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SC
Tires are rotated to even out wear and increase the treadlife of yout tires. Therefore, your rotation pattern should be dictated by the wear you're getting on your tires. A good tire shop should be able to suggest what pattern works best for your particular wear.
Ken
FWIW, I let my dealer handle rotate & balance. Just had it done last week; ran me $60.00. Expensive but I feel they'll do it right (correct wheel weights, proper torque specs, easy no-brainer job for them). Since I have all my servicing done at the dealer I can go back and raise Hell if they screw up. Only maintenance I do is the oil changes as I can do them for less than 1/2 their price.
SC
Also, to daysailer: Thanks for the excellent definition of transient response. It's one of those things I can understand but not explain.
I bought them from tirerack.com, which was a good experience. All said and done, I'm not sure how much I saved, but it was a pretty painless experience.
I ain't worried 'bout no college edumakashun neither. Don't need no fancy book learnin to read a torque spec and use a torque wrench. If'n they mess up mah wheels an' mah rotors, I kin go back and git ornery with them fellers. Ain't no big deal tuh me.
Don't waste your money for rotation at an auto shop. Just do it yourself. Buy a torque wrench to get a right torque for your car. You can read in your car manual to know how much torque is applied for your car.
Two years ago, my wife's car was making a clunking noise in the rear end after going over small abrupt changes in pavement height. Took car to dealer and asked them to check it out. Returned with "Nothing found".. Still made clunky noise; take car back 2 weeks later, insist on service writer taking a ride with me. Go down nearlby street and presto; "CLUNK".. "Oh yeah, I heard that. Sounds like the front strut." Yuh, right.. I insist that it is the REAR and after another bump and clunk, service writer agrees. So following week they replace the rear struts. Pick up car and clunk seems to be gone. Aha! Few days later clunk shows up again. Few more days go by and when I get home from work wife says she heard loud screeching noise when returning from shopping. I suspect brakes. I back car up about 2 feet and SLAM on the brakes. Pull it forward the 2 feet and then jack up the left rear, which is where noise is coming from. Support bracket going from frame to rear axle is SNAPPED in half..! Rear axle is FLOATING LOOSE !!
This is the original souce of the clunk. The bracket was flexing over those bumps and the IDIOT dealer ship mechanics replaced the struts and didn't see the bent bracket which was all of 8 inches from the strut ????? Give me a break....!!! If I had replaced the struts I certainly would have spotted the defective bracket. The car had to be towed to the dealership. And fortunately there was no accident due to the axle breaking free..
That is why, whenever possible, I do the work myself..
If I decide to upgrade (and I am tempted to do so), I'd be looking for a tire that gives a quiet, smooth ride, has good wet and dry traction, and does reasonably well in snow (although I might opt for winter tires, probably Nokian Hakka Q's, when winter comes). Good handling is nice, but since I don't push my cars to the limit, I don't need excellent handling (if I did, I wouldn't own a Camry!). Long tread life is great, but having a comfortable tire with good all-season traction is more important to me.
I liked the Michelin MXV4 Energy Plus tires that were OEM on my '98 Accord, but I wonder if I can do as well for less money. One local tire dealer recommended BF Goodrich T/A Touring or T/A Control tires as being a good all-season choice. Another dealer recommended the Uniroyal Tiger Paw Touring HR. I did have Nokian NRW's after the Michelins. They were very good in many ways, but somewhat noisy in the 20-40 mph speed range. People in tirerack.com seem to really like the Dunlop SP Sport A2 and the Yokohama Avid Touring tires. Others recommend the Michelin X-One.
I'd appreciate any feedback you can give. Sorry if this turns out to be a rehash of any past discussions!
Thanks!
P.S. Plus I got a set of cool Motorola walkabout radios from Michelin.
I put Dunlop SP Sport A2s on a Subaru Forester this March and have been very satisfied. Very stable tires, with great grip on wet and dry weather. They handle snow and slush well for all season tires - Found out twice in late March in upstate NY after a mild winter. They have a firm, comfortable ride and are reasonably quiet. Worth looking into.
