Sport utility vehicle owners in Jacksonville, FL generally don't put that much thought into putting passenger tires on SUV's, but there are some pretty good reasons for doing so. Passenger tires, in general, are softer-riding, longer-lasting, and less capable of off-road driving than SUV tires, which are deliberately designed to be a midpoint between passenger tires and truck tires. Here are seven big things that passenger tires have over SUV tires:
Comfort
Passenger tires run at a lower air pressure than SUV tires do, so they act as the first stage of shock absorption, handling tiny bumps like those from pebbles on the road without even nudging your 'real' shock absorbers. Combine that with a less rigid sidewall than an SUV tire, and you're looking at a much more comfy ride overall.
Handling
SUV tires have a deeper tread than passenger tires, which can be good for getting a grip in off-road or muddy conditions, but it's not good for handling. Deeper tread means more wiggle room for each part of the tire, which means that tire is much more prone to slipping under any significant amount of sideways pressure -- like going around a corner at any decent speed.
Wet Roads
Passenger tires are built with very specific tread patterns designed to funnel water away from the contact surface. SUV tires are built with tread patterns that are midway between the water-readiness of passenger tires and the serious off-road grip of light truck tires -- which means that when you hit a puddle at high speed on SUV tires, you're much more likely to go hydroplaning. Most SUV's in Jacksonville, FL are family vehicles, so staying in control is a strong argument for keeping passenger tires on SUV's.
Braking
SUV tires have wider gaps in their tread than passenger tires do -- all the better to increase the pound-per-square-inch force the tires exert on the terrain under them, for off-roading purposes. But that same choice also means that there's less rubber touching the road at any given time, which means that when you slam on the brakes, you've got less friction, which means significantly longer breaking distances. Not what you want for a family vehicle.
High Speeds
Passenger tires, while they have tread on them, are mostly smooth rubber, designed to roll easily across long stretches of pavement without building up a lot of heat. SUV tires, on the other hand, tend to be a bit knobby. That's great for mud, gravel, or dirt roads, but over long distances of highway driving, those knobs build up heat, and that heat can damage and even deform your tires.