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I did check the load index vs size, hence my question in that area.
Stock wheel size is 15 X 6 JJ - stock tire size P185/65R15
I can get stock size Nokian WR 185/65R15 with a load rating of 88H - 528 revs/km.
I then looked at a slightly wider tire Nokian WR 205/60R15 with a load rating of 91H - 523 revs/km.
Not much difference in dia. but higher load rating, and maybe better handling. Both have a higher load rating than the OEM tires, Goodyear Integrity 86S.
Our local tire shops no longer like to move up in size a bit. Any reason for this? Would the 205/60R15 WRs be a reasonable change? It appears they will fit re suspension components and fenders. The European cars and the US Touring model come with 16" wheels (16 X 6 JJ) and P195/55R16 86V tires. I wanted a Touring, but it's not sold in Canada.
You have to be really careful where you get data from.
For example: A P185/65R15 has a nominal diameter as set by the standards organization of 24.45" and a Load index of 86. A P195/60R15 has a nominal diameter of 24.21", and a load index of 87. A P205/60R15 is 24.69" and 90.
The point I am trying to make is that actual tire diamensions can vary quite a bit and you have to access the source documents to be able do these comparisons correctly..
You've also gotten tied up in the difference between US based tire standrads and European tire stadnards - which confuses things some more.
I know that's not much help.
I wondered if the "P" would mess things up. All stock tire specs are from the Canadian/US Prius owners manual. They have the "P" in the spec. I'll have to check the tires on the car to see if the "P" is on there too.
The Nokian WR 185/65R15 is 24.4" dia. and the Nokian WR 205/60R15 is 24.7" dia., from their chart on Nokiantires.com, so those match your specs. I wonder if Nokian are just leaving off the "P"?
I understand there are fine details to consider. That's why I'm starting now. I don't plan to change the tires until Fall, when I need to for our 6 month winter.
"......Well, my diameters for the Nokian tires should be ok as I got them from a Nokian tire chart...."
May be I wasn't as clear as I could be. When dealing with theoretical values, you can discuss fine details. But when trying to sort out small details, using data that tire manufacturers publish may contain contradictions that can lead to confusion - and I think is happening here.
The "equivalent" for a P185/65R15 would be a P165/60R15, not a P205/60R15.
The European sizing standards don't call for "P"'s, and Nokian being a European based company more than likely is using the European system.
But for practical purposes, these 2 systems result in interchangeable tires if the same "size" is used.
In other words, it is OK to use a P185/65R15 in place of a 185/65R15 and vice versa (with a few exceptions.)
'21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)
Benefits:
Increased resistance to ozone degradation.
Decreased leakage.
"Hype":
Better wear - This is because you lose less pressure over time, but you can get the same result by adding air when needed.
Better fuel economy - Same logic
If you can get it for free - great.
But if you have to pay for it - probably not worth the price.
pressures shown on the door frame of my cars shorten the life of shock absorbers and suspension. Door frame of Lincoln Towncar says 32 PSI front, 35 PSI rear, am currently running all four at 35 PSI. Cadillac DTS says 30 PSI all four tires. Seems most folks at service facilities set them at 35 PSI and tell me the tires will last longer at 35 PSI than the car manufacturers recommended pressure.
Think it might be more expensive to run the tires at higher pressures and shorten the life of the other components. Any information on this will be appreciated.
However, the benefits of longer tire wear are real and probably outweigh any negative effects there might be. Not to mention that your fuel economy will be better.
So the net effect is that it is cheaper to run tires at higher pressures.
This may sound really dumb, but at what tread depth should tires be replaced? This car, a 95 Accord, is the first I've had for more than 7 months and is the only car which I've had to think about putting tires on.
Also what are good tires for this car? Right now it sits on Goodyear Eagle GT-HRs and it rides pretty nice. Should I just put the same tires on or are there better for about the same price.
I've gone to the websites and just get downright confused. Once again I don't want to sound dumb or anything, just trying to figure it out.
Thanks for any responses.
P.S. Right now they are all sitting about 6/32 as of the last time I had my oil changed.
Also, I am primarily looking for all-season traction, but since we have a decent amount of snow here in winter some good snow traction is also on the want list. Maybe someone could come back with tires they've had either really good luck with, recommend, or really bad luck with, stay away from.
Again thank you for any insights. I've done the penny trick and am wholly incapable of coming to any conclusions from it. The tread goes just up to his hairline,top sliver of the forehead, when he is upside down.
Do you think that I should stick with the goodyear eagles? I was kind of glancing through the discussion a little earlier and people were saying that the eagles are good tires and a basis for comparison. I know nobody can make the decision but me, but ideas and advice is always nice.
