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Pros
- Outstanding durability and treadwear warranty
- Excellent responsiveness and grip on dry roads
- A lot of different sizes available
- Reasonably priced
Cons
- Noise issues on the highway
- Worse wet and snow performance than its main competitors
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Uniroyal’s presence on the tire market today is severely limited, even though half a century ago they were a formidable force in the USA. Owned by Michelin (in the US), and Continental AG (in Europe), Uniroyal is a company that produces mostly budget tires made for drivers who value durability and all-season traction. Their Tiger Paw line is their most popular, which is to be expected – Uniroyal used the same name for high-performance tires aimed at muscle cars in the 60s’ and 70s’, and it was very popular back in the day.
However, Uniroyal has much more competition today in the market, namely from manufacturers such as General Tire, Firestone, Hankook, and Kumho, which are known for producing excellent tires at very low price points. In their defense, Uniroyal will tell you that they use technologies from the parent company Michelin, but in reality, the competitors seem to be much better at the moment. Take the Tiger Paw Touring for example – it’s a tire that shows promise when driving on dry roads, but can’t hold a candle to the best on wet surfaces. I mean, it’s not a bad tire per se – it is still perfectly reliable and safe, but its closest competitors are simply better.
The Tiger Paw Touring is a grand-touring tire of the all-season variety, which means that it is made for subcompact cars, compact cars, sedans, coupes, minivans, and crossovers. Its main traits are great durability, all-season traction, high levels of comfort, and low price point. In other words, grand-touring tires should offer the driver a combination of all things that a tire can offer. Some tires in this category manage to balance things out very well, with some of them competing directly with the Tiger Paw Touring price-wise.
This tire is available in sizes ranging from 14-18 inches, which covers cars like the Toyota Camry, Kia Optima, Hyundai Sonata, Mazda 6, Honda Accord, Ford Fusion, and Nissan Altima, minivans like the Toyota Sienna, Honda Odyssey and Chrysler Pacifica, crossovers like the Jeep Patriot, Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V, compact vehicles like the Toyota Corolla, Ford Focus, Mazda 3, Honda Civic, Volkswagen Jetta and Kia Spectra, and even sub-compact vehicles such as Toyota Yaris and Honda Fit. That said, if you own a sportier version of those vehicles with 19-inch tires, then you’re out of luck.
Overall though, there’s not much to complain about when it comes to availability – it is obvious that Uniroyal made the right choices when it comes to sizing. But, has Uniroyal made the right choices when it comes to design? Read on to find out in the next section, and then check our opinion in the detailed Uniroyal Tiger Paw review down below.
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What are the features of the Uniroyal Tiger Paw Touring?
According to Uniroyal, the Tiger Paw Touring is “an affordable, long-lasting passenger tire that provides a quiet, comfortable ride on the highway and around town.” They don’t mention the performance aspect of the tire at first, but following this, they say that the highly siped design and all-season compound provide excellent traction in all conditions. The Tiger Paw Touring is an all-season tire, which means that it works in warm and cold weather, as well as in light snow. The last part is a little tricky, though. The Tiger Paw Touring is only M+S rated, which means that it is suitable only for use in light snow.
Like most Uniroyal tires, the Tiger Paw Touring promises excellent wet performance thanks to the wide circumferential grooves that evacuate the water quickly out of the surface of the tire, thus improving traction and grip and limiting hydroplaning in extremely wet conditions. The all-season compound that is molded into a symmetric design, on the other hand, provides large contact area for better grip and traction in dry conditions, aided by a continuous center rib that gives the driver a confident straight-line tracking ability. Like most all-season tires, the Tiger Paw Touring is equipped with high-density zigzag sipes in the shoulders that further enhance wet traction, while also helping in the snow.
The durability part of the Uniroyal Tiger Paw Touring is covered with the DuraShield construction with two wide, steel belts, insulating belt edge strips and a heavy gauge inner liner. According to the company, this technology gives the tire excellent durability, aided by the long-lasting treadlife.
What are the maintenance indicators?
Like most grand-touring tires, the Uniroyal Tiger Paw Touring has the usual indicator bars that sit between the tread of the tire. These indicators can’t be seen from a distance when the tire is new, but they start to appear as the tread wears down. When the tread is worn down to 2/32″ or when the indicator bars are flushed with the tread of the tire, the tire is worn out and should be replaced. Take your vehicle to your local Uniroyal tire retailer for an inspection and have them measure the remaining tread with a tread depth gauge.
That said, this will not happen fast. The Uniroyal Tiger Paw Touring comes with 70,000-mile / 6 years treadwear warranty for T-Speed rated models and 55,000-mile / 6 years treadwear warranty for H- & V-Speed Rated. This is certainly not the longest warranty in the category, but it is very good for the price. On top of that, owners of this tire report that they have no issues with longevity, which is good to hear in this price range. In other words, you can expect great performance right until the 70,000-mile mark comes in, which is nothing short of astonishing.
Overall, as expected from a set of grand-touring tires, the Uniroyal Tiger Paw Touring puts a very strong showing in the durability department, especially when compared to tires that are similarly priced.
Is it good for off-road driving?
In case you didn’t notice, the Tiger Paw Touring isn’t made for off-road driving. In other words, extremely slippery surfaces like mud, sand, and rocks are out of the question here. That said, the Tiger Paw might provide the driver with enough traction for driving on some dirt sections, like gravel, for example. Still, this is something that most grand-touring tires provide and is not exclusive to this tire. Nevertheless, you should still be very careful when using these tires on gravel roads because the grip will be limited when compared to all-terrain tires.
