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Tires

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  • hengheng Member Posts: 411
    Goodyear LSs only went 23,000 miles on my Gran Prix. So why not use them up and then replace them with something better?

    Yes they had numb steering response and feel, but they should do for a while.
  • bblahabblaha Member Posts: 329
    Why not make the dealer swap out the OEM tires for ones of your choice as part of the deal in the first place?
  • yurakmyurakm Member Posts: 1,345
    carnut30 :::: I do not know what is the dual-tread tire scam. Only 4.5 years ago moved to USA.

    heng :::: Thank you!

    This morning, after posting my question here, I saked it my auto mechanic (at local Firestone). He told me basically the same: the Eagle LS tires are not great, but decent, and it is better to change them after 25-30k miles.
  • yurakmyurakm Member Posts: 1,345
    Thank you! Never thought about the idea. And never thought the Buick dealers are the tire business...
  • retractretract Member Posts: 13
    It is called the Cross Terrain SUV. It is set to be launched on Octover 16th. Claims car-like handling and responsiveness, enhanced traction, and wet braking with a smoother, quiter ride.

    Anyone have any information on this new tire? I sure would like something goodlooking for my 2K Burb to replace the Deathstones.

    You can see at this tease page:
    http://www.michelin.com/us/eng/tire/auto/suv/index.html
  • stremainstremain Member Posts: 1
    I'm replacing my Michelin Rainforce MX4's (195/70-R14) on a 1995 Camry LE 4-cyl. Luckily, these tires were on the car when I bought it almost 60k miles ago. I've been more than satisfied except for occasional slippage on snow and ice. I commute 100 miles a day (interstate) so tread life is important as well as wet and snow traction. I've lurked on this list for a while and have learned alot, but still have a couple of questions:

    1. I've haven't seen much discussion about the Rainforce MX4's on this list. What is the tireguy's and other's opinion about how these compare to the X-one and other Michelin all-season tires.

    2. I've had difficulty finding the MX4's and X-one's in stock at the local Sear's and Tires Plus (even at tirerack.com). Sear's recommends the Michelin Weatherwise Sport. Are these a clone of the Rainforce? The difference in price per tire is almost $20!

    Thanks for your reply
  • ejyejy Member Posts: 62
    How do I determine if I can go with a wider tire on my '99 Solara (on stock 16x6 alloy wheels)? It has Bridgestone 205/60 HR16's on it now and I would like to go with the 225/55 HR16 Michelin Pilot XGT H4's given that they are just slightly smaller in diameter and less than an inch wider. I live in eastern NY so snow/wet traction is a must, but I want high performance as well. The Bridgestones worked well for the last two years, but now it is time for a real tire. My main concern is clearance with the wider tire. Thanks in advance for any input.
  • amoraamora Member Posts: 204
    My newly purchased C2500 long bed came with General LT245-75R16 tires. They had 35 psi air
    in them. Label on driver door says 50 psi in front, 80 psi in rear. Tires say 80 psi cold
    air max. I inflated tires to mfr ratings on
    label, and my truck runs extremely firm (hard,
    bumpy...} Any thoughts on this? I want to get as
    much life out of tires as possible. They are
    the new low rolling resistance tires.

    thanks for any input.

    Regards

    Andy
  • hengheng Member Posts: 411
    The only tire that might have a chance is the Michelin X-one. It has a 620 tread wear rating. There are touring tires that probably are quieter, like the MXV4 and Pirelli or Bridgestone super touring tires but don't have as high a tread wear rating.

    If price is not an issue, why is tread wear your 2nd priority? You can have 2 sets of tires that meet all your other criteria and do 40K miles each. Or 3 sets that do 30K each.
  • poolboy1poolboy1 Member Posts: 2
    Bretfraz:
    Thanks for your response. I agree with you. I was just posting as I have had second thoughts mainly due to the Bridgestone/Firestone situation. I have always held Bridgestone in high regard.
    I think I'll order the Dueller HL from tirerack.
    I appreciate your opinion.
  • curiousgeorge8curiousgeorge8 Member Posts: 10
    Heng, you can count on Toyo for more than 80,000 miles. The Toyo 800 Ultra has a 100,000 mile warranty. I presently have these on my '90 Accord, and they are great. Sadly they don't come in a size that would fit the Acura TL. I suppose I'll have to live with a lower tread wear rating, and just buy the next set sooner. Price is not the issue here, its the inconvenience of having to go get them done, that's all. I do over 35,000 miles miles per year, so I'd drive a set of Energy MXV4's into the ground every year.

