Can anyone recommend a good set of tires for my 2K Chevy, 3/4T,LB, extended cab, 4WD. I carry a 9 & a half ft. Lance cabover camper most of the time. Weight, around 2300#. The tires that came with the truck are the Firestone Steeltex. Had no problem with these tires, but want to try something different. I've been told the Michelin LTX are a good choice, but somewhat expensive. I don't want a real aggressive tread. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
thanx zeus. i'm still in the mid stages of installing the suspension. but i will most def be emailing you when the time comes for the steel and rubber. hopefully in a couple of weeks at the most. i know i'm supposed to measure from the edge of the drum/disc back and up to it's nearest obstruction for backspacing. that's about it. have you ever converted a muscle or classic auto before?
I've done three older cars in that manner - a '67 Mustang coupe, a '70 Trans Am and a '69 GTO. I had a love (and still do) for the BBS RK wheel - looks wicked on older cars. I ran 16s on the Mustang, 17s on the GTO and 18s on the T/A.
Allow an inch for tire growth and suspension flex when you take your measurements. I'd hate for you to do the "la machine" thing to new tires for going a size or two too big.
Changing from a 195/50R16 to a 205/45R16 (or even worse 40) IS A BAD IDEA!!
You can't generalize across different brands of tires. While what you say may be true for ONE brand of tires and the different sizes offered by that brand/model, you could probably find a brand with an acceptable load rating that is available in a desirable size!
"You can't generalize across different brands of tires. "
Sorry, but tire load carrying capacities are standardized by size. In the US the standardizing body is The Tire and Rim Association (TRA). In Europe, it is the European Tire and Rim Technical Organization (ETRTO). There are others. They all cooperate with each other and try as best they can to prevent contradictions.
One of the reasons I wanted to get back to my desk was the difference between TRA (which uses a P in front of passenger tires built to this standard) and ETRTO (which uses no letters in front). It is very common for folks to drop the letters in front, thinking they make little difference. Trust me, the difference between a P245/75R16 and an LT245/75R16 is HUGE!!
In short, it should make no difference at all who makes a tire. The load carrying capacity will be the same for a given size.
It is not the size of the tire which determines the load. Or better it is not only the size. So you can have two passanger tires with exact the same size and speed rating with different load.
A Mazda P5 came with P195/50R16's on 6" wheels inflated to 32 front and rear. This equates to a load carrying capacity of 1036#.
A P205/45R16 has a minimum wheel width of 6 1/2". So NO, the tire will not fit on the stock wheel. BTW the maximum load carring capacity is 908 # at 35 psi - smaller.
A P205/40R16 has a minimum wheel width of 7". Again, this will not fit on the stock wheel. In this case, there are 3 different maximum load capacities. 1) LL = Load Index 75, with a max capacity of 853# at 35 psi. 2) SL = Load Index 79, with a max of 963# at 35 psi. 3) XL = Load Index 83, with a max load of 1074# at 41psi. Looks like only the Extra Load has enough load carrying capacity, if you had the proper wheel width.
"It is not the size of the tire which determines the load. Or better it is not only the size. So you can have two passanger tires with exact the same size and speed rating with different load."
There are some permutations and some other goings on, but size does determine maximum load carrying capacity.
How about an experiment? Find a tire and read the size and the maximum load. You tell me the tire size (be sure to include the P if it is there) and I will tell you the maximum load. I will read it off either an TRA load table or an ETRTO load table.
For the same reason as for snow traction, narrow tires are better in the wet. And all season will be better than summer tires. Everything else being equal.
Mind you, there is a lot more involved, and you will get some reversals if you don't compare apples to apples.
I have to disagree there. If a summer tire is designed with special attention paid to water management and compositional elements (usually pretty expensive to design for the typical all-season), it will be superior to an all-season in the wet.
Case in point: I went from the Bridgestone RE-92 A/S to the Potenza S-03 on my Prelude, and immediately noticed better wet grip.
