Which 245 45 R19 Tire Is the Best?

The Short Answer

There is no single best 245/45R19 tire, because the size ships in two different load ratings and your car is built for exactly one of them. Roughly seven in ten 245/45R19 tires on the market are XL with a load index of 102 (1,874 lbs per tire). The rest are Standard Load at 98 (1,653 lbs). If your door placard calls for 102 and you fit a 98, you are 221 lbs short per corner and 884 lbs short across the car. Most guides rank these tires against each other as if they were interchangeable. They are not.

So the honest answer to "which 245/45R19 tire is the best" is: the best tire in your load index. For 102 XL cars, the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 4 is the strongest all-around pick. For 98 SL cars, the Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 Plus is the one to beat. Everything below routes you to the right column and then to the right tire inside it.

Why 245/45R19 Is Really Two Different Tires

The three numbers on the sidewall describe geometry only. A 245/45R19 tire is 245 mm wide, has a sidewall 45 percent of that width, and mounts on a 19-inch rim. Two tires can match on all three and still be built to carry very different loads.

That difference lives in the service description, the small number and letter printed after the size: 245/45R19 102Y or 245/45R19 98Y. The Tire and Rim Association publishes the load index tables that assign a pound figure to each number. 98 means 1,653 lbs. 102 means 1,874 lbs. An XL, or Extra Load, tire gets there through a reinforced casing and a higher maximum inflation pressure, usually around 300 kPa (44 psi) instead of the 240 kPa (35 psi) ceiling on a Standard Load casing.

Here is the part nobody puts in front of you. That extra capacity is not a bonus you can unlock by adding air to an SL tire. An SL 98 casing tops out at 1,653 lbs at its own maximum pressure and cannot be inflated past that ceiling to reach 1,874 lbs. If your vehicle placard specifies 102, no amount of pressure makes a 98 tire legal or safe for that application. It is a hard stop, not a preference.

NHTSA codifies this from the vehicle side. FMVSS No. 110 requires every passenger vehicle to carry a placard listing the original tire size, the load rating and the cold inflation pressure the manufacturer selected. That placard is the specification. FMVSS No. 139 then sets the endurance, high-speed and low-inflation performance a tire must survive at its rated load. The two standards only work together if the tire on the car actually meets the number on the placard.

The Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 Plus makes the point better than any chart. Across the 245/45 series, Continental builds it as XL in 17-inch (99Y), 18-inch (100Y) and 20-inch (103Y). In 245/45R19 alone, the fitment is 98Y Standard Load. It is a superb tire and it deserves the praise it gets, but in this one size it is a Standard Load product, and a driver with a 102 placard who buys it on a general recommendation has bought the wrong tire.

Load index quick reference for this size

Service Description	Load Rating	Capacity Per Tire	Share of This Size	Typical Vehicles
245/45R19 102	XL (Extra Load)	1,874 lbs	About 69 percent	Audi A6 and A7 Quattro, BMW X1 M35i, BMW i5 M60, Jaguar XJ front, Genesis G80 front, Lucid Air
245/45R19 98	SL (Standard Load)	1,653 lbs	About 31 percent	Cadillac CT6 and XTS, Chevrolet Impala LTZ, Lexus LS460 F Sport, Hyundai Tucson Sport, Kia Sportage SX Turbo, Buick Envista Avenir

Read that table before you read a single review. It is the fork in the road. If you want the deeper mechanics of how the two ratings differ, our breakdown of load range vs load index walks through the full table.

How to Find Your Load Index in 60 Seconds

Open the driver's door and look at the B-pillar, the vertical post the door latches to. The placard there lists your original tire size with its service description. It will read something like 245/45R19 102V. The number before the letter is your load index. That is the number you match or exceed.

Two cautions. First, the tires currently on your car are not proof of anything. A previous owner or a rushed installer may already have fitted the wrong rating, and copying it forward repeats the mistake. Second, several vehicles in this size run staggered, with a 245/45R19 on the front axle and a wider tire in back. The BMW X4 M40i and the Genesis G90 both do this. The placard lists front and rear separately, so read the row that matches the axle you are shopping for.

If the placard is missing or unreadable, the owner's manual carries the same figures, and the Tire Industry Association's guidance is unambiguous: replacement tires must meet or exceed the original load index and speed rating. Going up in load index is fine. Going down is not.

Best 245/45R19 Tire If Your Placard Says 102

This is the larger group, and it is where the strongest tires in the size live. The Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 4 is our pick for most drivers here. It carries a 540 AA A UTQG grade, which is an unusual combination: AA wet traction is the top grade available, and Michelin pairs it with a 45,000-mile warranty rather than the 25,000 to 30,000 miles that ultra-high-performance tires usually accept in exchange for grip. On a heavy sedan or a performance crossover, that is the compromise most owners actually want.

