The Uniroyal Tiger Paw Touring A/S is a decent budget pick when it comes to its standard touring all season category, but is it worth getting? Let’s find out!
Sizes Info
The Uniroyal Tiger Paw Touring A/S comes in 115 total sizes in 14 to 21 inches rims, having following specs.
- Speed ratings: H and V.
- Load ratings: SL and XL.
- Weight range: 18 to 37 lbs.
- Tread depth: Either 10.5 or 11.5/32″
- UTQG: 700 A A.
- Treadwear warranty: 75k for H (speed rated) sizes, and 65k for V.
Key Takeaway
The Uniroyal Tiger Paw is a great option considering its:
- Directional Grip: Thanks to its rigid rubber composition and densely packed central region.
- Steering Feedback: The tire’s construction provides quick, precise steering response, minimizing lug flexing.
- Tread Life: The specialized tread compound and Tru-Last Technology contribute to exceptional treadwear performance and longevity.
Though the tire can be improved in terms of:
- Wet Performance: The tire struggles in wet conditions due to its linear sipes and stiffer tread compound.
- Winter Performance: The tire lacks a lot of snow/ice gripping elements, (for example snow vices).
- Noise Comfort: The open shoulder lug design leads to increased noise levels.
Tread Structure
So like any other standard AS tire, the Paw Touring A/S also comes with a symmetrical tread pattern.
It’s a typical 5 rib design, (ribs being the block columns that you see).
The outer 2 shoulder ribs, come with straight forward design with a combination of wave-like siping, which turn in to linear ones, as they get separated by the longitudinal circumferential slits you see on all shoulders.
With this the tire basically tires to grip in all directional particularly in wet conditions.
The central 3 ribs are different though. Here the central most one although has the similar longitudinal slit on it, it’s continuous running, (no lateral grooves are seen here).
Moreover, they have slanted linear siping on them as well. And with their zigzag edges, they from tough passing circumferential grooves on either sides.
Talking about neighboring sides, the adjacent ribs are more voided up, they although hold similar siping (though at varied angle), they form proper blocks, with their clear-cut later voids.
Moreover, they also feature in-groove notches (which join up with the plus shape sipes).
Overall Dry Performance
When discussing the performance of tires in dry conditions, the focus often centers on two key aspects: directional grip and handling.
Let’s talk about them all, one by one.
Directional Grip
Directional grip refers to a tire’s ability to maintain contact and traction when moving in a straight line.
And here, several factors influence this grip, including the tire’s weight, material composition, and more importantly, the tread’s central footprint.
(This middle area of the tread, basically bears the most weight when the tire rolls straight, so in a way, the tire makes the most contact from here).
Now, the Tiger Paw Touring A/S, is notable example here, as it excels in this area. And its outstanding performance can be attributed to its rigid rubber composition, and a densely packed central region.
The tire features a continuous-running central rib, flanked by closely arranged neighboring ribs, allowing for decent braking (a measure of longitudinal grip).
Additionally, angular notches, or in-groove biters, on these adjacent ribs further enhance this longitudinal traction, providing a more robust grip/stability as the tire moves linearly.
For Your Info: The Uniroyal tire lacks by only 5 feet compared to Michelin Defender 2 (review), which is one of the best tires, when it comes to braking (in standard touring all season category).
Check out my list of best standard touring tires here: https://tiredriver.com/best-standard-touring-all-season-tires/
Lateral Grip
Lateral traction, an essential aspect of tire’s handling performance, is primarily determined by the design and structure of the tire’s shoulders.
This is due to the effects of centripetal force during turns. Meaning, as a vehicle corners, this force shifts the tire’s weight towards the tread edges, particularly impacting the sidewalls and shoulder lugs.
And the overall effectiveness of these shoulder lugs in interacting with the road surface is crucial for maintaining grip.
In the case of the Uniroyal Tiger Paw Touring A/S is again not a bad tire at all, I mean considering its a budget pick.
It offers very compact shoulder lugs, with minimal features, providing a great rubber-to-road contact patch. Moreover, the slanted grooves these lugs make provide with the additional road bite, as the tire is cornering.
Though still how well the tire does in overall handling, (seen on lap tests), is more about the steering response than grip.
Steering Feedback
Now, let me tell you, the main highlighting feature of Uniroyal Tiger Paw Touring A/S is its steering.
This tire is designed for quick and precise response, eliminating delays and dead spots in feedback. Additionally, its steering quality feels natural and requires minimal effort, especially when navigating corners.
So, what contributes to that?
The secret lies in the tire’s construction, where it features a stiffer rubber compound and reinforced foundations beneath all its lugs.
This design minimizes lug flexing, which is often a culprit for reducing overall steering communication.
However, there is room for improvement. I mean, the tire could benefit from a slightly shallower tread depth and more importantly, reduced weight.
While it is classified as a standard touring tire, its weight is more akin to that of a grand touring tire. This is due to its 2-ply polyester structure and heavier cap plies.
These factors add to the tire’s overall weight, which subtly increases the momentum inertia, disrupting over/understeering balance.
Wet Traction
Now, let me start off here, by saying that the Uniroyal A/S tire exhibits its weakest performance in wet conditions, primarily due to subpar lateral traction and slower steering response. Let me explain.
So traction in wet conditions largely relies on the effectiveness of sipes, small slits in the tire tread that absorb water, preventing slippage.
