Best Tires For Lincoln MKZ

‍‍‍A little more about the Lincoln MKZ

We’ll start by providing a bit more information about the Lincoln MKZ that as a tire searcher, you might be familiar with. The MKZ is a luxury level sedan with a focus on a comfortable ride. The vehicle also has an optional twin turbo 6-cylinder engine which makes it a lower level but capable sports car. You can also get all wheel drive on the MKZ, which is relatively rare for a sedan, though not terribly uncommon for a luxury sedan.

In most households, the MKZ is a daily driver, so it is likely to be driven 10,000 miles per more per year in a large variety of weather conditions. Given that it has the capability to be an AWD vehicle, it can drive in many climates including the upper midwest, where all wheel drive isn’t a necessity but it certainly can be confidence inducing.

We can’t say that the MKZ is built for the track at all, but given the spirited engine options and the relaxed ride, we can definitely see Lincoln MKZ tires needing to have good traction to make some tight turns.

The best tires for Lincoln MKZ

We found some of the most popular Lincoln MKZ tires, in addition to some of the most comfortable and highest performing. The best source for much of this information is TireRack.com, which provides extensive tests and comparisons both by professional drivers and by users who drive with the Lincoln MKZ every day. We’ll separate these by grand touring tires and higher performance tires too.

Grand Touring All Season tires for the Lincoln MKZ

Grand Touring all season tires offer a good balance of all weather use and tread life, but are meant to be more focused on comfort. This is good for the Lincoln MKZ since it is designed more to keep the driver in a serene environment than it is engineered for power or economy. Without further ado, here are our top choices:

Bridgestone WeatherPeak

The Bridgestone WeatherPeak is one of our top picks because it is truly well balanced. Per TireRack’s subjective scores, the WeatherPeak does very well with a 9.3 on wet, 9.2 on dry, and a 9.0 in comfort. MKZ drivers who find themselves occasionally traveling through wintery weather will also appreciate the solid 9.2 the Bridgestone WeatherPeak receives on snow.

Bridgestone achieves these scores in a couple of ways: The tread life is excellent because they use sipes on their center ribs that are capable of changing and providing continual bite through wet conditions in addition to not losing their ability to evacuate water over time. The lateral notches are also larger allowing the entire tire to push water away.

The only criticism the real world tests provide for the WeatherPeak is that it doesn’t stay well composed when pushed especially hard, but that isn’t something an MKZ owner is likely to do - or even notice, anyway. Against other tires in the same class, including the Continental Purecontact LS and the Michelin CrossClimate 2, the dry track performance was acceptable though off by a half point out of 10. The WeatherPeak did better in wet performance and also provided minimal noise while tying the CrossClimate2 in road comfort.

You can pick up a set of Bridgestone WeatherPeaks at TireRack for about $265 per tire.

Michelin CrossClimate2

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The Michelin CrossClimate2 is in the same house as the Bridgestone WeatherPeak, with one slight difference. Both tires do very well on wet and dry with the CrossClimate balancing slightly better in the range of 9.4 on both. Comfort takes a tiny dip to 8.9 though and the snow abilities for the CrossClimate2 are less apparent in driver opinion at 8.8. This doesn’t make the CrossClimate2 better or worst, just a different mixture of results than the WeatherPeak.

The first thing you’ll notice about the appearance of the CrossClimate is the treads look a little different. The treads and sipes come in a V-shaped pattern that provides an aggressive bite and the ability to flow water right out, which is probably part of the reason why the tire scores so high for an all season tire in the wet like heavy rain. Comfort and noise levels are dampened by PIANO technology which takes computer input in regards to what sound specific tread patterns will make. The result is a tire that is fairly quiet in addition to being good in wet and dry. While the CrossClimate2 doesn’t score as high as the Bridgestone WeatherPeak in snow, that doesn’t make it a “bad” snow tire as an all season tire generally balances between conditions anyway.

The one challenge you might have with the CrossClimate is justifying paying for it. At $278 or so per tire at TireRack, the price is up there but certainly might be worth it for people seeking extra confidence in wet conditions.

BFGoodrich Advantage Control

The BFGoodrich Advantage Control isn’t as good as either the CrossClimate or the WeatherPeak in most areas - but it does well for its price, so this is one of our picks for offering a great value that doesn’t impact your bank account as much. The Advantage Control does very well in dry conditions earning a 9.4 and still offering excellent comfort at 8.8. Treadwear rates well too.