If your priority is tread life rather than cornering limit, the Hankook Kinergy PT H737 is the outlier in this size. It carries an 800 treadwear grade and a 90,000-mile warranty, the longest of any 245/45R19 tire in XL. You give up some steering precision compared to the Michelin, and the V speed rating caps you at 149 mph, which is irrelevant on public roads but does matter if your placard specifies W or Y.

Tire	Service Description	UTQG	Warranty	Price	Best For
Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 4	102Y XL	540 AA A	45,000 miles	$291.99	Best overall balance of grip and life
Pirelli P Zero All Season Plus 3	102Y XL	560 AA A	50,000 miles	$286.69	European sedans wanting OE-style feel
Hankook Kinergy PT H737	102V XL	800 A A	90,000 miles	$281.99	Longest tread life in the size
Continental TrueContact Tour 54	102V XL	840 A A	70,000 miles	$256.99	Quiet highway touring
Falken Ziex CT60 A/S	102V XL	680 A A	65,000 miles	$232.00	Crossovers on a tighter budget
Yokohama Advan Sport A/S Plus	102Y XL	440 AA A	55,000 miles	$217.99	Sporty feel at a lower entry price

All six meet or exceed 102. If you are cross-shopping the Michelin against its own siblings, our Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 review goes deeper on wet behavior and wear pattern.

Best 245/45R19 Tire If Your Placard Says 98

Standard Load cars in this size skew American luxury and Korean crossover: Cadillac CT6 and XTS, Chevrolet Impala, Lexus LS, Hyundai Tucson Sport, Kia Sportage SX Turbo. These are comfort-biased platforms, and the tire choices reflect that.

The Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 Plus is the standout. Its 560 A A grade with a 50,000-mile warranty is strong for an ultra-high-performance all-season, and Continental's tread-wear indicators actually spell out D, W and S, letters that disappear in sequence as the tire loses its snow and then its wet capability. You get a visual read on remaining performance rather than a depth gauge and a guess.

One note if you are moving from an SL car to an XL car later, or shopping for a second vehicle: this tire is XL in most other sizes. Check the service description on the exact size you are buying rather than assuming the model carries one rating across the range.

Tire	Service Description	UTQG	Warranty	Price	Best For
Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 Plus	98Y SL	560 A A	50,000 miles	$257.99	Best overall Standard Load pick
Pirelli P7 All Season Plus 3	98V SL	740 A A	70,000 miles	$260.44	Quiet luxury sedan touring
Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrack	98V SL	800 A A	80,000 miles	$248.07	Lowest cabin noise
Yokohama Avid Ascend GT	98V SL	740 A A	65,000 miles	$245.99	Deep 12/32 tread for wet season use

Treadwear grades are only comparable within a manufacturer, not across brands. Our guide to UTQG tire ratings decoded explains why an 800 from one company does not translate directly to an 800 from another.

Best 245/45R19 Summer Tire

Summer tires are the minority in this size, about 29 percent of what is offered, and they are worth it only if you genuinely never see temperatures below roughly 45 degrees F. Below that, the compound stiffens and both grip and impact resistance fall off sharply.

The Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S is the benchmark. Its 300 AA A grade signals a compound tuned for grip rather than mileage, and the 30,000-mile warranty is honest about that trade. On a car with a 102 placard, this is the sharpest steering you can buy in 245/45R19 without going to a track-focused tire.

Tire	Service Description	UTQG	Price	Best For
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S	102Y XL	300 AA A	$341.99	Maximum dry and wet grip
Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6	102Y XL	300 AA A	$279.99	Wet braking on European sedans
Hankook Ventus S1 evo3 K127	102Y XL	380 A A	$253.00	Summer grip with longer life

Best 245/45R19 Winter and All-Weather Tire

Two different products get confused here. An all-weather tire carries the three-peak mountain snowflake symbol and stays on the car year-round. A dedicated winter tire is a seasonal swap and is meaningfully better on ice.

For the year-round option, the Michelin CrossClimate2 is the one that earns the snowflake without giving up summer manners, and it is available in 102V XL. Note the B temperature grade rather than an A. That is the cost of a compound flexible enough to work in cold, and it is not a problem at legal speeds.

For a real winter set, the Michelin X-Ice Snow covers 102 XL cars and the Bridgestone Blizzak WS90 covers 98 SL cars. Winter tires carry lower speed ratings by design, T and H rather than V or Y, which is accepted practice for seasonal fitment. Our comparison of Michelin CrossClimate 2 or Continental all-season is the right read if you are deciding whether a second set is worth the storage.

