Best tires for the Pontiac GTO
Top picks across four categories for the Pontiac GTO, anchored to the current-generation OEM size 245/45R17. 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 Pontiac GTO 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 Pontiac GTO owners.
Cooper
CS5 ultra touring
UTQG 800 with a 80,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Pontiac GTO 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 Pontiac GTO 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.
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.
Cooper
CS5 ultra touring
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.
Yokohama
AVID ascend GT
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.
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.
Cooper
CS5 ultra touring
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.
Michelin
CrossClimate 2
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 winter Bridgestone Blizzak WS90 |
|
|---|---|---|
| UTQG treadwear | 800 | - |
| Mileage warranty | 80,000 mi | - |
| Cabin noise | 68 dB | 71 dB |
| Season class | all-season | winter |
| Type | touring | passenger |
OEM tire sizes by year
What size does the pontiac GTO 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 | |
|---|---|---|
| 1966–1967 | 205/75R14 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 1969 | 215/75R14 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2004–2006 | 245/45R17 | Year-specific fitment → |
How we ranked these tires for the pontiac GTO
We started with the latest model-year's OEM tire size; 245/45R17; 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 pontiac GTO
Top issue category: Tires (General)
Most reported: Tires (General) (17) · Markings (1) · TPMS (1) · Tread / Belt (1)
Reported across: 2006 – 2006 (1 year)
What owners described
Blowout or sudden deflation is the most common description, in 22% of these reports. Percentages are shares of the 108 reports covering every model year of the Pontiac GTO 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blowout or sudden deflation | 22% | 20% | 1.1× |
| Premature or uneven wear | 10% | 1% | 7.8× |
| Loss of control, rollover or collision | 8% | 8% | 1.0× |
| Sidewall failure | 7% | 15% | 0.5× |
| Cracking or dry rot | 1% | 9% | 0.1× |
Mileage at failure
96 of these reports state an odometer reading. The middle report is at 18,000 miles, with 8 in 10 falling between 6,000 and 30,000 miles.
In owners' own words
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA about Pontiac GTO. Reports are published by NHTSA as filed and are lightly cleaned here only to remove intake codes.
I HAVE 6,000 MILES ON MY GTO. I CAN NOT ROTATIE MY TIRES BECAUSE THE INNER TIRE IN THE REAR OF MY CAR ARE BOLD. PONTIAC DEALER IS GIVING ME HARD TIME ABOUT THE REAR. MY TIRE ARE TOWED IN ON THE TOP SO I GOT UNEVEN WEAR THEY TOLD ME NOTHING IS WRONG WITH THE REAR.
FRONT TIRE CAUSES RUBBING ON THE FRONT STRUT, NAMELY AND MORE COMMONLY THE PASSENGER'S SIDE STRUT. THIS IS EVIDENCED BY A RUBBING MARK ON THE STRUT BODY, AND MANY TIMES WEAR MARKS ON THE TIRES THEMSELVES. THE TIRE SIDEWALL RUBBING IN THIS AREA COULD EASILY CAUSE A BLOW OUT, ESPECIALLY IF THE OWNER DOESN'T INSPECT THE TIRES AND SUSPENSION WELL, OR ISN'T AWARE OF THE POTENTIAL PROBLEM. IN LIGHT OF THE FORD-FIRESTONE TIRE PROBLEMS, I BELIEVE THIS IS A SITUATION THAT SHOULD BE RESEARCHED.
I TOOK THE 2004 GTO TO DEALER FOR AN OIL CHANGE AND TIRE ROTATION TO COLONIAL TIRE NEAR MY HOME THEY FOUND THE RIGHT FRONT INSIDE OF THE TIRE WAS WORN DOWN TO THE BELTS AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED IMMEDIATELY. ALSO, THEY FOUND A REAR TIRE MISSING ABOUT 3" OF TREAD AND THAT REQUIRED REPLACEMENT. I HAVE NOT READ THAT THIS YEAR AND MODEL GTO HAD A STRUT PROBLEM THAT CAUSED IT TO RUB AGAINST THE FRONT TIRES, AND THAT THE TIRES CHUNKED EASILY. THERE WAS NO ACCIDENT OR INJURY INVOLVED. IT COST ME $437.
AT 14,000 MILES, I NOTICED UNEVEN WEAR ON THE RIGHT FRONT TIRE. UPON REMOVAL OF THE RIGHT FRONT TIRE, I OBSERVED WEAR MARKS AND RUBBER FRAGMENTS ON THE STRUT. THE TIRE STILL HAS A LOT OF TREAD LEFT EXCLUDING THE ABNORMAL WEAR WHICH HAS WORN BALD. UNCHECKED, THIS COULD LEAD TO A DISASTER. THIS DOES NOT SEEM LIKE IT WOULD BE A DIFFICULT FIX, YET MANY PEOPLE SEEM TO HAVE GOTTEN NOWHERE WITH THE DEALERSHIP. MOST LIKELY, CHANGING THE TIRE SIZE WILL FIX THE PROBLEM. THIS SHOULD BE PERFORMED UNDER WARRANTY.
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 Pontiac GTO →
FAQ
What's the best all-season tire for the Pontiac GTO?
Should I get a cheaper tire for my Pontiac GTO?
Does the Pontiac GTO need winter tires?
Can I run a different tire size on my Pontiac GTO?
Where can I buy these tires?
Last verified 2026-10-07.