Top 10 Best Tires for Acura MDX: Recommended & Reviews

Being around for 20 years, the MDX picked up where the SLX left off. The four-door SUV has been upgraded three times so far, and today we are looking at the third generation, which is on sale since 2014. The latest update for the 2020 model comes with no updates. It is the same seven-seater SUV as last year, offering three different models with two engine choices. The front-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive models come with a 3.5-liter V6 putting out 290 horsepower, while the hybrid version puts out 321 horsepower from its 3-liter V6 combined with three electric motors.

Having this much or little power, depending on who you ask, is nothing if you get inadequate tires. The driving performance and dynamic of a car are not something that depends only on the engine or suspension. A lot of factors can affect the human factor and tires being somewhere up on the list.

People drive differently, in different conditions and different parts of the world – some drive fast while others drive on snow and ice. The tire industry has been working hard to provide drivers a wide variety of tire setups so that you, as a driver, can get the tires that work the best for you. Unfortunately, you will not be able to find tires that will perform excellently in various conditions. For example, off-road tires are not extremely good for grand touring, just as grand touring tires are terrible for off-roading. And that is what we are going to discuss today, which tires are the best Acura MDX tires for you?

Before we dive into the list of the best tires for Acura MDX, there are a few things that need to be mentioned and explained. We are going to talk about the tires and the driving environment, types of tires for various climate, and a few recommendations. The Acura MDX tire size list is extensive, so you have some flexibility in that department.

Let’s dive in.

The 10 Best Tires for Acura MDX You Can Buy

1. Michelin Premier LTX

Best All-Season Touring Tires for Acura MDX

We are starting off the best all-season touring tires with the Michelin Premier LTX. Being first does not make them the best, but considering the price, they should be. Priced relatively high on the price list, the Premier LTX are tires that will outperform most of their competitors. While their performance is outstanding, the warranty is not. They come with a 60,000-mile tread warranty, which is less than what the competitors offer.

Driving them is when you start to notice why they are a bit expensive. Their road performance is quite a lot better than most of their competitors, providing grip and stability almost as good as some high-performance tires. The extra grip also helps a lot when braking, again besting most of their competitors.

Being all-season tires means that they should perform great on wet surfaces, and they do. The treads are designed to offer excellent grip, and they are developed using a technology that should improve fuel consumption.

Overall, the Premier LTX are excellent all-season tires, offering great performance without sacrificing comfort.

2. Goodyear Assurance CS Fuel Max

Best All-Season Touring Tires for Acura MDX

Goodyear has been making good tires for a long time, and the Assurance CS Fuel Max is no exception. The good performance combined with one of the lowest rolling resistances in this category is what got them on this list.

These tires were designed with grip and performance in mind. The Dry Tread zones help them achieve that on dry surfaces, while the Wet Tread Zone combined with the Aquachannel Grooves is what makes them good on slightly wet roads as well as in heavy rain, almost eliminating hydroplaning. The technology used to lower the rolling resistance is what gave the name Fuel Max. It means that with these tires, you will certainly notice a reduction in fuel consumption.

There are a few downsides, though. The warranty is less than what other manufacturers provide, only a 65,000-mile tread warranty. Also, all that technology used to make them perform well reduced the ride comfort.

3. Continental CrossContact LX20 with EcoPlus Technology

Best All-Season Touring Tires for Acura MDX

Going a bit down in the range are the Continental CrossContact LX20 tires with EcoPlus technology. These are tires designed to be great for everyone, which makes them a good choice for most MDX drivers – good performance, quiet and comfortable packed with a decent tread warranty.

Performance-wise, the CrossContact LX20 provides decent grip and stability at highway speeds with a great braking power. On the wet, they perform almost as good as on a dry surface and provide a surprisingly good hydroplaning resistance. These tires can even handle light snow. The EcoPlus technology used to develop the tires is responsible for the reduced fuel consumption.

To top it all off, you get a 70,000-mile tread warranty, which is not the highest you can get, but it is far from the lowest.

4. Cooper Discoverer SRX

Best All-Season Touring Tires for Acura MDX

The last of the all-season touring Acura MDX tires are Cooper Discover SRX. These are relatively cheap tires with a surprisingly good performance and comfort.

On the dry road, these will handle on par with some of their more expensive competitors, even providing decent stability and grip on wet surfaces. When it comes to snow, they will not perform nearly as good as some of the other tires on the list.

These tires come in two models, T and H. The H model offers a 70,000-mile tread warranty, while the T model has 75,000-miles. Combine that with the comfort these tires provide on rough surfaces and the low noise on highway speeds; it makes them the best bang for the buck.

5. Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza Plus

Best All-Season Touring Tires for Acura MDX

Last, but not least are the Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza Plus. If comfort and low noise levels are on the top of your list when buying new tires for your MDX, then these are the way to go.

Do not think that comfortable tires perform badly on the road. These Bridgestone tires provide a decent grip in the corners and great high-speed stability. Their performance on the wet is also decent; you can even take them out in light snow. To be fair, they are not the most responsive tires on the market, but they do a good job.

Now we come to the par where the Dueler outperforms all other tires in this class – comfort and noise. They can absorb bumps with ease providing you with a very comfortable ride while being extremely quiet, even when you take them on the highway. In addition to that, you get 80,000-miles of tread warranty, which is among the highest warranty you can get from a tire manufacturer.

6. Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady

Best All-Weather Touring Tires for Acura MDX

When it comes to all-weather tires, Goodyear makes some of the best, and the same can be said about Assurance WeatherReady. These tires offer great performance with a decent warranty.

Performance-wise, these tires will perform great in almost all-weather conditions. The Assurance WeatherReady will grip and handle great on dry roads, but in the wet and snow is where they shine. They are among the best tires in their class when it comes to grip, traction, and braking in poor conditions. The reason for that is the softer compound, which provides great performance in colder weather. All of this is achieved by using the Weather Reactive Technology to develop the tires.

Cheap tires that perform great, what is the catch? Noise. Unlike some of their competitors, these can get noisy when you get up to highway speeds.

7. Michelin CrossClimate SUV

Best All-Weather Touring Tires for Acura MDX

The closest competitor to the Goodyear tires is the Michelin CrossClimate SUV. The main advantage that these have over the Goodyear tires above is the Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake symbol, which means that these perform much better in snowy conditions.

The CrossClimate SUV performs just as you would expect from an all-season tire. It grips well in the corners and has decent stability at higher speeds. The snow and wet is where these tires outperform most of their competitors. They can handle hydroplaning with no problem and will drive well on snowy surfaces. The downside is the warranty. These come with only a 50,000-mile treadwear warranty, which is less than what Goodyear offers. Another disadvantage is the noise. Being tires that can handle well on the wet and snow means that you will hear more noise on the highway.

8. Bridgestone Dueler H/P Sport

Best High-Performance Tires Acura MDX

Now we come to the fun part – the performance tires. Even though the Acura MDX is not meant to be driven down a twisty back-road, it does not mean that you cannot get high-performance tires, and the winner is Bridgestone Dueler H/P Sport.

These tires are specifically designed for SUVs and crossovers, and they have been designed well. Their dry road performance is excellent. Compared to other all-season tires, your MDX will feel like it is cranked up to 11. It will handle more responsively, have much better stability at high speeds, grip better in the corners, and even perform excellently on wet surfaces. To top it all off, it is quiet and comfortable.

Unfortunately, there is a downside – the warranty or the lack thereof. With these tires, you do not get any warranty, which is a shame.

9. Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2

Best Winter Tires for Acura MDX

You will not find tons of good winter tires, so this section will only have two. The first on the list is the Blizzak DM-V2. These are excellent winter tires with great performance and a low price.

The NanoPro Tech Multicell coating combined with the hydrophilic coating makes this an excellent tire for snow and ice. That does not mean its performance is bad on a dry road. On the contrary, these tires perform very well on dry and wet roads, even in warmer conditions.

It is not perfect, though. Even though it may be cheaper than its competitors, the Blizzak DM-V2 comes with no tread warranty.

10. Michelin Latitude X-Ice Xi2

Best Winter Tires for Acura MDX

Similarly to the Blizzak, the Michelin Latitude X-Ice Xi2 are tires designed with winter and snow in mind. Their performance on snow and ice is probably the best in the category, with an excellent performance on dry and wet roads.

If you drive on snow and ice often, then these are the tires you should get. Your MDX will handle on the snow almost as responsively as it would on a dry surface. The car will grip well and provide excellent stability at higher speeds. Dry and wet performance does not take a hit, and you will feel almost no difference.

Unlike the Blizzak, the Latitude X-Ice Xi2 comes with a 40-thousand-mile warranty and a hefty price tag. If you take into consideration what they offer, they worth every single penny.

Best Tires for Acura MDX: Buyer’s Guide

1. Touring Tires are the Best Choice for the Average Acura MDX Driver

Most of you might say, “But it is an SUV, why are you recommending touring tires?”. Even though Acura MDX is technically an SUV, it is far from the real SUVs on the market. The main selling point for the MDX is the size. Seven seats with enough space for your entire family and your dogs. So, the reason why we recommend touring tires is that they can offer decent performance in multiple conditions. You can drive them on the motorway or through town, but you can still take them out on some dirt road and still get decent performance.