BFGoodrich claims to have put sidewall stabilizers in to allow the Advantage Control to retain good traction around corners and of course in straight lines throughout the life of the year. This doesn’t necessarily mean the tire will last longer but means that slipping through turns will be less of an indicator of age when the time does come.

Wet performance is handled with curved grooves that quickly spit out water and ice, though this isn’t a winter tire, neither are the previous all season tires we’ve discussed.

During real-world tests, Tire Rack also notes that the BFGoodrich Advantage Control has a nice soft impact over big bumps though some complained the tires felt a bit numb. Honestly, we’ll take a soft impact with potholes and speed bumps!

The biggest selling point here is still value. At $230ish per tire in TireRack, this is a good price for Lincoln MKZ tires, especially if you plan on driving mostly on dry roads and still want comfort. Driving wet roads doesn’t actually present a problem though.

Pirelli P7 AS Plus 3

Pirelli presents another tire that makes an excellent value. At about $225 per tire on TireRack, the Pirelli competes quite well with the BFGoodrich and other higher priced tires for its place on your Lincoln MKZ. The P7 does excellent on dry surfaces earning a subjective 9.3. It is above average on wet at 9.0 and has great comfort at 9.0. Winter isn’t all that great at 8.2 - so if you are looking for a tire during frequent snowfalls, this might not be it.

The overall handling of the Pirelli P7 is enhanced by extra wide shoulder blocks which make it a breeze to take corners with. Generous circumferential grooves also enabled a wider tread area which helps prevent hydroplaning.

Real world tests state that pro drivers were indeed impressed by how the Pirelli handled on dry pavement but didn’t like it on light snow or ice, which comes as no particular surprise at the price point for an all season tire.

High Performance All Season & Ultra High Performance All Season

There is a key but subtle difference between a high performance all season tire and a regular grand touring all season tire - these are not OEM tires, and they tend to balance more toward performance cornering and dry traction than comfort or even tread life. These are more suitable if you have an aggressive driving style and especially if you happen to drive the twin turbo version of the Lincoln MKZ.

Bridgestone Potenza RE930AS

The Bridgestone Potenza is a high scorer across the board with a 9.4 on dry and a 9.2 on wet, which is actually a class leading combination on TireRack considering these tires are more popular in dry and warm weather. Tread wear is also a very good 8.9 considering that the focus is more on performance than on keeping rubber on the tire.

To maintain good tread wear and construction throughout hard turns, the Potenza adds three layers of polyester to the sidewalls and two additional layers underneath the main tread. While the tire offers an unusually high number of sipes for the purpose of biting through wet and cold road conditions, it also has a new all season compound that keeps it more flexible in varying conditions.

In real world tests, the Potenza is quite competitive with other tires of the same class including the Continental ExtremeContact and Michelin Sport, which are two well known tires. While the real world test complements the tire’s snow capabilities, keep in mind this is not a snow tire.

The Bridgestone Potenza can be found on TireRack for about $212 per tire.

Continental ExtremeContact DWS06

On subjective tests, the Continental Extreme Contact DWS 06 is very similar to the Bridgestone Potenza with slightly less overall performance in wet and dry handling and a larger jump in winter and snow handling - though the snow handling isn’t impressive compared to a more well rounded all season tire.

Continental claims that the ExtremeContact DWS06 has a newly updated tread design and compound that enhances handling and braking performance on your vehicle (under the right conditions, of course). This methodology does hold true in real world tests, as the ExtremeContact has the shortest stopping distance by a few feet on wet and dry. Believe us when we say that a few feet can matter, especially when you are going fast and hit traffic. The ExtremeContact’s slalom and lap times were also very good on a controlled test, so the tire certainly has the grip to keep up with the Lincoln MKZ, even with the twin turbo thrown in.

At $199 per tire, it’s also just a little cheaper than the Potenza on TireRack.

Vredestein Hypertrac All Season

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Vredestein has been pretty well known for making good tires at a low price. The Hypertrac keeps up with its counterparts in the ExtremeContact and Potenza well, only trailing by a little bit in the wet and dry traction, and subjectively offering more in comfort and a little more in the snow.

They achieve slightly better snow traction with zigzag sipes as well as a compound that encourages more flexibility across multiple weather conditions than requiring a dry sunny day to use.

