Are All Terrain Tires Good in the Rain?

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Genuinely speaking, all-terrain tires won’t give you desired performance on off-road tracks. These are tires made for riding on highways regularly and muddy and rugged terrains once in a while 

But when it comes to driving in the rain, your tires must have a tread design ideal for enduring wet tracks and grooves for fast water drainage. 

If you are to get perfect all-terrain tires for an upcoming vacation or regular driving purposes, let’s see whether all-terrain tires are good in rain or not.

What Are All-Terrain Tires?

What Are All-Terrain Tires
What Are All-Terrain Tires?

Knowing “what all-terrain tires are” is a starter question for beginners. All-terrain tires, also called A/T tires, are a specific type of tires that are designed to offer mild performance on off-roading and regular performance on highways.

These tires come with an aggressive tread structure and offer maximum traction.

Wider grooves on these tires ensure fast water drainage to maintain the grip on wet roads for safe driving. 

Besides, there are wider and deeper gaps between the tread blocks. The tread blocks are closer to each other, which helps in turning around the wheels in the rain easily. 

Meanwhile, all-terrain tires are a type of hybrid construction of highway and mud tires. They are ready to offer you a smooth ride on wet roads as well as a precise grip on rocks.  

Is It Safe to Drive All-terrain Tires in the Rain?

Is It Safe to Drive All-terrain Tires in the Rain
Is It Safe to Drive All-terrain Tires in the Rain?

Do you know about aquaplaning or hydroplaning? In a word, aquaplaning results from the tire sitting “on top of the water.” That occurs if the tires can’t drain out water between the tread blocks. As a result, the tires can’t be in contact with the road. 

Due to this failure, the car slips and completely goes out of control. And when you try to drive the car faster, it becomes more prone to aquaplane.

Most precisely, aquaplaning occurs widely with mud tires that make them less safe to use in the rain but not the worst at all. 

But all-terrain tires prevent your car from aquaplaning with their depth tread pattern. The depth tread pattern helps them to clear out water from the grooves. They are proven to give you better performance in the rain. 

To conclude, I would say top-quality mud tires can clear heavy and rocky mud easily, making them perfect for muddy roads. Still, when driving in the rain, you should go for specialized rain tires like all-terrain tires that are perfect for all weathers. 

What Are the Best All Terrain Tires in the Rain?

Generally speaking, when it comes to choosing the best tires in the rain, the temperature is one of the basic factors to consider. Keeping that in mind, let’s see which all-terrain tires provide excellent driving performance in the rain. 

Best Rain Tires for Hot Weather

We recommend Michelin Pilot Sport 4S as the best rain tire in hot weather. When it comes to driving in wet, hot conditions, Michelin Pilot Sport 4S comes to the first list. 

It is considered to be the highest rated tire with a whopping rate of 9.2/10 on TireRack. 

The tires are best used in 40°F temperature. These recommended tires are designed with a deeper tread pattern and can deal with heavy wet conditions and muddy roads. 

Truly speaking, if you live in the area of 40°F, it can be the best of the best choices for you. 

Best Rain Tires for Cold Weather:

Wondering what the best rain tire is in cold weather? No wonder that Bridgestone Blizzak WS80 is gonna be your best bet. It is often considered a winter tire that can deal with snowy conditions perfectly. 

The performance level of this tire in cold weather will give a tough time to other models. On TireRack, the tires gain 9.1/10 on wet conditions. 

Verified to prevent aquaplaning, Bridgestone Blizzak WS80 can give your required level of gripping and handling responsiveness in the rain. But the only drawback is that it fails to deliver the same performance in warm weather. 

Best Rain Tires for All Seasons

In terms of all seasons, Michelin CrossClimate+ can give you the best level of performance, most precisely in the rain.

It’s one of the good all-terrain tires that got  9.5 out of 10 on the all-weather rating. The tires offer superb handling and responsiveness in a wide range of temperatures. 

Besides, these all-season tires offer great traction in the rain to be in contact with the roads. 

It comes with a depth closer tread pattern; they can clear out muds on the tire blocks and allow you to drive in wet conditions. Besides, they are pretty good at handling snowy conditions too.

On the whole, to an extent, different types of tires are designed for different weather conditions. Opt for one according to your driving requirements and style. We hope that now you can narrow down your choices. 

Wrapping up

Last but not least, when it comes to driving in the rain, all-terrain tires are one that you can rely on. Specifically designed for harsh wet conditions, they can be a niche tire choice. No wonder that it is broadly safe to drive in the rain and wet pavement. 

I hope you no longer have the confusion regarding ‘are all-terrain tires good in the rain.’ 

But remember that your safety is in your hand. You should be more cautious when driving, no matter what type of tire you are using.

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