Another reason why we recommend touring tires is their price and availability. A lot of the drivers on the road are not racing drivers, so the tire industry is focusing on tires that people will use. You have loads and loads of different types of touring tires with prices to match your budget. Sure, there are some premium touring tires that are expensive but can still be cheaper than other types of tires.

The longevity of a tire also plays a huge role. No one wants to buy a new set of tires every year. Touring tires are designed to last longer than others. In recent days tires come with quite a long warranty on the treads. A decent set of tires will come with 60-70 thousand miles warranty, and some more premium can go all the way up to 90,000-miles. To put that into perspective, an average American drives 13,476 miles every year, according to the Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration. There is a higher chance that you will sell the car long before the tread goes bad.

Speaking of treads, they play a crucial role when driving in the wet. This is what makes touring tires a good all-rounder. The compound can provide a decent performance on dry roads, and the tread is designed to move the water away from the center and provide a good grip.

Tire noise is something that can bother an ordinary driver. If you are commuting to work or on a family weekend, then tire roar is something that can make or break your driving experience. Some cars may have better sound insulation than others, but at the end of the day, you cannot isolate the noise completely. The touring tires are designed with that in mind, good enough performance for the average Joe without all that racket from performance tires. Speaking of driving comforts, there is the ride quality. Touring tires are generally softer with a higher outer wall, which helps absorb the bumps much better. This, in combination with the suspension, can provide a very comfortable riding for you and your passengers.

2. What if I Want More Responsive Handling?

You can if you want, but there is one important thing to keep in mind. The Acura MDX is not a performance car and will not handle like one, but you can make some improvements in that department. If the touring tires don’t provide you with the driving dynamics that you are looking for, replacing them with high-performance ones will completely change the way the car feels. The increased grip and stability will make the steering where more compliant to your inputs, and you will also notice a big improvement in the braking.

It is not all good news, though. Fitting your MDX with a set of high-performance tires will improve the way it drives, but at a price – a relatively high one. Performance tires are much more expensive than touring tires, and they do not age well. The tread warranty that you get with a performance tire is at least half of what you would normally get with a touring tire. That halves the lifespan of the tire, which means that you will need to change them twice as often.

The ride quality also takes a hit. Performance tires are not designed to provide you with a smooth ride; they are designed to grip you to the road. It means that you feel like you are floating on the clouds, and the noise will get on your nerves for longer periods of time.

If you are okay with all the setbacks of the performance tires mentioned above, we will outline a few models that you can choose from.

3. What about off-roading?

As mentioned before, the Acura MDX is technically an SUV, but not a great one. It can go off-road if you want it to but do not expect it to get you to the top of Mount Everest. The all-wheel-drive models will be able to tackle mud and dirt decently, but the need for dedicated off-road tires will kill the joy and driving experience on the road. With that in mind, we will not outline any off-road tires in this guide.

4. What About the Climate? Does it Make a Difference?

Climate is probably one of the most important factors when buying new tires. The manufacturers work with various tire compounds that provide the best possible performance for a certain climate. For example, summer tires will perform the best in a warm climate, while winter tires will work best in the winter.

Tire manufacturers also develop all-season tires, which will provide great performance in the summer and the winter. Regardless of how good the manufacturer claims their all-season tires are, they still have limitations. They will perform decently up to a certain point. You will start noticing a decrease in performance once the weather conditions start to get extreme – too hot or too cold.

Tires dedicated for a certain season are probably the best approach if you want the best possible performance and reliability. In harsher conditions, the dedicated tire for that season will have a better overall performance when compared to the all-season tire. Ideally, if you live near the coast in sunny California, you should get summer tires because it is very unlikely that you will see snow there, just as if you live in Alaska, you should go for the winter tires. If you live in an area where the climate changes throughout the year, you can get all-season tires, but bear in mind that you will need to sacrifice some of the performance.

In general, dedicated tires provide the best possible performance for a certain season, while the all-season tires are decent all-rounders for most weather conditions. Our recommendation is to go for the dedicated ones, as you will get more out of them. If that does not fit your budget or you do not want the trouble of changing the tires a couple of times throughout the year, you can fair well with the all-seasons.

Let us start with the best Acura MDX tires.

Final Words

Choosing tires is not as easy as getting a new air freshener. There are lots of parameters that you should take into consideration before buying them. We hope our guide on the best Acura MDX tires will help you choose the tires that suit your needs the best.