Best tires for the Mercury Tracer
Top picks across four categories for the Mercury Tracer, anchored to the current-generation OEM size 185/65R14. 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
Blizzak WS90
Touring-tuned winter compound; balanced ride, grip, and tread life for everyday driving.
Goodyear
Assurance all season
Touring-tuned all-season compound; balanced ride, grip, and tread life for everyday driving.
Goodyear
Assurance fuel max 185/65R14
Touring-tuned all-season compound; balanced ride, grip, and tread life for everyday driving.
BFGoodrich
Advantage control
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.
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.
Uniroyal
Tiger paw touring A/S
Lowest sticker price in this size that still meets the OEM load index. Trade-off is shorter warranty vs premium options.
Toyo
Extensa A/S II
Lowest sticker price in this size that still meets the OEM load index. Trade-off is shorter warranty vs premium options.
Nexen
N priz AH8
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.
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 Blizzak WS90 | Best budget Falken Sincera SN250 A/S |
|
|---|---|---|
| UTQG treadwear | - | 720 |
| Mileage warranty | - | - |
| Cabin noise | 71 dB | - |
| Season class | winter | - |
| Type | passenger | - |
OEM tire sizes by year
What size does the mercury tracer 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 | |
|---|---|---|
| 1988–1990 | 175/70R13 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 1991–1996 | 175/65R14 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 1997–1998 | 185/65R14 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 1999 | 185/60R15 | Year-specific fitment → |
How we ranked these tires for the mercury tracer
We started with the latest model-year's OEM tire size; 185/65R14; 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 mercury tracer
Top issue category: Sidewall
Reported across: 1999 – 1999 (1 year)
What owners described
Tread or belt separation appears in 22% of these reports; about 1.7× as often as across all tire complaints. Percentages are shares of the 9 reports covering every model year of the Mercury Tracer 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 | 22% | 13% | 1.7× |
| Sidewall failure | 22% | 15% | 1.5× |
| Cracking or dry rot | 22% | 9% | 2.4× |
| Premature or uneven wear | 11% | 1% | 8.5× |
In owners' own words
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA about Mercury Tracer. Reports are published by NHTSA as filed and are lightly cleaned here only to remove intake codes.
WHILE INSPECTING THE TIRES ON MY CAR, I SAW THE INSIDE SIDEWALL HAD PEELED AWAY FROM THE CASING. THIS CONDITION IS ON BOTH FRONT TIRES AND CONSISTS OF ABOUT 12 INCHES OF DAMAGE PER TIRE. I CALLED GOODYEAR CUSTOMER RELATIONS AND THEY GAVE ME THE IMPRESSION THAT IT WAS NOT OF ANY GREAT CONCERN AND THAT THIS WAS A NORMAL CONDITION THAT SHOULD BE COVERED UNDER THE LIMITED WARRANTY ADJUSTMENT POLICY.
ON FEBRUARY 4, 2006 WE HAD A GOODYEAR ALLEGRA TIRE, PURCHASED AS SAM'S CLUB, GO FLAT. IT WAS THE RIGHT FRONT TIRE. WHEN THE SAM'S CLUB TIRE TECHNICIAN INSPECTED THE TIRE HE FOUND A DEEP CUT OR CRACK ON THE SIDE WALL. HE THOUGHT IT COULD BE ROAD HAZARD DAMAGE OR VANDALISM. SAM'S CLUB REPLACED THE BASED ON TREAD WEAR. ON APRIL 8, 2006 THE TIRE ON THE LEFT FRONT WENT FLAT. IT HAS DEEP CUTS OR CRACKS ON BOTH SIDE OF THE TIRE, ONE ON THE OUTSIDE AND TWO ON THE BACK OF THE TIRE. THE DAMAGE IS NOT AT THE SAME PLACE ON THE TIRE, THE DAMAGE APPEARS AT ABOUT A 20 DEGREE DIFFERENCE SIDE TO SIDE. IT SEEMS THAT ROAD DAMAGE IS UNLIKELY AND IT IS UNLIKELY THAT A VANDAL WOULD REACH UNDER A VEHICLE. WE HAVE PHOTOS OF THE DAMAGE TO THE SECOND TIRE.
WHILE DRIVING FELT SEVERE VIBRATION AND LOUD NOISE AT ALL SPEEDS AND CAR PULLING TO THE RIGHT HARD. VIBRATION BECAME WORSE ABOUT 8 MILES LATER, CAR WAS NOT DRIVABLE AND ALMOST RAN OFF THE ROAD. THE TREAD SEPARATED FROM THE TIRE. PULLED OVER, PUT THE SPARE ON. PEP BOYS REPLACED BOTH FRONT TIRES, THE OTHER TIRE HAD TREAD FAILURE ALSO. PEP BOYS REFUSED TO GIVE ME THE DEFECTIVE TIRES.
WHILE INSPECTING THE TIRES ON MY CAR, I SAW THE INSIDE SIDEWALL HAD PEELED AWAY FROM THE CASING. THIS CONDITION IS ON BOTH FRONT TIRES AND CONSISTS OF ABOUT 12 INCHES OF DAMAGE PER TIRE. I CALLED GOODYEAR CUSTOMER RELATIONS AND THEY GAVE ME THE IMPRESSION THAT IT WAS NOT OF ANY GREAT CONCERN AND THAT THIS WAS A NORMAL CONDITION THAT SHOULD BE COVERED UNDER THE LIMITED WARRANTY ADJUSTMENT POLICY.
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 Mercury Tracer →
FAQ
What's the best all-season tire for the Mercury Tracer?
Should I get a cheaper tire for my Mercury Tracer?
Does the Mercury Tracer need winter tires?
Can I run a different tire size on my Mercury Tracer?
Where can I buy these tires?
Last verified 2026-10-07.