I agree that the Michelin LTX M/S would be an excellent choice for you. Its a tire that's designed for 80% pavement/20% light offroad. I think you'll find it a superior tire to the OE Firestones.
Bridgestone makes a tire called a R265 that I've seen on some 3/4 ton Suburbans and similar. I've heard good things about them (quiet and smooth) but they are a highway tire and would not do well off road.
Make sure you get a tire with the proper load rating (I think you need Load Rating E) in order to safely carry the camper, not to mention the truck itself.
Any one have any experience with Continental tires in general or ContiExtreme Contacts specifically?
I might have to replace the tires on my 96 RL soon. The OEM tires are Michellin MXV4s. I replaced them with Dunlop SP5000s two Decembers ago and they have been okay.
I noticed that the ContiExtreme Contacts are very cheap on TireRack.com. They are half the price of the Michellins and two-thirds the price of the Dunlops.
I'm all for getting a good deal, but I don't want to sacrifice any safety and/or performance.
Let me know if any of you have tried these Continentals.
I recently rented a Ford Taurus SE that had Continental All-Seasons on it. They did pretty well, especially considering the snow and ice pellets we got in a weird spring storm up here while I had that car. They seemed quite competent. The car had 27K km on it but the tires still appeared to have plenty of tread left.
capriracer is supposed to provide the load index for the size I specify, unless I misunderstood his/her suggestion. My point is that tire size does not automaticaly give you index, range of indexes - yes, but not index.
Not a lot is out there about this tire, which hit the market late last year. Its a US market only tire that's supposed to be a true 4 season tire; should do reasonably well even in snow.
Road & Track magazine did a write up of the new Continental tires in their 7/02 issue. Worth a look if you're interested.
Currently have issue with them regarding warranty on Michelin Pilot XGT H4. Tires have only 18K miles on them. Local Sears wants documentation on them proving that the tires have been rotated. Even though writing on warranty mentions every conceivable limitation regarding driving on flat tire, balancing, alignment, but mentions rotation nowhere. In fact a different receipt from sister store NTB says receipt that the tires with the best tread should be placed on rear axel. Implies to me that tires shouldn't be rotated fron to back if one set is significantly newer than the other. Interesting how they installed new tire on the car twice but neither time did they follow industry standard and put them on the rear axel. Unfortuantely I didn't know any better as the front axel seemed to make sense. However I am not a tire professional. I'm honestly thinking of taking them to small claims court on this as I think this case is a slam dunk and am fed up with their attitude. I realize it's not worth my time, but I'm in law school so it would probably be a good experience anyways.
In addition I always have issues with measuring the tread. I think they just measure to whatever is their benefit. Last time I had a tire blow, I had to go to 3 stores to agree that the tire still had 8/32 giving me a free replacement. First 2 stores claimed 7/32 meaning I would only get 62% credit even though tires had only 8K on them. Unfortunately store measuring at 8/32 claimed it was a manufacture defect meaning I had to pay $25 for balancing and road hazard warranty. First 2 stores claimed it was road hazard warranty meaning I would have paid nothing, but they measured 7/32.
Lastly their road hazard warranty is idiotic. It's prorating is measured on treadwear rather than mileage. When I buy 50K tires I expect to get 50K out of them. Unfortunately if you only get 10K and they blow you could end up spending a lot. If the tread is half gone you only get 50% credit meaning that you paid for 25K miles but only got 10K.
I wish I could get away from buying tires at Sears, but living 1 mile from a freeway which has been under construction for the last four years has meant that no tire has ever lasted more than 30K. Hopefully with the completion of the freeway this summer road hazards will be significantly reduced.
some people are easy on them, some are not, and that's why tires are prorated by tread depth.
Of course you should rotate your tires, and don't act like that's a surprise they should have told you about. Did you drive for 18K miles without rotation?? If so, then by every standard in the industry, from new car maintenance guides to word of mouth down at the local Pep Boys, you've exceeded the rotation mileage stadard by three times.