Thank you for your time.
However, I am going on 94,000 miles and using the caliper and the el cheap tire gauge I recommended in an above post, I project a min of 100 to 125k out of these (literally third rated) tires. It probably bears mentioning while the wear is almost dead even across the tread, it has not had an alignment in 85,000 miles and indeed the aligment was only checked under the 1 year or 12,000 mile new car warranty period. So in reality, it has not had an alignment in 94,000 miles. I follow the oem recommended 10,000 mile rotation schedule, but differ in that I cross the rears, and the full sized spare has always been in the mix. I also run on a 44 psi max sidewall tire 38/36 psi. All the best to you.
I appreciate all the time people spend answering my petty questions. It really helps a great deal. Trying to get the best price and tire so as not to wind up in a ditch or worse, smashed into a cement divider on the highway. In MN it happens more than I'd like to believe.
Thanks for all your help. Everybody.
three inches long on a rear tire. I took the car in to a Les Schwab tire store (west coast chain) and asked them to to check. Response was looked okay in that there was no bulge in the tire or interior material showing from the gash site. While the response seemed reasonable I am not quite comfortable to just leave it at that. The surface rubber was penetrated, depth of the cut difficult to assess
but not very deep. Was reading a tire brochure recently and it said any sidewall damage needs to have the tire replaced. I have owned this 2005 Lincoln Town Car for about a year and the gash may have been there at the time of purchase or happened recently. Any general evaluation guidelines and advice appreciated.
wholesale that unless I saw white substance from the inner part of the tire I should not be concerned. The car is garaged most of the time and not driven long distances in rainy weather so having the inside of the tire get water logged is possible but not to likely. My Lincoln dealer also sells tires and will have them look at it and give me another opinion and if needed replace the tire. I tend to think as you do that risking life, safety and an accident is not worth the risk. I am suspecting that this gash was on the tire when the car was purchased with 15,000 miles on it, just never noticed before. Other opinions on my question also welcome.
Theory: Sidewalls consist of three basic parts -
Innerliner - a thin layer of rubber on the innermost part the tire that is designed to retain the air pressure. It is made of a different type of rubber - usually a butyl - than the rest of the tire. This part of the tire must not be damaged in any way or the air will leak out - and more importantly - leak into the plies and cause a separation.
Plies - A series of parallel cords that are the main structural element preventing the tire from exanding to the point where the rubber starts to crack from over-extention due to inflation pressure.
Protective rubber - a relatively thick layer of abrasion resistant rubber that protects the structural elements.
So if the cut/gash doesn't reach the plies - so far so good. The plies aren't always white. but they will always look like fabric.
If the cut/gash is circumferential and about 1" above the rim line - even if the plies aren't exposed - this usually means impact damage and usually you can see the damage to the interior surface if you dismount the tire.
The same is true for a circumfertial cut/gash within 1" of the tread surface. This area is sometimes called the buttress.
If the cut/gash is radial in direction, then it is important to see how deep it is, because it is possible for the cut to miss the plies, and still be a problem. The protective rubber is generally a 1/16" to an 1/8" thick.
The only remedy for sidewall damage is to replace the tire. Repairs in the sidewall tend to fail and they tend to fail at high speeds - very dangerous!
decision. There is not very much high speed driving around here in that most roads are 55 MPH speed limit with a few at 60 MPH. I tend to take a cautious approach to these safety issues so if even one of the three e valuators suggests replacing the tire I will probably replace it. Thank you very much for helping me to do the evaluation process. I will do a follow up post when I reach a final decision.
Krzys
a person with over ten years of tires sales and installation. Most convincing was, he stated that he had taken training in tires at a Michelin facility. He referred to the damage as a scratch and said that the tire would give full life if I did no further damage to the same three inch surface affected. He also said that the damage did not look like a knife cut, which of course made me feel better
in that I live in a small town and don't want to think that I need to be concerned about leaving my car parked during the day while I do errands. I am a great believer of the unsinkable Titanic theory that almost anything is possible and even after these three evaluations that there is perhaps a small chance of a failure. I will watch it for any further detioration.
First, it became "jumpy" at highway speed. There is an impression that wheels lose contact with the pavement for split seconds.
Second, and more important, it does not want to turn. On winding roads where I drive every day after replacing tires the car wants to leave a lane, either to shoulder / barrier, or into cars on the other lane. I have to turn the steering wheel substantially more than usually did on the same roads. I feel it at speed higher than 40 mph. At 75 mph. I have to lean and turn my upper body for remain on highway. Just dangerous.