Tire	Service Description	Category	Price	Best For
Michelin CrossClimate2	102V XL	All-weather, 3PMSF	$317.99	One set, all year, real snow capability
Toyo Celsius II	102V XL	All-weather, 3PMSF	$284.50	All-weather at a lower price
Michelin X-Ice Snow	102H XL	Dedicated winter	$299.24	XL cars in severe winter
Bridgestone Blizzak WS90	98H SL	Dedicated winter	$285.54	SL cars in severe winter

Best 245/45R19 Tire for an EV

The Lucid Air Pure and Dream Edition both run 245/45R19 at 102Y XL, and this size increasingly shows up on electric and hybrid platforms. EVs put three demands on a tire at once: extra curb weight from the battery pack, instant peak torque from a standstill, and no engine noise to mask tread hum. A conventional tire handles the load but wears faster and sounds louder.

The Hankook iON evo AS IH01 is purpose-built for this. It uses a low rolling resistance compound to protect range, a reinforced casing for battery weight, and an internal sound-absorbing foam layer bonded to the inner liner that cancels the cavity resonance you hear as a drone around 40 to 50 mph.

The Goodyear ElectricDrive 2 SCT at $292.99 and the Yokohama Advan Sport EV A/S at $288.99 are the other two built specifically for electric platforms in this size, both 102 XL. Our explainer on why EV tires are different covers the range and wear math in detail.

Best 245/45R19 Run-Flat Tire

Run-flats are about one in ten tires offered in 245/45R19, and the decision is usually made for you. If your car left the factory on run-flats, it very likely has no spare, no jack and no room in the trunk for either. Switching to conventional tires means committing to a plug kit, a compressor and a tow subscription.

The Bridgestone DriveGuard Plus is the practical answer. Unlike most run-flats, which are OE-specific and priced accordingly, DriveGuard Plus is sold as an aftermarket replacement and is graded 640 A A with a 65,000-mile warranty, numbers that would be respectable on a conventional touring tire. It will run 50 miles at up to 50 mph with zero pressure.

Do not mix run-flats and conventional tires on the same axle. The stiffness difference changes how each side loads up in a corner. If you are weighing the swap, run-flat tires vs regular tires lays out the trade honestly.

Best 245/45R19 Tire on a Budget

Budget in this size does not mean bargain-bin. The Kumho Ecsta PA51 comes in at $188.93 with a 500 AA A grade and a 45,000-mile warranty in 102W XL. The AA wet traction grade is the one that matters, and it matches tires costing 50 percent more.

What you give up at this price is usually noise refinement and the last few feet of dry braking, not safety margin. What you should not give up is the load index. There are cheaper 245/45R19 tires available in SL only, and buying one for an XL car to save $60 a corner is the single worst trade in this entire size.

What Cars Use 245/45R19 Tires

The size spans two distinct groups, and the split follows the load rating almost exactly.

XL 102 fitments tend to be heavier European and electric platforms: 2019 to 2025 Audi A6 Quattro and A7 Sportback in Premium and Prestige trim, the 2024 to 2025 BMW X1 M35i, the 2024 to 2025 BMW i5 M60 xDrive on the front axle, the 2021 to 2022 BMW M760i xDrive, the 2011 to 2016 Jaguar XJ and XJ L on the front axle, the 2021 to 2025 Genesis G80 2.5T front, and the Lucid Air in Pure and Dream Edition Range trim.

SL 98 fitments skew American luxury and Korean crossover: the 2016 to 2020 Cadillac CT6, the 2013 to 2019 Cadillac XTS, the 2010 to 2013 Cadillac CTS Performance, the 2014 to 2020 Chevrolet Impala LTZ and Premier, the 2024 to 2025 Chevrolet Trailblazer RS, the 2008 to 2017 Lexus LS600h L and LS460 F Sport, the 2016 to 2021 Hyundai Tucson Sport, the 2018 to 2022 Kia Sportage SX Turbo, and the 2024 to 2025 Buick Encore GX and Envista in Avenir trim.

A handful of Ford Mustang GT Premium models with the GT Track Pack and California Special package also ran P245/45ZR19 98W. If you are cross-shopping the adjacent size, our roundup of the best rated 245/40R19 tires covers the shorter-sidewall neighbor.

What 245/45R19 Tires Actually Cost

Across current 245/45R19 offerings, prices run from about $91 to about $615 per tire. The useful figures are the quartiles, not the extremes.

