The 7 Best Tires for the Cadillac CTS

#1. Cooper CS5 Ultra Touring – Best All-Season

The Cooper CS5 Ultra Touring checks several boxes for the average CTS driver. This all-season touring tire will enhance your CTS’s dry road grip while also improving its wet performance. Plus, it will make this sedan capable of handling light wintry conditions.

How can I be so sure? Cooper’s StabiliEdge Technology gives me plenty of reasons to be confident about this model’s abilities. This technology expands this tire’s contact patch every time it rolls on the road, resulting in excellent dry grip and enhanced fuel economy.

That’s not to say that this tire would perform poorly on wet roads. Thanks to four circumferential and lateral grooves, it will evacuate water particles before they can invite hydroplaning. As such, you won’t have any reason to take your foot off the accelerator in the rain.

The M+S symbol (which backs it to perform reliably on light snow/ice) and 55,000/75,000-mile treadwear warranty (depending on speed rating) further sweeten the deal. Its relatively affordable price may also be a great pull if you’re a budget shopper like me.

#2. Michelin Premier A/S – Best Premium All-Season Tire

If you can afford the astronomical initial and running costs of the Cadillac CTS, chances are you won’t mind paying the astronomical price Michelin is charging for the Premier A/S. However, if you’re on a tight budget and could do without an ultra-comfortable ride, go for our top pick.

A silica and sunflower oil tread compound gives this tire the best of both worlds. While silica gives it the firmness needed to tackle dry roads, sunflower oil lends it the flexibility for reliable wet driving. The result? A sure-footed driving experience 365 days a year.

Just like our top pick, the Premier A/S has multiple circumferential grooves to resist hydroplaning. However, it also has an additional pair of grooves (titled ‘rain grooves’) for water evacuation. As such, it may perform better on wet roads than the CS5 Ultra Touring.

There are three more areas where this tire shines. Having used it myself, I can vouch for the Premier A/S to enhance your CTS’s fuel economy. Plus, backed with Michelin’s latest technologies, it will also make this luxury sedan’s drive serene.

#3. Pirelli Cinturato P7 All-Season Plus – Best Fuel-Efficient

There are many things Cadillac CTS drivers can expect the Cinturato P7 to do for them.

The first of which is improving this car’s fuel mileage. Per tests conducted by Pirelli’s engineers, the P7 has a 15% lower rolling resistance than its rivals, helping it consume less gas per liter than many of the premium all-season touring tires you see out there. 

Having installed and used this tire on my 2010 Audi A6, I can tell you that fuel economy isn’t the be-all and end-all for the P7. This model’s road manners are pretty good, too, meaning you can count on it to keep things quiet and comfortable in the cabin.

Throw its short braking distances on snow and ice into the mix, and you’d think that this model is faultless. This line of thinking will be further reinforced when you look at this model’s treadwear warranty – Pirelli backs the P7 to last up to 70,000 miles.

#4. Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 – Best High-Performance All-Season

The Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 is one of the market’s most misrepresented HP A/S tires. Many drivers think that it’s a summer performance tire when, in reality, it’s designed for high-speed driving around the year. Here’s why this should excite you.

Unlike its summer performance counterparts (discussed below), the DWS06 performs reliably unless there’s snow on the road. Plus, it wears evenly (for a high-performance tire) and offers something 9 out of 10 HP tires don’t: a 50,000-mile treadwear warranty.

Traction Grooves and X Sipe Technology create further daylight between this model and summer performance tires. They do that by helping it perform reliably on wet roads.

All of this should make one thing clear: the DWS06 offers the high-speed stability of its summer performance counterparts. At the same time, the length of its road life and wet traction can comfortably rival any cheap/budget all-season tire’s durability.  

#5. Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 Plus – Best Premium High-Performance All Season

As our comparison of the two tires has made clear, the Pilot Sport A/S3 Plus has multiple things in common with the ExtremeContact DWS06. Both these tires can perform reliably in dry and wet conditions, offer superior high-speed stability, and come with a treadwear warranty.

Yet that’s where the similarities end. True, both these tires have relatively softer tread compounds than what you see on regular ultra-high-performance tires. Yet, the Pilot Sport A/S3+ performs better on dry roads, especially when you’re attacking corners at speed.

That said, this model’s ride quality is relatively harsh. This shouldn’t be surprising, given the fact that it focuses more on the performance side of things. Another thing that distinguishes the two tires is price, with the A/S3+ costing slightly more than the DWS06.

All in all, if you’re in the market for an HP A/S tire for your Cadillac CTS and these two tires are the last two remaining names on your list, decision time awaits. Go for the A/S 3+ if you want better performance and can accept a (slightly) less comfortable ride.

#6. Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 – Best Summer Performance

Superior steering feedback? Check. Exceptional cornering performance and grip? Present. Above-average high-speed stability on dry roads? Present. Small wonder, then, that the Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 is one of the best summer performance tires for Cadillac CTS.

An advanced silica compound deserves credit for two of this model’s major qualities. They are its exceptional dry grip and the high-speed stability that would convince you to keep driving close to the speed limit. So, you can comfortably push the Indy 500 to its limits.

Next comes its dynamic handling and cornering performance. Both of which owe their presence to the stiff blocks lining this model’s shoulder and the asymmetric tread pattern running down its middle. A 65,000-mile treadwear warranty further sweetens the deal.  

If you liked what I said about this tire and are willing to install it on your CTS, don’t forget that you cannot cross-rotate it. The Indy 500 can only be rotated from front to back or vice versa. If you do anything else, be ready for a significant drop in its performance.

#7. BFG g-Force Sport Comp-2 – Best Premium Summer Performance

There are many things I can say about the Sport Comp-2 that will also be true for the Indy 500. Think of exceptional steering feedback, decent wet traction for an ultra-high-performance tire, and superb steering feedback on the highway.

Why, then, is the g-Force Sport Comp-2 pricier than the Indy 500?

Start with the “g-Hooks” and a “g-Control” sidewall. Both these design elements help deliver loads of feedback to the steering. At the same time, they also minimize the risk of premature deformation.

Another difference is that with the Sport Comp-2 there is a negligible risk of over-steering. That isn’t to say that the Indy 500 regularly loses traction on the corner. It’s just that the Sport Comp-2 has something (super-aggressive shoulder blocks) that its counterpart doesn’t.

Therefore, if you can afford to pay more upfront for a set of high-quality UHP tires, the Sport Comp-2 has everything to be your first pick. However, if money is an issue and you want the peace of mind that only comes with a treadwear warranty, go for the Indy 500.