A road hazard warranty is NOT a free ride. It doesn't cover "free tires" for the rest of your vehicle's life.
I'm sorry to be so blunt, but after several years in the tire business, people wanting something for nothing gets really old.
Been looking real hard at the $Runner V8 Limiteds. The OEM tires on some are the Dunlop AT20 GrandTrek and others are the Michelin CrossTerrains. Any suggestions or comments? I'm a Michelin man but if these Dunlops are comparable I won't push for a swap. need help.....thanks
Remember, the original question was does the load carrying capacity vary from tire manufacturer to tire manufacturer. I stated it does not - it is a function of size, with a few provisos.
Here goes:
P195/65R15 (TRA) Load Index = 89 Max Load (Customary Units) = 1279 # Max Load (SI Units) = 580 kg See note!
195/65R15 (ETRTO) Load Index = 91 Max Load (SI Units) = 615 kg Max Load (Customary Units) = 1356# See note!
ETRTO also lists this size with a Reinforced version (Sort of like Extra Load in TRA)
195/65R15 Rein. (ETRTO) Load Index = 95 Max Load (SI Units) = 690 kg Max Load Load (Customary Units) = 1521 # See note!
Note - TRA publishes the load in # only. ETRTO publishes the load in kg only. It is common for folks to show both on the sidewall, so they convert. Some of the conversions may result in a slightly different value due to rounding. I take credit for only this conversion.
In Europe, they use the same sizing structure for their commercial tires as they do for their passenger car tires, but they include a "C" immediately after the numbers. Technically the "C" is part of the size. In the US, they would call these tires "LT's" and put "LT" before the numbers.
195/65R15C (ETRTO) Load Index = 104/102 Max Load (SI Units) = 900 / 850 kg (Single / Dual) Max Load (Customary Units) = 1984 # / 1874 # (Single / Dual) See note!
If you find something that doesn't match up to this, please let me know the size, brand name and design, and I will try to figure out what may be going on.
While preparing data I found that www.tirerack.com does not show Ps and www.tires.com does. The only tire that I found on www.tires.com site that does not match is winter tire. It might be typo.
and what causes it. I have some fairly new tires,(12K on them), and the car makes an awful noise at 40 miles and above. The dealer said the tires are cupped, and so did a NTB person. It is an Olds Intrigue with 225 60 HR16 Dunlop SP2 A2's I have rotated them at about 6K miles, and got an alignment done since, thought there was not much to align. They were within specs, but the NTB guy did some adjustment to the toe in and camber any way. How do I determine if it is the tires making the noise or something else. Is the only option to replace the tires and see if the noise goes away?
Bret, Thanks for your input. Next time I go to Costco, I will see what they have in the Michelin line. I will for certain get load range "E". My Steeltex are E's
I prefer the term irregular wear - much more descriptive.
It's wear that isn't even and uniform.
What causes it? Mostly alignment (especially toe), bad shocks, near the limit handling manuevers, etc.
Your NTB guy was smart. Vehicle alignment specs are, IMO, too wide by a factor of 2. Toe in needs to be with in 1/32" (0.15 degrees) of nominal - This is the tolerance, not the target value.
If you have cupping, it is almost certain that the noise is the tires. To be sure, determine of the noise is coming from the front or the rear, tehn rotate the tires - the noise ought to move with the tires. If it doesn't move it's something else.
Fix?
One option is to put the worst tires on the front and let nature wear the pattern out of the tires. You may need to keep them on the front a bit longer than normal to do this.
brian125 asks: i was thinking of putting michelins ltx on my pilot..has anyone had them.. looking for feed back. is this one of the better tires to go with for my pilot..
