Uniroyal Tiger Paw GTZ Review & Rating for 2024

Terrains change, so do seasons and the mood of the driver – but the tires beneath your vehicle don’t have to. That’s because companies like Uniroyal have come up with tires like the Tiger Paw GTZ which come handy in all sorts of terrains and in all types of weather conditions.

Like most above-average all-season tires, the Tiger Paw GTZ has a premium appearance which makes it attractive even from a distance. It comes with a considerable tread life warranty and economizes your vehicle’s fuel consumption by posing minimal rolling resistance.

Throw into the mix its guaranteed high mileage, two different speed ratings, and a huge range of sizes it gets easier to see why this tire passed with flying colors in our review. However, it does have one or two weak points that take some sheen off of the Tiger Paw GTZ.

As they say that the proof of the pudding lay in the eating, so you cannot estimate how a tire is going to perform on the road by only looking at its features. Instead, a test drive is necessary to gauge how those features show their presence in real-life conditions.

Read on to find out how the Uniroyal Tiger Paw GTZ fared in its test drive.

Treadwear and Durability

Three conditions negatively impact treadwear and lower the shelf-life of the tire. They include uneven distribution of the stress along the tire’s footprints, its inability to maintain optimal shape after being under pressure for long, and the absence of reinforcements to protect the tire’s internal structure.

Luckily, the GTZ doesn’t suffer from any such problems. Apart from its computerized tread design, this tire has two wide steel belts on top of its single-ply polyester casting. Reinforced by spirally wound nylon, they not only improve the tire’s handling but also make it more durable.

To achieve even treadwear, the all-season tread compound of this model is molded into a systematic tread pattern to allow it to move with minimal rolling resistance, thereby giving this tire balanced wear. Consequently, even though the GTZ doesn’t come with any treadwear warranty, you should still get 30,000 miles from its tread.

Dry Performance

One of the major reasons people turn to ultra-high-performance tires is their better handling in dry conditions. Fortunately, the GTZ will satisfy any such needs of most buyers, especially given its competitive price when compared with similar models from premium tire manufacturers.

Right from the off, this tire gives tremendous steering response. It moves precisely as your steering might command and couples its responsiveness with an immediate grip. You’d also notice that when cornering, it maintains its traction to let you overcome any unforeseen problem with ease.

In case you’re wondering, it’s the siped center rib which enhances this model’s dry performance. By remaining close to the road surface at all times, it boosts the driving stability and steering responsiveness. Put simply, you won’t notice any problems with steering or stability on dry tarmac.

Wet Performance

In contrast to what many drivers choose to believe, slipping isn’t the only problem that could plague all-season tires on wet roads. Since these tires are made of relatively soft rubber to boost their all-season functionality, they could succumb to losing their shape in colder temperatures.

Luckily, the Tiger Paw GTZ isn’t one of those tires. Its soft rubber is made with a specialized tread compound which allows this tire to maintain its shape (and traction) in wet weather conditions. Still, its wide circumferential and lateral grooves work best when asked to disperse water.

Since their diameter is on the wider side, both these grooves work together to disperse slush and water from beneath the tire’s footprint. As a result, they prevent a scenario known as hydroplaning from realizing – which disconnects the tire’s contact with the road and makes it prone to slippage.

Snow & Ice

Go through the manufacturer-supplied description of this tire, and you’d read that it comes with ‘traction snow bars’. Uniroyal claims that the main function of these fancy-named parts is to help the tire provide a firm grip on snow-laden roads.

That’s not true. The moment the layer of snow on the road gets thicker than a few inches, the snow performance of the GTZ nosedives. That shouldn’t be surprising given the fact that these are summer tires which are designed to carry sports vehicles.

As a result, if you don’t want marginal braking performance in snowy conditions – and are after something that will provide you with better traction and grip, the similarly priced competitors of the GTZ will prove to be a better choice.

Noise and Comfort

Given the fact that it’s a tire designed for sporty vehicles, we were pleasantly surprised to note that the GTZ was very comfortable over speed bumps. On close inspection, we were able to determine the cause of its vibration-free performance: its computer-optimized tread design.

By allowing the airwaves to come into contact with the tread, this design channels them to pass through the tire. That means that the airwaves do not come in direct contact with the tread elements. As a result, while the tires are moving, the tread and road pattern noise is nowhere to be found, giving way to a quiet and comfortable experience.