I've had a couple sets of MXV4 energy's and a couple sets of X-ones. MXV4s have an edge in the smooth ride dept but overall I prefer the X-ones which have the edge in wet/snow grip, handling response is about the same (although X-ones are crisper pulling Gs) and definitely better wear.
I recently saw the Dunlop SP sort A2 on a friend's car. Although JEI says they did well in snow and slush, I think his 4WD Sub was the difference. I'm from upstate NY too and the tread looks too tame for me. I wouldn't buy them based on that.
Uniroyals? I was never pleased with their products over the years (make that decades). I have their product now (OEM on a 4WD). Again they are a decent low end tire.
Have dedicated snows for Thanksgiving thru now. (It snowed here yesterday in Massachusetts!)
Anyhow, looking for something in 195/60R14. Prefer a performance oriented tire, preferring good grip and longer life over high speed ratings. These are to replace the 195/55R14 Bridgestones currently on there.
Of course, I am looking for style as well, namely black and round. ;-P
Thanks in advance.
Possible candidates:
Sumitomo
Cooper
recommendations?
Personally, I like Firehawk SH-30 on my 98 Malibu. Performance oriented, and outstanding in rain / on wet pavement. I live in CT, with terrains and climate similar to MA.
It came up with 4. Looks like the Sumitomo wins.
Too bad they don't have Cooper for comparison purposes.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compare1.jsp?startIndex=0&width=195%
2F&ratio=60&diameter=14&search=true&pagelen=20&pag
enum=1&pagemark=1&performance=UHP&performance=HP&performance=GT&performance=C
Dunlop SP Sport A2
Firestone Firehawk SS20
Sumitomo HTR 200
(need to remove spaces from following URL for it to work)
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compare2.jsp? partNumber=&make=&model=&price=&width=&ratio=&diameter=&sortCode=&speedRating=&qty=&stockMessage=&ty pe=T&AddToUser=true&qty_96R4BZWS50_=4&qty_96R4AA_=4&qty_96R4UGICE_=4&qty_96TR4X1XSE2_=4&qty_96HR4RE9 50_=4&qty_96HR4XGT4_=4&qty_96TR4TLS_=4&qty_96HR4TLS_=4&qty_96HR4GA_=4&qty_96HR4376_=4&_96HR4A2_qty=4 &_96TR4FHSS20_qty=4&_96HR4HTR200_qty=4&removeIndex=3&_96TR4T4_qty=4&sortValue=10
(Isn't Sumitomo made by Dunlop, or vice versa?)
Anyhow, since they don't sell Sumitomo around here, I will at least have the price to compare. The Sumitomo come in a lot better on price (what was it, something like $38 versus $55 or so?). Now I will take that and compare to Coopers.
I have friends who've used them and said they were great for the price.
Grand High Poobah
The Fraternal Order of Procrastinators
Steve
Host
SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards
I know its better than it used to be but sometimes WebX feels like a high school h4x0r project.
5t3v3
Host
SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards
original factory and 16". Tires are 205/60/16. Although the front tires are both
Michelin and have 40-50% tread life remaining, the two rear tires are Bridgstone
and need to be replaced shortly.
My question is: I have been told that Dunlap, Bridgstone, Goodyear, and Michelin
all have tires in this size.
Any comments or experiences regarding these tires for this car? Driving will be
15K-20K per year. Mix will be 25% intown and 75% highway (from Kentucky
through the Appalachian Mtns. to the coast.
Should I spring for 4 new tires? Should I go for the best tires right now even if that
means only 2 tires now and 2 tires next summer?
Money is a concern since I also need to replace the timing belt right away (present one has over 100K miles) and evidently the 02 sensors because the "ENG" symbol is lit.
Suggestions will be read, analyzed, and appreciated!
Thanks.
Interview of Sam Michael, Chief Operations Engineer of WilliamsF1 - 22.05.2002
Q: What would be the perfect tire look like in your opinion?
A: BLACK AND ROUND?
Taken from http://www.michelinf1.com/servlet/srt/f1/newscenter?key=27657
Greg
Interestingly, the only Michelin in 205/60-16 is the Energy MXV4 Plus, which is great but expensive.