I ran them on my 1998 Mountaineer as replacement for the Firestone Death Radials. They'll last forever. I put 50K on mine and the tires had lots of tread life left when I traded it in. They're reasonably quiet. The down side is that they don't perform well braking and cornering in snow... the worst of the 4 varieties of SUV tires I've owned over the years. Any tire is a compromise and Michelin clearly optimized for tread life and highway manners. I notice you live in NYC so that isn't all that much of a factor for you.
I quit buying from NTB when it was acquired by Sears. I don't believe they are a good value store. Now I order from Tirerack.com and have tires installed/rotated at Wal-Mart which still uses a torque wrench on the lug nuts which I didn't see at NTB anymore after Sears took over.
Anybody know of any data comparing dry handling of the Michelin Pilot Sport to the Pilot Sport A/S?
My understanding is that dedicated summer tires handle dry/wet better, as they can ignore snow and such, but the Pilot Sport A/S is apparently some new material/manufacturing process.
...between the Michelin LTX-AT at Costco and the Goodrich Long trail TA at Sams Club. They are going on a 85 Ford F150 with 5.5 inch wide 15 inch rims, so the largest I can use is the 215-75R15 which are only available in those two tires at the clubs. I drive 99% on the street so I'm leaning towards the goodrich as they are a pure street tire with a better treadwear number, but I remember TIREGUY SAYING HOW WELL THAT THE MICHELINS ARE MADE. ANY IDEAS? I decided to stay with the factory rims and the 215 size so that limits me to these 2 if I want to get what the clubs keep in stock. I also have a walmart supercenter with tires, but I'm not too sure about what appears to be goodyears. Help?
The LTX A/T is an all-terrain tire that will ride rougher and noisier than an all-season tire like the BFG. If you want to stick with Michelin look at the LTX M/S instead.
At WalMart they sell a Michelin called the LT Select. Pretty much the same as the LTX M/S mentioned above. I've steered some friends to that tire and all have been happy with it.
If you have a truck or suv that spends that much time on the street, don't get an all-terrain tire, get a highway tire. We put Bridgestone Dueler H/L's on my wife's Jeep, and it rides much smoother than it did on the oem Goodyear Wrangler A/T's.
...I'll be at the walmart supercenter here in Glendale AZ looking at the Michelin LT Select, if it comes in the 215-75R15 and the price isn't stupid, I'll be set. Thanks.
I've got a 2000 JXI convertible, and am ready to replace the tires. Any recommendations? 90% of my miles are at 70 mph on the frewway, and when I am off the freeway, I drive pretty agressively.
I don't want to get a sporty fun tire if the Sebring just won't handle them. Maybe it's best to just stick with a soft, touring tire. But, do I HAVE to?
I live in the SF Bay Area, so inclement weather isn't an issue (just a little seasonal rain).
I've got that brochure and seen the tire and I cannot think of what other BFG tire its similar too. DOn't know if the DOT codes will clue me into anything but I'll check next time I'm at Costco.
If you're curious why not send an email to BFG and ask?
Do you have the 16" or the 17" wheels on the Sebring? I believe the OE tire is a Michelin XGT4, correct?
Being in Nor Cal you'd be fine with a summer tire; no need to worry about snow traction as you mentioned.
A few good sporty/performance choices are:
Dunlop SP Sport A2 Yokohama Avid H4 Bridgestone Potenza RE950
If you want a smoother, touring tire:
Bridgestone Turanza LSH Pirelli P6 Four Season Michelin Energy MXV4 Plus
You want to match the tires to your driving needs and style. Any car can benefit from high performance tires so if you feel you want a more responsive tire, by all means go for it.
Did you check Goodrich website? I compared some of the off brand places selling Michelin to their listings about their main line tires and found they compared closely. Mileage number and tread designs were almost same.
Firestone even had the treadwidth and all listed in tables for their tires.
Comments
Although that kind of an upgrade should be acceptable
Confirm it for yourself at the miata.net garage link posted above.