The budget-conscious part of us also likes the price of $186 per tire at TireRack.

Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4

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The Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 offers one of the best balances of wet and dry performance of the more serious sport tires - and as a constant presence in tire shops, it also has the most miles reported on TireRack - so many openings have been written about it. Overall, its 9.3 on dry is only beaten by the Bridgestone Potenza.

The Pilot Sport All Season 4 features a new compound designed to be molded into an asymmetric pattern that provides wide lateral grooves for a great feel while cornering. The wide lateral groves are also etched - though even Michelin’s own promotional material says that this is to make the tire look better. In many ways, we appreciate the thought compared to other Lincoln MKZ tires.

At $224 per tire, the Pilot Sport All Season 4 is our most expensive recommended performance tire, and might be worth the price you pay for well balanced performance.

A note on higher performance tires

While we didn’t talk much if at all about warranties, high performance tires tend to have shorter warranties in terms of miles and years. They also often either void or further shorten the warranty if you have different sized tires on the back and the front - which is rather uncommon on the Lincoln MKZ anyway since it is not a rear wheel drive vehicle.

The reason for a shorter warranty is that the tires are used for performance - so the driver is more likely to push these pretty hard.

Snow Tires for the Lincoln MKZ

These tires are designed to handle snow better than your average all season tire. Note that snow tires don’t necessarily mean that they dramatically improve your ability to handle weather like freezing rain, black ice, or when the highways are literally a skating ring. Your best bet in these scenarios is to drive really slow or don’t go out!

The two best examples in this category are the Bridgestone Blizzak

Why TireRack?

People enjoy shopping for tires online - and in my case, I rather enjoy being able to see ratings for tires quite readily - whether they are used generated reviews or real world tests in which places like TireRack use different tires on the same vehicle and the same driver.

TireRack also ships for free - and does so to tens of thousands of affiliates within their network. There is a very good chance that a mechanic or dealership near you can install a TireRack purchased tire. You just have to pay for disposal and installation.

You can also choose to have TireRack send your tires to your place. As a person with little room in their garage, I would advise against that, but if you have the tools to remove and install tires, be our guest and save a few dollars.

Do I need snow tires for my Lincoln MKZ?

We didn’t review any snow specific tires, but we would recommend tires like the Michelin X-Ice. The reason we didn’t review snow specific tires in more detail is that most drivers of the Lincoln MKZ will more likely be looking for all-season tires that work in light snow. A snow tire is more designed to work when snow is rather frequent and potentially not plowed right away. If you live in a very snowy area or are truly rural where snow plows might not come at all, or not for a few days, then you could consider getting a snow tire for more than light snow.

A note on tire size

All the prices presented are based on the smallest tire size available for the Lincoln MKZ, which is 17”. If you want to make your vehicle a little taller - either for visual effect or to slightly increase your ability to see over other cars, you could go 18”, just that the extra rubber is likely to add some cost to your tire.

You might also like to know that some tires have a lessened or voided warranty if you purchase two different tire sizes.

What are the best tires for Lincoln MKZ?

As much as we could inject our opinion about the best Lincoln MKZ tires, we have to add that in many cases, tire choices come down to how much comfort, performance, and tread wear longevity you want to pay for. Most of the tires that we see as value tires are also missing a little something - like the ability to travel well on snow.

The answer is quite subjective. If you feel like you want to get the most performance out of your Lincoln MKZ, you can certainly get higher performance tires. All season tires also generally work well across multiple climates without breaking the bank. We suggest looking at the tests yourself and deciding which factors are truly the most important to you. Often a few dollars separate tires that have slightly different strengths. Just investigate to see what you need!

As a driver in the upper midwest, I experience frequent snow and wet conditions. I would probably choose the Bridgestone WeatherPeak because my roads are cold and wet for nearly half the year. That particular tire excels in those conditions while also providing a comfortable ride for a Lincoln MKZ. I wouldn’t get snow tires because I feel confident without them - and frankly don’t feel like switching out tires or paying for it.

While the above is not telling you what to get - it makes the process and information you should use when choosing a tire clear. If you live in a part of the country that doesn’t get frequent snowfall or even much rain, you might be more comfortable buying tires that have lesser wet performance than if you live in Seattle or a place with lake or ocean effect precipitation.