SUV tires: Put your workshop customers ‘in the know’!

Not everyone who owns an SUV drives it off-road – but many drivers still think they need special off-road tires. Find out here why this can even become dangerous – and how you should advise your workshop customers about it.

SUVs are in vogue – even if they’re not always driven in rural areas, but through the urban jungle to do the shopping or drive the children to school. Not everyone knows that special off-road tires are not needed in this case, and that the wrong choice of tires can even have dangerous consequences.

Added value: competent advice

So why not take a look at their tires the next time your customers visit the workshop and give them valuable tips? Customers remember things like this – and word will get around quickly that your workshop always gives competent advice (even when this goes above and beyond what are actually being paid to do). We’ve summarized the four most important steps for tire advice here:

1. The tires must match the load

Give this (friendly) explanation to your customers: Large, fast cars generally demand more of their tires. SUV tires need a high load capacity due to greater weight, the vehicle’s higher center of gravity, the broader track width and the often sports car-like horsepower. So, before a customer buys tires, taking a close look at the vehicle documentation would be sensible. Your customers should be aware that the most important information is already printed in there – and they should only decide between normal and off-road tire profiles when they’ve understood what the vehicle documentation says about tires.

2. Coarse tire treads are only suitable for off-road driving

Those who actually use the vehicle off-road, such as foresters, hunters and farmers, may benefit from coarser tire treads with good self-cleaning properties, additional protection against damage and reinforced sidewalls – typical features of special off-road tires.

Optimalen Grip, wenn er gebraucht wird, liefert z. B. der Grabber AT 3

For example, the Grabber AT 3 tire has the best possible off-road grip

3. On normal road surfaces, coarse tire studs give drivers hardly any advantages –

but they are suitable to a limited extent in normal road traffic and for fast trips on the freeway. The reason: Coarse studs do provide more grip off-road, but they don’t transfer enough of this grip to asphalt – and this can be dangerous, especially during fast braking and in curves. Under these conditions, tires with ‘normal car’ profiles are more suitable.

4. Special care is needed in winter!

Off-road tires carry the M+S designation, so they’re perfect for driving on mud and snow – but it’s wrong to believe that these tires mean total safety on snow and ice-covered roads! Even four-wheel drive is no guarantee for skid-free driving in winter – so, in snowy or icy conditions, always watch for the snowflake symbol and drive cautiously. Otherwise, you’ll put yourself and other road users at risk by braking too hard and too long and using off-road tires that have poor reinforcement on the sides.

Conclusion: Be careful when choosing tires

Ask your customers on which surfaces they mainly drive with their SUVs. Only those who really go off-road need special off-road tires. For daily journeys on asphalt roads, tires with ‘normal car’ profiles and a suitable load index are the safer choice. In winter, drivers using off-road tires must also watch for the snowflake symbol.