Who Makes Pathfinder Tires For Discount Tire?
Discount Tire is one of, if not the largest independent tire dealer in the entirety of North America. With more than 900 stores in 30 states, Discount Tire counts more than 18,000 employees, which means that having the ability to sell some tires exclusively does not come as much of a surprise.
As such, Pathfinder tires can only be found at Discount Tire. However, who makes Pathfinder tires for Discount Tire?
Who Makes Pathfinder Tires For Discount Tire
Pathfinder tires are made by a Korean company named Kumho Tires. This company is renowned for making budget friendly, yet dependable tires that do not compromise when it comes to performance or safety. They might not be the very best tires on the market, but they certainly do the trick for most people and most situations.
Why Do People Buy Pathfinder Tires?
Pathfinder tires are a popular choice because they offer great overall performance across the board. If you own a truck or an SUV, you have probably heard about Pathfinder tires and that they offer decent value. The reason why Pathfinder tires are worth it is that they come with these design features and technologies:
- Try-polymer Thread Compounds
- Solid Central Ribs
- Wide Circumferential Grooves
- Multiple Sips
Do Pathfinder Tires Come With Try-polymer Tread Compounds?
Pathfinder tires go to great lengths in order to enjoy a high-quality reputation, even though they are affordable and from a relatively unknown brand. One way to achieve this is to incorporate a try-polymer tread compound design which makes the tire puncture, cut, and tear-resistant. This means Pathfinder tires have superior and long lasting tread life.
This method of construction also ensures tapered grooves and ridges, which are designed to eject stones and debris. This is how these tires manage to avoid stone chip cuts that are typically associated with gravel roads. As such, no matter your driving style or how aggressive the surface you are driving on is, you should be good.
Do Pathfinder Tires Come With Solid Central Ribs?
Yes, they do. Solid center ribs ensure constant contact patch, which further improves traction in a variety of environments. Furthermore, solid center ribs are not only beneficial when it comes to traction, but also when it comes to reducing rolling resistance, which ultimately benefits your fuel efficiency.
This sort of tire rib design usually makes the biggest difference while driving on the highway, as it promotes stability and makes the car drive in a more predictable and controlled manner.
Do Pathfinder Tires Come With Wide Circumferential Grooves?
In order for a tire to be a jack of all trades tire, it needs to offer something for every occasion. Given the fact that Pathfinder tires are SUV/light truck tires, it means that they are typically being used on a daily basis. That is why they also employ a wide circumferential groove design that works in tandem with lateral grooves to evacuate water away from the tire.
Aquaplaning is something no one wants to experience, as the potential consequences could be deadly. That is why the tire design needs to be sophisticated enough to cope with such difficulties.
Do Pathfinder Tires Come With Multiple Sips?
The key to consistent traction on paved roads are small, properly spaced-out sipes, especially when it comes to adverse weather conditions such as snow, rain, and ice. The good news is that most Pathfinder tires come with hundreds of these sipes which means that they are going to deliver traction at all times.
Which Pathfinder Tire Models Are The Best?
The Pathfinder Sport A/T and Pathfinder All Terrain (A/T) are our two favorite models that Pathfinder produces. They have multiple tire sizes available and make it easy to find the right size for your car with a great vehicle search.
Pathfinder Sport A/T
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We have already mentioned that Pathfinder makes tires for SUVs and light trucks. Considering the fact that most of these are being driven on the roads, the best Pathfinder tire you can buy is undoubtedly the Sport A/T tire. This tire is an all-terrain tire but is designed with a more road-oriented approach, which means that it has a quieter and more comfortable ride as opposed to most all-terrain tires.
The Sport A/T excels on paved surfaces and is the go-to Pathfinder tire for daily driver duties. However, this does not mean that the tire can’t hold its own off-road, because it can. However, the Sport A/T is not the best off-road tire money can buy, but light to moderate off-roading should not be an issue.
Pathfinder All Terrain (A/T)
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The standard Pathfinder All Terrain (A/T) tire is a less road-oriented version of the Sport A/T we talked about in the previous paragraph. The A/T is designed to go off-roading because it is more durable, has better aquaplaning resistance in wet weather, and has more consistent traction in mud, snow, and ice. The Pathfinder All Terrain tires make for great winter tires as well.
It may not be as much of a quiet ride or as comfortable as the Sport A/T, but most people who buy these types of tires are not going to mind that. A true all-terrain tire is inherently louder than a road-oriented tire, but that’s the price you have to pay for serious off road traction capabilities.
Are Pathfinder Tires Worth It?
You get what you pay for. We all know this quote, and many of us live our lives thinking that you can only get a quality product if it comes with a quality price. However, the tire industry of today is not what it once was, and the manufacturing processes used today are way more precise, sophisticated, and thorough.
That is why we can say that Pathfinder tires are worth it, especially given the price tag. There are countless tire brands today that charge extreme premiums on specific tire models for reasons that are not necessarily associated with quality.
Conclusion
Pathfinder tires are made by a Korean company called Kumho Tires. This company is focused on making affordable jack of all trades tires that can do well in many instances but can not dominate in either of those, except for the price, of course.
This does not mean that Pathfinder tires are bad, but rather the fact that they are not as good as some of the best tires the market has to offer. All in all, Pathfinder tires are worth it and are likely going to be for a long time to come.