain T/A KO2
Reinforced sidewall all-season compound; balanced ride, grip, and tread life for everyday driving.
Bridgestone
Blizzak DM V2
Touring-tuned all-season compound; balanced ride, grip, and tread life for everyday driving.
Bridgestone
Dueler H/T D684 II 235/75R15
Touring-tuned all-season compound; balanced ride, grip, and tread life for everyday driving.
Lowest cost per mile
Best budget
Best price-per-warranty-mile in this size. Trade-off is shorter warranty vs premium options, not safety.
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.
BFGoodrich
Advantage T/A sport LT
Lowest sticker price in this size that still meets the OEM load index. Trade-off is shorter warranty vs premium options.
Toyo
Open country H/T II
Lowest sticker price in this size that still meets the OEM load index. Trade-off is shorter warranty vs premium options.
Falken
Sincera SN250 A/S
Lowest sticker price in this size that still meets the OEM load index. Trade-off is shorter warranty vs premium options.
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.
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.
BFGoodrich
All-Terrain T/A KO2
75 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; still quieter than most competitors in this size. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Side-by-side
Pick the trade-off that matches your driving
| All-season Hankook Kinergy PT |
|
|---|---|
| UTQG treadwear | 800 |
| Mileage warranty | 90,000 mi |
| Cabin noise | 70 dB |
| Season class | all-season |
| Type | touring |
OEM tire sizes by year
What size does the GMC suburban 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 | |
|---|---|---|
| 1976–1990 | 235/75R15 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 1991 | 235/85R16 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 1992–1999 | 245/75R16 | Year-specific fitment → |
How we ranked these tires for the GMC suburban
We started with the latest model-year's OEM tire size; 235/75R15; 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 GMC suburban
Top issue category: Tires (General)
Most reported: Tires (General) (18) · Tread / Belt (12) · Sidewall (1)
Reported across: 1999 – 1999 (1 year)
What owners described
Tread or belt separation appears in 28% of these reports; about 2.1× as often as across all tire complaints. Percentages are shares of the 85 reports covering every model year of the GMC Suburban 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 | 28% | 13% | 2.1× |
| Blowout or sudden deflation | 21% | 20% | 1.0× |
| Loss of control, rollover or collision | 16% | 8% | 2.0× |
| Sidewall failure | 7% | 15% | 0.5× |
| Bubble or bulge in the tire | 7% | 6% | 1.2× |
| Cracking or dry rot | 7% | 9% | 0.8× |
Mileage at failure
10 of these reports state an odometer reading. The middle report is at 20,500 miles, with 8 in 10 falling between 3,000 and 52,073 miles.
In owners' own words
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA about GMC Suburban. Reports are published by NHTSA as filed and are lightly cleaned here only to remove intake codes.
PULLED OUT OF MY DRIVEWAY GOT UP TO SPEED OF ROADWAY THAT IS 50 MPH FELT A VIBRATION IN THE FRONT END, SLOWED DOWN IT WENT AWAY, SO I STARTED TO SPEED UP AGAIN TO SEE IF IT CAME BACK, THEN BOOM MY FRONT PASSENGER TIRE LITERALLY BLEW UP, THE TREAD SEPARATED AND THE TIRE ALMOST BLEW COMPLETELY OFF THE RIM. I TEMPORARILY LOST CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AND SKIDDED TO HALT ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD TEARING UP A LAWN AND ALMOST TAKING OUT A GUARD RAIL. THE TIRE BENT MY FRONT BUMPER AND RIPPED MY RUNNING BOARD PARTWAY OFF. I AM VERY LUCKY NO OTHER TRAFFIC WAS AROUND ME... I CHANGED THE TIRE TO MY SPARE AND AM NOW IN THE PROCESS OF REMOVING THE REST OF THE CORNERSTONES FORME MY TRUCK, IT'S NOT WORTH THE RISK
265/70/R16. Cruising down Interstate around Des Moines, Iowa at 65 mph. Hot day July 2021. Heard muffled "pop" noise. Few seconds later, suburban began to shake and vibrate violently. Approaching uncontrollable. Pulled off road onto side street. Noted bulge on top of tire. Located a Goodyear tire store in Ames, Iowa. Tire man identified the problem, ordered a new tire (Hankook brand). We spent unintended night nearby in hotel, had tire changed out at Goodyear Tire store, all other tires were inspected by qualified technicians, given a clean bill of health, and we continued on. No warning of impending tire failure. This incident was a second belt failure on same brand of tire within 30 days. First belt failure occurred about 20 days earlier on a same brand, and type tire that had less than 1,000 miles of wear on same vehicle.
VEHICLE 1998 GMC SUBURBAN: WHEN DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AT 65-70 MPH ONE REAR FIRESTONE STEELTEX RADIAL TIRE BLEW OUT, CAUSING LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL/ COLLISION WHICH RESULTED IN ONE FATALITY. TIRE SIZE R4SLT245/75R16, DOT NUMBER V611B1A377.
PE00020; ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT ON A GMC, SUBURBAN 1998, VN1183A447, SP842KA14L, VN1183A447, VN1183A447 SIZE- L226575R16. CONSUMER NOTICED A CRACK GOING ALL THE WAY AROUND THE WHOLE TIRE. WHILE ON VACATION TOOK VEHICLE TO A DEALER, AND DEALER TOLD CONSUMER NOT TO DRIVE VEHICLE.*AK FIRESTONE WILDERNESS AT L226/75/R16
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 GMC Suburban →
FAQ
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Last verified 2026-10-07.