The Dunlop SP Sport A2 comes in that size and would be a good choice but maybe not the best in snow/ice.
Yokohama and Bridgestone make a few in that size but their rep isn't the best in winter conditions. If you lived further south then they'd be great.
Y'know what I like? Cooper Lifeliner Touring SLE. They always seem to perform well in 4 season driving, reasonably priced, available in your size, 50K treadlife warranty. That's my suggestion for you based on your stated needs.
Hope this helps.
Thanks
Sorry for the long post,
Greg
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/yokohama/yo_avidh4.jsp
High performance, below average snow traction, and they have a 45,000 mile warranty. $60 each in 205/60R16. If your back tires are significantly more worn than the front, use extreme caution in rain or other slippery conditions until you get them replaced. The back tires will have less traction than the front, which can produce oversteer when cornering. That said, I would replace all four tires.
Greg
1. What do you think of the using the alternate size 235/45/17's because there is a better selection from which to choose and more competitive pricing (I know Volvo is strict about only the 225/50/17 and 225/55/16 as options)?
2. Which is a better option (looking at drive quality only and excluding pricing considerations), the 225/55/16's or the 235/45/17's?
3. Considering my preferences and the answers to 1 & 2, what tires would you recommend?
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Those original tires are beginning to look at little war torn and the car is getting inspected in a month (AKA I need to do something fast).
THANKS!!!!!
Yeah, you can go to 235/45-17 but the ride will be worse if anything. 45 series tire means shorter sidewall which means rougher ride. But at least you have a big selection. Oh, and the shorter tire will throw off the speedo a bit.
16" tires will offer a better ride quality as the sidewall get taller (more absorbent). But you will need to switch to 16" wheels too. Lots of "luxury touring" to choose from in 16".
If you were going 235/45-167 and wanted smooth and quiet, I'd recommend Yokohama AVS dB. Here's Tire Rack's comments:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/yokohama/yo_avs_db.jsp
Most replacements are 92 load rated (1389 lbs/tire). Should I stick to 94 load (1477 lbs) ? Van is full with 6-7 adults/kids only 1-2 times/year, otherwise its just 3 people weighing 320 pounds + soccer gear and never used for towing.
Do other Yokohamas wear quickly or is this just "minivan wear" combined with low tread rating? Looking for rain performance with occasional snow all-season tires (so. MD).
Anybody use Bridgestone BT70s or BFG Control T/A M80 or M65 on an MPV ? Any recommendations? Aquatred 3?
yes, I check tire pressure on every tire every weekend (have done this for 30+ years),
yes, I've gotten 100K miles on a set of tires properly inflated and rotated (no, not on a minivan!)
First, the mini van design is know to wear tires prematurely or faster than passenger cars or even suvs. Second, the UTOG rating of 200 will wear twice as fast as one of 400, so just a switch to a 400 UTOG, i.e. in your case will probably double your mileage to 40k. I have Michelin tires on my suvs and have used Michelin tires for in excess of 600-700 k miles. They are one brand I am satified with in terms of longevity. (actually in most operating parameters but I am addressing your longevity issue.)
Re: MPV tires, you may want to read a bunch of posts in the MPV threads over in "Minivans" section of TH. I'm sure its been discussed there. But 19K out of a set of tires is pathetic.
IIRC, one of our hosts has BFG Control T/A's on his minivan and loves 'em. Aquatread 3, Michelin X-One, Yoko Avid Touring, Pirelli P400 Touring, even Toyo Ultra 800 would all be good choices for you.
Steve
Host
SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards
Yokohama didn't win over new customers ("fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice...") with these OE "376" tires; others on the MPV boards have gotten even fewer miles out of them than our 19K. Our driving is 95% on an excellent highway, no stop&go & little braking. Actually, they've never hit a pothole, so I expected slightly better, even though treadwear was only 200. At least they wore out evenly, which says more about the suspension. My wife must be one of the last drivers who observe speed limits and drives this van as gently as her first new car - a '79 Mazda GLC wagon (rwd) and she got 100K miles on those original (Bridgestone) tires.