Allow an inch for tire growth and suspension flex when you take your measurements. I'd hate for you to do the "la machine" thing to new tires for going a size or two too big.
Changing from a 195/50R16 to a 205/45R16 (or even worse 40) IS A BAD IDEA!!
A 195/50R16 has a load carrying capacity of 1074# at 35 psi.
A 205/45R16 has a load carrying capacity of 908# at 35 psi. That's a 166# (20%) reduction PER TIRE.
Going smaller in load carrying capacity can lead to very bad things.
When I get back to my office and can dig up the rest of the facts, I'll fill in the rest of the story.
You can't generalize across different brands of tires. While what you say may be true for ONE brand of tires and the different sizes offered by that brand/model, you could probably find a brand with an acceptable load rating that is available in a desirable size!
Sorry, but tire load carrying capacities are standardized by size. In the US the standardizing body is The Tire and Rim Association (TRA). In Europe, it is the European Tire and Rim Technical Organization (ETRTO). There are others. They all cooperate with each other and try as best they can to prevent contradictions.
One of the reasons I wanted to get back to my desk was the difference between TRA (which uses a P in front of passenger tires built to this standard) and ETRTO (which uses no letters in front). It is very common for folks to drop the letters in front, thinking they make little difference. Trust me, the difference between a P245/75R16 and an LT245/75R16 is HUGE!!
In short, it should make no difference at all who makes a tire. The load carrying capacity will be the same for a given size.
Hope this helps.
So you can have two passanger tires with exact the same size and speed rating with different load.
Krzys
A Mazda P5 came with P195/50R16's on 6" wheels inflated to 32 front and rear. This equates to a load carrying capacity of 1036#.
A P205/45R16 has a minimum wheel width of 6 1/2". So NO, the tire will not fit on the stock wheel. BTW the maximum load carring capacity is 908 # at 35 psi - smaller.
A P205/40R16 has a minimum wheel width of 7". Again, this will not fit on the stock wheel. In this case, there are 3 different maximum load capacities. 1) LL = Load Index 75, with a max capacity of 853# at 35 psi. 2) SL = Load Index 79, with a max of 963# at 35 psi. 3) XL = Load Index 83, with a max load of 1074# at 41psi. Looks like only the Extra Load has enough load carrying capacity, if you had the proper wheel width.
Hope this helps.
"It is not the size of the tire which determines the load. Or better it is not only the size. So you can have two passanger tires with exact the same size and speed rating with different load."
There are some permutations and some other goings on, but size does determine maximum load carrying capacity.
How about an experiment? Find a tire and read the size and the maximum load. You tell me the tire size (be sure to include the P if it is there) and I will tell you the maximum load. I will read it off either an TRA load table or an ETRTO load table.
I know narrow tires are better for snow and wider tires are better for dry handling. What about for driving in the rain?
What other factors help? I would suppose summers are better than A/S in the rain.
Mind you, there is a lot more involved, and you will get some reversals if you don't compare apples to apples.
Case in point: I went from the Bridgestone RE-92 A/S to the Potenza S-03 on my Prelude, and immediately noticed better wet grip.
The RE92 comes in several different versions including a T rated Honda version with a 360 UTQG treadwear rating.
The S0-3 is at least a W speed rating with a 220 wear rating.
As I said, there is a lot involved and there will be reversals.
Bridgestone makes a tire called a R265 that I've seen on some 3/4 ton Suburbans and similar. I've heard good things about them (quiet and smooth) but they are a highway tire and would not do well off road.
Make sure you get a tire with the proper load rating (I think you need Load Rating E) in order to safely carry the camper, not to mention the truck itself.
Any one have any experience with Continental tires in general or ContiExtreme Contacts specifically?
I might have to replace the tires on my 96 RL soon. The OEM tires are Michellin MXV4s. I replaced them with Dunlop SP5000s two Decembers ago and they have been okay.
I noticed that the ContiExtreme Contacts are very cheap on TireRack.com. They are half the price of the Michellins and two-thirds the price of the Dunlops.
