What Does H/T Mean for Tires?

by Jay Motes
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The codes on the sides of tires are unfamiliar to most car and truck owners, but knowing what the codes mean is important to choosing the proper tires. The H/T on tires stands for highway/terrain.

H/T Tire Uses

An H/T tire is designed for vehicles that are driven primarily on highways, but that will also be used at times off road. Trucks and SUVs most commonly use H/T tires.

Advantages

H/T tires allow a driver to use the same tires for everyday highway driving as well as off-road driving. The tread of H/T tires provides a relatively quiet and smooth ride on paved surfaces while still having a rough enough tread to provide traction in dirt, mud, snow and other off-road surfaces.

Disadvantages

H/T tires are a compromise between the performance of highway tires and terrain tires. This means that the H/T tires will not perform as well on pavement as highway tires or as well as terrain tires for off-road purposes.

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