The new tires are Bridgestone Potenza G009, performance tires that have very good reputation. Previous tires were Potenza 950.
My wife and I drive cars of the same make and model, Buick Regal GS. Her car still has original Goodyear Eagle LS tires, in marginal condition. We switched the cars to compare. I feel that her old tires still drive much better than my new ones. And she also confirms my impressions: said that almost hit a car on next lane today on a road turn. And the car jumps unusually on highway.
Is it possible that a technician installed the new tires wrong, or messed up with alignment?
1) Check the tire size and make sure they are the same - both within the vehicle and between vehicles - and that they are the same as what came off.
2) Check the tire pressures. Most of what you described can be cuased by inflation pressures that are way too high. BTW the proper tire pressure is listed on your vehicle placard, provided you are using the same tire size listed there.
3) If that doesn't change anything, try swapping tires around. First try swapping the front tires - side to side. Any changes? Then the rears. Then one side - front to back. Then the other side. All this should start to form a picture if there is a single tire that is causing all this.
Try that and report back with the results.
I would never think about wrong size. However, the size turned to be right, 225/60-16, the same as with original tires and with my previous tires. The tire pressure recommended by the manufacturer is 30 psi, but I usually inflate my tires a notch more, to 32 psi. Did with old tires and did it the first thing after the new tires were installed (Firestone inflated them all different, between 30 psi and 33 psi on different corners). Re-checked today: after a short 3 mile drive it reads 33 psi in all tires.
Cannot swap wheels side to side because the G009 are directional. I am going to ask Firestone to check again the installation and especially the alignment.
Otherwise the tires are rather nice: feel very soft, driving smooth on all the cracking and potholed local road, and are very good in rain / on wet pavements. Only two problems: imprecise when following road curves (need more steering than usual) and jumps on every small pavement imperfection. The steering problem starts at 45-50 mph, and is much more pronounced at highway speed. Bouncing is mostly on highways.
The both problems are important to me. My daily drive is 48 miles each way, mostly on highway, but also on a winding local road where people drive at 45-50 mph. For those who knows the places: CT route 15 between exits 60 and 34, and Washington boulevard in Stamford.
According to invoice, alignment was checked. I bought a lifetime alignment with my previous tires at Firestone, and they are checking it with every tire rotation. Firestone even provides a computer printout of the alignment each time. They caught a misalignment once and fixed it.
However, Firestone failed to provide the printout when installed the new tires. Strange...
I did not notice any changes in a steering wheel position. Also, the car needs more steering input to the both sides, right and left, when following road curves.
A wild idea is a change in steering assist settings. One of three settings can be set by dealers. But I would start from re-checking alignment.
Yes, it looks as the problem was with alignment. A Firestone technician either forgot to check/adjust the alignment when installed the tires, or did it wrong.
Weekends a busy days at Firestone. It is somewhat hard to find a place on their parking, and technicians works on cars in all 9 bays. There were three service advisers and the shop manager at counter when I brought the car to them today. I just started to explain the symptoms searching for the right wording (English is my third language), when all four of them answered in chorus: "Alignment!"
According to the computer printout of alignment made today, two parameters were out of spec: Front Right Toe was 0.22 (the normal range is 0.15 to -0.05 degrees) and Front Steer Ahead was -0.08 (the norm is -0.05 to 0.05 degrees). Adjusted to 0.01 and 0.04 respectively. Also, Front Total Toe was adjusted from 0.27 (marginal) to 0.11 (a middle of the normal range).
I will see next week, during my long commute, if it fixed all problems. After a quick spin on highway my impression is positive already: now driving the car does not feel odd.
Overall, I'd pick the Bridgestone Potenza G 009. A friend of mine has them on her Jetta GLI, and short of snow tires, she claims to get excellent traction in snow, as well as great dry and wet traction. She's got close to 35K miles on them, and they still look as good as new, with a lot of usable tread left (not just legal, but actually usable, which is a big difference in my book).
Good luck with whatever your brother decides.
They still have a decent amount of tread on them. I am planning to replace them soon, but otherwise they are good tires for me. I'm not easy on tires either. I tend to take corners a little on the fast side and drive at or above 80 a fair percentage of the time. In light snow they are pretty good, but like any other tire when there is a lot of snow on the ground all bets are off.
Hope this helps. Just thought I'd share my experience.
As for the LS tires which my mom has. I couldn't really say. It seems like the traction control on my mom's car goes off relatively easily even on dry pavement when there is only the smallest amount of grit. I don't know if the car is just touchy or the tires aren't gripping like they should. Well I don't want to have this go on too long. Hopefully this will help.