Tier	Price Per Tire	Set of Four	What You Get
Value	Under $210	Under $840	Solid wet grades, more road noise, shorter warranties
Mainstream	$210 to $268	$840 to $1,072	Where most XL all-seasons land, 50,000 to 70,000 mile warranties
Premium	$268 to $340	$1,072 to $1,360	Michelin, Pirelli, Continental flagships, EV-specific and all-weather
Specialty	Above $340	Above $1,360	Max performance summer, run-flats, OE-homologated fitments

The median sits right around $268 per tire. Budget roughly $1,100 for a mainstream set of four before mounting and balancing. Run-flats carry a real premium, typically $60 to $150 more per tire than the conventional equivalent, because the reinforced sidewall is expensive to build.

What the Wrong Load Index Costs You While You Drive

Fitting a 98 tire to a car specified for 102 does not fail immediately. It degrades, and the sequence is predictable.

First few thousand miles. The sidewall deflects further under the same load than the engineers planned for. Steering feels slightly vague on turn-in and the car takes an extra beat to settle after a lane change. Most drivers write this off as a new-tire feel.

By 10,000 miles. Extra deflection concentrates wear on the shoulders. You start seeing uneven wear across the tread face, and the alignment shop cannot fix it because the alignment is not the problem.

Through the first hot summer. This is the real cost. Deflection generates heat, heat is what degrades the bond between the steel belts and the rubber, and an under-rated casing runs hotter at every speed. FMVSS No. 139 tests endurance and high-speed performance at a tire's rated load, not above it. Beyond that rating, the tire is outside its qualification envelope.

Any time after that. Wet braking distances stretch because the contact patch deforms rather than staying planted. A fully loaded car on a summer road trip is the exact condition that turns a marginal tire into a failed one.

At the claim. Manufacturer warranties exclude damage from operating a tire beyond its rated load. If a 98 tire fails on a car placarded for 102, that is an overload condition, and the claim is likely to be denied. You paid for a warranty you cannot use.

None of this is exotic. It is the ordinary consequence of asking a casing to do more than it was built and certified to do, every mile, for years.

How to Buy the Right 245/45R19 Tire

1. Read the driver's door placard. Write down the full service description, both numbers and the letter. If the car is staggered, note the front and rear rows separately.
2. Filter by load index first. Not by brand, not by price, not by review score. If your placard says 102, every 98 tire is off the list regardless of how well it reviews.
3. Match or exceed the speed rating. A W-rated car can take a Y tire. It should not take a V. The only accepted exception is a dedicated winter set, which is expected to carry a lower rating.
4. Pick your season honestly. If you see snow, an all-weather tire with the three-peak mountain snowflake beats an all-season. If you never see 45 degrees F, a summer tire is a genuine upgrade.
5. Compare UTQG within a brand, not across brands. Treadwear grades are self-reported against each manufacturer's own reference. Traction and temperature grades are federally defined and do compare directly.
6. Buy all four together. Mixed tread depths on an all-wheel-drive car cause driveline bind. Even on a two-wheel-drive car, mismatched pairs change how the car rotates.
7. Set pressure to the placard, not the sidewall. The number molded into the sidewall is a maximum, not a recommendation.

When you are ready, shop the full range of 245/45R19 tires and filter to your load index before anything else.

Conclusion

The question "which 245/45R19 tire is the best" has a clean answer once you add the missing variable. This size splits into a 102 XL group and a 98 SL group, and the two are not substitutes. For 102 cars, the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 4 is the best all-around tire, the Hankook Kinergy PT H737 wins on longevity and the Kumho Ecsta PA51 is the value play. For 98 cars, the Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 Plus leads, with the Pirelli P7 All Season Plus 3 and Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrack close behind for quieter touring.

Sixty seconds at the door jamb tells you which list you are shopping. That is the whole trick, and it is worth more than any ranking.

Key Takeaways

• 245/45R19 comes in two load ratings: 102 XL (1,874 lbs) and 98 SL (1,653 lbs). About 69 percent of the size is XL.
• An SL tire cannot be inflated up to XL capacity. The ceiling is built into the casing.
• The Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 Plus is XL in 245/45R17, R18 and R20 but Standard Load in 245/45R19. Always check the exact size.
• Best XL all-season: Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 4. Best SL all-season: Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 Plus.
• Longest wearing in the size: Hankook Kinergy PT H737, 800 treadwear and a 90,000-mile warranty in 102V XL.
• Median price is about $268 per tire, roughly $1,100 for a mainstream set of four.
• Your driver's door placard is the specification. The tires currently on the car are not.

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