I'm all for getting a good deal, but I don't want to sacrifice any safety and/or performance.
Let me know if any of you have tried these Continentals.
Thanks for your help,
Peter
and
P195/65R15
Krzys
That's like asking "what color is that shade of red"?
Krzys
My point is that tire size does not automaticaly give you index, range of indexes - yes, but not index.
Krzys
Road & Track magazine did a write up of the new Continental tires in their 7/02 issue. Worth a look if you're interested.
They should last for a while.
Krzys
Currently have issue with them regarding warranty on Michelin Pilot XGT H4. Tires have only 18K miles on them. Local Sears wants documentation on them proving that the tires have been rotated. Even though writing on warranty mentions every conceivable limitation regarding driving on flat tire, balancing, alignment, but mentions rotation nowhere. In fact a different receipt from sister store NTB says receipt that the tires with the best tread should be placed on rear axel. Implies to me that tires shouldn't be rotated fron to back if one set is significantly newer than the other. Interesting how they installed new tire on the car twice but neither time did they follow industry standard and put them on the rear axel. Unfortuantely I didn't know any better as the front axel seemed to make sense. However I am not a tire professional. I'm honestly thinking of taking them to small claims court on this as I think this case is a slam dunk and am fed up with their attitude. I realize it's not worth my time, but I'm in law school so it would probably be a good experience anyways.
In addition I always have issues with measuring the tread. I think they just measure to whatever is their benefit. Last time I had a tire blow, I had to go to 3 stores to agree that the tire still had 8/32 giving me a free replacement. First 2 stores claimed 7/32 meaning I would only get 62% credit even though tires had only 8K on them. Unfortunately store measuring at 8/32 claimed it was a manufacture defect meaning I had to pay $25 for balancing and road hazard warranty. First 2 stores claimed it was road hazard warranty meaning I would have paid nothing, but they measured 7/32.
Lastly their road hazard warranty is idiotic. It's prorating is measured on treadwear rather than mileage. When I buy 50K tires I expect to get 50K out of them. Unfortunately if you only get 10K and they blow you could end up spending a lot. If the tread is half gone you only get 50% credit meaning that you paid for 25K miles but only got 10K.
I wish I could get away from buying tires at Sears, but living 1 mile from a freeway which has been under construction for the last four years has meant that no tire has ever lasted more than 30K. Hopefully with the completion of the freeway this summer road hazards will be significantly reduced.
Of course you should rotate your tires, and don't act like that's a surprise they should have told you about. Did you drive for 18K miles without rotation?? If so, then by every standard in the industry, from new car maintenance guides to word of mouth down at the local Pep Boys, you've exceeded the rotation mileage stadard by three times.
A road hazard warranty is NOT a free ride. It doesn't cover "free tires" for the rest of your vehicle's life.
I'm sorry to be so blunt, but after several years in the tire business, people wanting something for nothing gets really old.
need help.....thanks
from tire manufacturer to tire manufacturer. I stated it does not - it
is a function of size, with a few provisos.
Here goes:
P195/65R15 (TRA)
Load Index = 89
Max Load (Customary Units) = 1279 #
Max Load (SI Units) = 580 kg See note!
195/65R15 (ETRTO)
Load Index = 91
Max Load (SI Units) = 615 kg
Max Load (Customary Units) = 1356# See note!
ETRTO also lists this size with a Reinforced version (Sort of like Extra Load in TRA)
195/65R15 Rein. (ETRTO)
Load Index = 95
Max Load (SI Units) = 690 kg
Max Load Load (Customary Units) = 1521 # See note!
Note - TRA publishes the load in # only. ETRTO publishes the load in
kg only. It is common for folks to show both on the sidewall, so they
convert. Some of the conversions may result in a slightly different
value due to rounding. I take credit for only this conversion.