How does it behave on dry tarmac?
As expected from a grand-touring tire, the Tiger Paw Touring has high levels of traction in dry conditions. It also provides the driver with ample grip in the corners at higher speeds, and with excellent braking performance. High-speed stability is also very good – driving at 70mph feels completely safe.
On top of that, the responsiveness of the Tiger Paw Touring is very good for a tire in this category, which is another plus. The thing is, almost every budget-oriented competitor also offers excellent dry grip, braking, and traction. As a matter of fact, most modern tires do – they must in order to succeed in today’s market. Still, that doesn’t take away from the fact that the Uniroyal is pretty strong here.
How is it over wet and slippery roads?
Uniroyal’s European cousins are designed specifically to tackle wet and slippery roads, but that’s not the case with the American Tiger Paw Touring. Sure, the tire provides a safe driving experience and has excellent resistance to hydroplaning, but grip and traction are very limited on damp surfaces. Overall, competitors from General Tire and Kumho are better in this regard, especially when it comes to wet braking.
With that being said, how is it in snowy roads?
We suggest against using all-season tires in severe wintry conditions, despite the fact that the manufacturers market them as a winter solution. The same can be said for the Uniroyal, perhaps to an even bigger extent. The high-density siping helps in light snow, but only for traction – braking can still be an issue.
Also, the grip can be severely limited on snow and ice, especially if the snow is packed. Suffice to say, if you live in areas with a lot of snow in the winter, you should consider replacing these tires with a proper set of winter tires.
Is it comfortable and refined?
While the Uniroyal Tiger Paw Touring is perfectly fine over bumps, it is surprisingly not as quiet as we expected. That’s a shame because grand-touring tires are specifically aimed at people who want a comfortable and quiet driving experience. Almost all competitors in the budget segment will give you a quieter ride on the highway.
You can see more Uniroyal Tiger Paw Touring Review here: videos created by Suburban Tire Auto Repair Centers
Should I buy the Uniroyal Tiger Paw Touring?
Only if you come across a great discount. The Tiger Paw Touring is certainly not a bad tire – it’s just that its competitors are better in almost every regard, especially when it comes to wet braking and highway quietness.
New Year Sale @Priority Tire
Valid through January 13, 2023
Available at PriorityTire.com
Just bought four of the Tigerpaws at Walmart,they are excellent on blacktop roads but suck on grooved highways. I have an 06 crown vic interceptor and when driving on blacktop these tires handle excellent at any speed. When you drive on a grooved roadway these tires are horrible! No matter how slow or fast you drive you feel like your in a wind tunnel being buffeted all over the road.
I purchased a set of Uniroyal Tiger Paw Tires and within 10-13,000 miles the front driving belt broke on the tire and they had 6/32 tread on them. I bought these tires through Walmart and they would not warranty them. They said they have to have 3/32 tread for a warranty. Toyota agreed to warranty them. I paid a discount price for all 4 tires and they kept the old tires. I paid for shipping, tax, balance, install, $20 contract fee and 3yr road hazard insurance on all for tires. On the new tires I have a tread depth bordering on 6/32nds with 13,763 miles on them. Yes, I had an alignment, the shocks changed, tires rotated, front wheels rebalanced, the shocks changed again at 11,000 miles that were leaking from Toyota and the rear break pads replaced despite nobody telling me that I needed them. I have a 1998 Toyota Tacoma 2 wheel drive. Is it just me, because I will not buy any tire from Michelin that they own or manufacture again. There warranty is horrible and customer service is long, arduous, painful and not worth your time. 10 years ago, one could buy an inexpensive tire, get the mileage it stated it would get, they would wear evenly and never got a flat, blow out, a broken belt. I don’t know who is regulating the tire industry, but they are doing a horrible job in quality, safety, durability etc.
I’ve had two sets of Tiger Paws. They both lasted about 50K. But I didn’t get them from Walmart. And yes they are noisy.
Really confused about this article – I had total of 8 Uniroyal Tiger Paw Tires on five different cars the past decades – I’m 74, and before that, I used the highly advertised tires of other OEMs which did not last. Tiger Paw not only lasted long – but one year with 9 major Snow Storms…was driving 50 miles one way to work and rarely slid and had good control. Initially bought sets at BJs Edison NJ when were advertised as high mileage tires – say 70,000 or maybe higher…only tires I ever used that lasted over high mileage although not the maximum…more recent times I saw that mileage ratings losered, but just checked to see if can be used on like new 2018 Camry LE I just bought – and tires again high rated 70,000 and good price. I had Snow Incidents well with Buick LeSabre Cars 1984 and 1991 year models. I had bought a new 2001 Mercury Grand Marquis which of course came with the car tires provided my Ford – did not like the ride, and was about to buy Uniroyal Tires again when the local Tire place – a smaller warehouse store, talked my into a common name tires saying the tires were better – as soon as I rode with those tires on a ramp with grooves leading to Rt. 1 N in North Brunswick, NJ…car would not grip and slid – so I threw out those tires in about 18 months and went bac to Uniroyal Tiger Paw – and went over same wet grooved ramp…no slidding. So, I can’t understand some of the other reviews? I tell people all the time about these tires – only bad wear was when my 2011 Chevy HHR LT had bad Lower Control Arms.