However, here the Tiger Paw Touring A/S faces a challenge, due to its predominantly linear sipes, which ideally flexible to effectively work, tend to stiffen during cornering, diminishing their water-absorbing capacity.
Furthermore, the tire’s stiffer tread compound also contributes to this, reducing wet traction further.
Basically, this design choice is aimed at improving tread longevity over its predecessor, but as you can presume, it unfortunately comes at the cost of slightly lowered wet grip (compared to its previous version).
Another significant issue is the delayed steering response. This lag means that actions like steering adjustments or accelerating must be anticipated and executed earlier than usual.
So you get lower wet performance scores on this tire overall.
However, it’s worth noting that the tire performs adequately in resisting hydroplaning, where its design features a continuous central rib, complemented by four significantly voided outer ribs (two on each side).
This structure allows for effective lateral water evacuation, while the longitudinal grooves channel water backwards as the tire rolls, aiding in maintaining contact with the road surface.
Fuel Economy
Simply put, fuel economy is closely linked to a tire’s rolling resistance, which is pretty self explanatory.
But what affects this resistance? Well, a lot of factors, including the tire’s weight, rubber composition, and tread design.
Having said that, the Uniroyal Touring A/S, despite its symmetrical and streamlined tread pattern, falls short in this aspect.
And a primary reason for this is the tire’s weight, which is on the heavier side of the standard touring all season tire spectrum.
This weight comes from the extra plies in the tire’s internal construction, and so causes the tread (lugs) to be pressed down with more force, causing them to bend.
(This bending leads to energy loss in the form of heat, as the lugs continuously mold and reshape their deformed faces, utilizing additional fuel energy).
However, the tire’s performance in terms of fuel efficiency isn’t entirely negative. I mean the tire still benefits from its stiffer rubber composition and the reinforced foundations of all its lugs.
And these features help to prevent excessive lug flexing, somewhat mitigating the negative impact of the tire’s greater weight on fuel economy.
Snow Performance
Like many tires in the standard touring category, the Uniroyal Tiger Paw A/S lacks the Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake (3PMSF) certification.
Yet, this absence “feels” more pronounced on this tire, I mean, compared to its direct competitors, highlighting a significant shortfall in winter performance.
This shortfall is largely due to the absence of features (which are specifically designed for snow), such as biters or snow vices, which are present in some of its competitors (ranking here).
And needless to say, this omission significantly reduces the Tiger Paw’s grip on icy and snowy surfaces, reducing its overall winter scores.
Furthermore, the design of the tire includes densely packed longitudinal aligned outer ribs, with missing notches in the “shoulder area”.
And although this results in reduced lateral traction, which in turn affects the tire’s overall handling stability and control, its still better compared to its directional grip.
(Saying this by seeing the tire’s more notably lacking performance in terms of snow/ice braking and acceleration).
So what makes its lateral grip/handling still good enough?
Well, this is because of the wave-like siping on these shoulders, combined with the in-groove notches seen on the adjacent ribs, towards the middle (of the tread).
These basically work together in accumulating and retaining snow particles, facilitating snow-to-snow contact. And such a contact is beneficial because it generates more friction, as snowflakes tend to adhere to each other.
Noise Comfort
The Uniroyal A/S is somewhat noisier than many of its competitors in the standard touring category.
And this increased noise level can be attributed primarily to its tread design. Let me explain how.
So the main source of noise gets generated when air particles, predominately entering the tread from “shoulders’ voids”, collide with the walls of the tread/grooves.
I mean, the impact of the air particles striking creates the primary source of noise, which then echos, leading to a typically characterized faint high-pitched tone along with a soft humming sound.
(And those further lead to cavity sounds too).
Now, what makes Tiger Paw loud here is it’s more open shoulder lugs, with missing ridges in between. These ridges, as you may have seen on many other touring tires, basically act as air blockers.
Meaning, in case of Uniroyal’s tire here, air particles enter the tread without too much restriction, and collide around, generating more noise on average, (as shown by decibel reading tests).
Tread Life
When evaluating tread life, two key aspects are crucial. First is the rate of degradation of the tire’s rubber, which indicates its durability and overall lifespan.
And second is the time it takes for the tire to wear down to 2/32 inches, the legal minimum tread depth in the United States, after which tire replacement is required.
Now, the Uniroyal Tiger Paw Touring A/S performs great in these areas, allowing for a decent tread longevity.
In-fact treadwear performance is the tire’s strongest suit.
Its specialized tread compound, enriched with additives such as silica, carbon black, and antioxidants, effectively combats wear and tear. Additionally, its Tru-Last Technology ensures even tread wear across the tire’s surface.
And it comes with relatively greater tread depth on average (goes up to 11.5/32″), compared to its direct competitors.
So it still takes a while before reaching down to 2/32″. That’s why you get treadwear warranty up to 75k miles here.
Though V-speed rated sizes only offer 65k miles.
Verdict?
Well, the Tiger Paw A/S is just an okay option overall, where it excels the most in terms of tread longevity.
And yes, to some extent it also offers good enough fuel efficiency as well.
Though it’s wet and winter performance is very lacking, and here steering could get more responsive.
But yes, hydroplaning resistance is still good enough here.
On dry roads, things are again just average, where the tire excels in directional grip due to its rigid rubber composition and well-designed central tread, and also offers adequate handling as well.
And lastly, talking about on-road comfort, the Uniroyal here is a little on the louder side, and also lacks in providing adequate impact comfort performance too.