In Europe, they use the same sizing structure for their commercial tires
as they do for their passenger car tires, but they include a "C"
immediately after the numbers. Technically the "C" is part of the
size. In the US, they would call these tires "LT's" and put "LT" before
the numbers.
195/65R15C (ETRTO)
Load Index = 104/102
Max Load (SI Units) = 900 / 850 kg (Single / Dual)
Max Load (Customary Units) = 1984 # / 1874 # (Single / Dual) See note!
If you find something that doesn't match up to this, please let me know the size, brand name and design, and I will try to figure out what may be going on.
The only tire that I found on www.tires.com site that does not match is winter tire. It might be typo.
Krzys
I have some fairly new tires,(12K on them), and the car makes an awful noise at 40 miles and above. The dealer said the tires are cupped, and so did a NTB person. It is an Olds Intrigue with 225 60 HR16 Dunlop SP2 A2's I have rotated them at about 6K miles, and got an alignment done since, thought there was not much to align. They were within specs, but the NTB guy did some adjustment to the toe in and camber any way.
How do I determine if it is the tires making the noise or something else.
Is the only option to replace the tires and see if the noise goes away?
It's wear that isn't even and uniform.
What causes it? Mostly alignment (especially toe), bad shocks, near the limit handling manuevers, etc.
Your NTB guy was smart. Vehicle alignment specs are, IMO, too wide by a factor of 2. Toe in needs to be with in 1/32" (0.15 degrees) of nominal - This is the tolerance, not the target value.
If you have cupping, it is almost certain that the noise is the tires. To be sure, determine of the noise is coming from the front or the rear, tehn rotate the tires - the noise ought to move with the tires. If it doesn't move it's something else.
Fix?
One option is to put the worst tires on the front and let nature wear the pattern out of the tires. You may need to keep them on the front a bit longer than normal to do this.
Replacing the tires is another option.
Hope this helps
i was thinking of putting michelins ltx on my pilot..has anyone had them.. looking for feed back. is this one of the better tires to go with for my pilot..
I ran them on my 1998 Mountaineer as replacement for the Firestone Death Radials. They'll last forever. I put 50K on mine and the tires had lots of tread life left when I traded it in. They're reasonably quiet. The down side is that they don't perform well braking and cornering in snow... the worst of the 4 varieties of SUV tires I've owned over the years. Any tire is a compromise and Michelin clearly optimized for tread life and highway manners. I notice you live in NYC so that isn't all that much of a factor for you.
My understanding is that dedicated summer tires handle dry/wet better, as they can ignore snow and such, but the Pilot Sport A/S is apparently some new material/manufacturing process.
That confirms what I suspected.. that the Pilot Sport A/S is probably one of the best A/S tires out there, but a dedicated summer tire will be better.
At WalMart they sell a Michelin called the LT Select. Pretty much the same as the LTX M/S mentioned above. I've steered some friends to that tire and all have been happy with it.
I don't want to get a sporty fun tire if the Sebring just won't handle them. Maybe it's best to just stick with a soft, touring tire. But, do I HAVE to?
I live in the SF Bay Area, so inclement weather isn't an issue (just a little seasonal rain).
Thanks for your thoughts.
If you're curious why not send an email to BFG and ask?
Being in Nor Cal you'd be fine with a summer tire; no need to worry about snow traction as you mentioned.
A few good sporty/performance choices are:
Dunlop SP Sport A2
Yokohama Avid H4
Bridgestone Potenza RE950
If you want a smoother, touring tire:
Bridgestone Turanza LSH
Pirelli P6 Four Season
Michelin Energy MXV4 Plus
You want to match the tires to your driving needs and style. Any car can benefit from high performance tires so if you feel you want a more responsive tire, by all means go for it.
to their listings about their main line tires and found they compared closely. Mileage number and tread designs were almost same.
Firestone even had the treadwidth and all listed in tables for their tires.
Isn't BG Goodrich owned by Michelin now?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,