Here at SimpleTire, we’ve gone through and compiled some of the best tire options for your Ford Windstar, including all-season, all-weather, and winter tires. We then ranked them in Best/Great/Good categories according to our SimpleScore system. Ready? Let’s get started:
1. Bridgestone WeatherPeak: Best All-Weather tire
Let’s get this list going with the Bridgestone WeatherPeak, a great all-weather tire choice for your Ford Windstar. Drivers in parts of the country that see hard winter weather with inches of snow on the roads for days or weeks at a time have already found out the hard way that most all-season tires are just not up to getting the job done and aren’t able to reliably navigate through anything more than a light dusting of snow on the roads. All-weather tires are designed with much the same performance targets as all-season tires, but with more of a focus on traction to get through tough winter conditions. With that in mind, Bridgestone engineers designed the Weatherpeak’s tread with a thick network of sipes, the hair-thin slits that multiply traction by adding hundreds of extra biting edges, giving drivers the extra advantage in winter grip that they need. While most tread features become less effective as a tire wears down, the 3D design of the full-depth sipes of the Bridgestone Weatherpeak continue to boost your winter traction even as the miles pile up and tread depth wears. Along with sipes and grooves, the Weatherpeak is designed with innovative “snow vices”, grooves that build traction by trapping and retaining snow to build snow-to-snow friction. It shouldn’t be a surprise that the Bridgestone Weatherpeak has the Three Peak Mountain Snowflake certification for severe winter service; on the test track and in the real world, tests have shown winter braking distances that are as much as 30 feet shorter than the competition’s tires. We took all this into account and gave the Bridgestone Weatherpeak a SimpleScore of 9.7 for traction. Steering response and cornering are also top-notch without being jumpy or touchy; the Weatherpeak’s SimpleScore of 9.5 for handling comes from its rubber formulation and tread features. Road manners, steering response, and cornering ability are also superb with this tire, even in changing weather conditions. Bridgestone backs the Weatherpeak with a 70,000 mile limited manufacturer tread life warranty, the kind of warranty coverage that’s enough to inspire a SimpleScore of 9.8 for longevity.
2. Nokian Nordman 9 SUV: Best Winter tire
If a tire manufacturer is based in Finland, you’d expect them to have some experience in developing tires to get through the demands of Scandinavian winters, and you’d be dead on correct. If you have to handle rough winter driving, think about the Nokian Nordman 9 SUV – Nokian is a Finnish company (yes, the same parent company that makes Nokia phones) and they know all about winter tire design and demanding winter conditions. The Nordman 9 SUV is designed to get you through the roughest kind of snow and slush that winter weather can throw your way; its tread compound is custom-designed to stay flexible so it can deliver the grip you need in sub-freezing conditions. At the surface of the Nordman 9’s winter tread, there’s a network of deep grooves and strategically placed sipes that multiply your tire’s surface area and add hundreds of biting edges that dig in and chew their way through snow and slush. The Nordman 9 SUV is pre-drilled to make it easy for a tire tech to install studs that would be strategically placed to give you the traction you need to get across skating-rink-slick with confidence. NOTE: studded tires are not legal in all states and are restricted to certain months of the year in states where they are legal – check your state laws to be sure.
With an average SimpleScore of 9.2, the Nordman 9 Studded excels in longevity (9.1) and traction (9.7) while also offering handling (8.7).
While these are the best Ford Windstar tires on the market today, there are plenty of other options available.
3. General Altimax RT45: Great All-Season tire
Next up we come to the General Altimax RT45, a tire we’ve been consistently impressed with. The General Altimax RT45 might come in at a lower price point, but don’t be put off by that. This is a tire that can punch far above its weight class compared to the competition and presents great value. It’s a tire that features a tested, proven all-season tread pattern and consistently delivers the performance you need in all kinds of weather conditions. General Tire backs the Altimax RT45 with either a 65,000 or 75,000 mile warranty (depending on tire size), which was all we needed to give it an outstanding 9.9 SimpleScore for longevity. Low noise, year-round traction, an accommodating ride, and braking and handling are all consistent and predictable – these are some of the strong points of the Altimax RT45 that allowed us to award the tire a traction score of 9.0. Handling properties come in at a SimpleScore of 8.7, thanks to road feedback and steering response that benefit from a network of sipes and lateral grooves and a solid center rib. Another great and interesting feature we like about this tire is the visual alignment indicator, which lets a driver keep tabs on excessive wear or alignment that’s out of spec. When tread depth reaches a minimum of 2/32”, the words “Replace Tire” are molded into the tread and are revealed only at that tread depth Select sizes of the Altimax RT45 are available with a great-looking outlined white letter sidewall.
Order Ford Windstar Tires Online
Buying tires online can be a stressful process, but it really doesn't need to be. SimpleTire offers a simple approach to finding the tires that are best for you and your Ford Windstar. Select your Ford Windstar below, then tell us a few more things such as year and trim level to determine your tire size. From there, we'll show you tires that fit your vehicle and are the best match based on performance characteristics, but you can also look for the best value tires, tires that are on sale or part of a promo, have the longest tread life, and much more
Ford Windstar Tires