    I've heard that a lower profile tire will generally have a lower tread wear rating. Technically speaking, why is that?
  • frag235frag235 Member Posts: 81
    Low profile tire:less rubber available + softer tread = usually lower tread rating....btw, are your Toyo's good in rain, quiet, decent handling?
  • ejyejy Member Posts: 62
    Well, after much discussion with Michelin, Toyota, a local tire company, and tirerack, I decided to put Pilot XGT H4 215/60HR16 tires on it. The Michelin book says 205/60 to 215/65 will fit the car fine and the 215/60 is the closer to original size of the 2 choices.

    The 215/60 is .4" wider and .5" taller than OEM.
    The 215/65 is .4" wider and 1.3" taller than OEM.
    The 225/55 is .8" wider and .06" shorter than OEM.

    Also, it was determined that it may be necessary to do some body mods to fit the 225/55's and I don't want to take that chance. The 16x6 wheel size also concerned the local dealer, because that tire would push its limits just a little to far...
  • curiousgeorge8curiousgeorge8 Member Posts: 10
    The Toyo 800 Ultra Premium All-Season Touring Radials are great in rain, and are quiet. I live in South Florida where the downpours can be extreme, and I'm always passing people on the Turnpike, and never hydro-plaining. I also drive up to Canada once a year, and they are pretty descent in snow also, but their not a pure snow tire so of course Blizzaks are much better :-). Dry handling is average to slightly above average, but they aren't performance tires, so don't expect them to stick with *extreme* cornering. I've never made them squeal, and I take the on-ramps pretty quickly, but that might reflect my driving habits also, so its all relative. The noise level is very quiet, and that's probably where the majority of my satisfaction comes from. I've had them for 20,000 miles now, purchased in 02/00. Only 80,000 left before I need new ones. I highly recommend these tires if you do a lot of mileage, and you need a quiet rain and all-season tire. Just my 2 cents.
  • hengheng Member Posts: 411
    35k miles per year! I understand why you want a smooth/quiet tire and tread wear to boot.

    Those Toyo's sound interesting, I'll check them out.
  • silvercoupesilvercoupe Member Posts: 326
    You can get the Michelin X-One in 215/60x16. Would this size maybe work on your car? It would probably be smoother riding than a lower profile tire. Just a thought.

    I will be putting X-One's on my Honda Accord soon and plan on going up one size (from 195/65x15 to 205/65x15).
  • mrh3108mrh3108 Member Posts: 41
    I got 73K out of my last set of Dunlop D65's. I would have exceeded 80 but one tire started to have tread separation. If it had done it 3K earlier Dunlop would have sent me a brand new tire for free. I was able to put a second set on the car for $360 out the door.
  • silvercoupesilvercoupe Member Posts: 326
    I'd go with the taller high mileage tire if I were you. Especially since you log 35K miles per year. I don't think that the 1/2 inch height difference will be noticeable on you speedometer.
  • carnut30carnut30 Member Posts: 51
    For 15-20 years Bridgestone made passenger car tires (as did Goodyear) with outer tread having good wet traction (to claim traction A) and inner tread having long wear (to permit a long treadwear warranty). Result? Tires lost half their wet traction when 1/3 worn, causing thousands of collisions on wet pavement.
    Now I see that the Turanza, at least, in T, H and V, have been redesigned with the long-wearing tread on the outside and the good wet-traction tread on the inside, where it will compensate for low tread depth when the tire is well-worn. This is actually a great idea.
    However, the seriousness of the dual-tread scam as practiced for so long will not suddenly be forgotten by me, so I will be avoiding Bridgestones anyway.
  • yurakmyurakm Member Posts: 1,345
    Thank you for the information.

    I do not understand, though, the meaning of "inner" and "outer" in the context. Is the tread "outer" in the radial direction, i.e. on the surface, or in lateral, i.e. on the tire "shoulder"?


    I have Firestone Affinity tires on my 98 Chevy Malibu. The working surface consist of 5 "rings" or "bands", separated by the "circumferential flow-through tread grooves". See picture:

    http://www.bridgestone-usa.com/products/FsaffiLH.htm

    The tires are rated for 80k mile. But with 36k miles on odometer, the central ring and both shoulders are already asking for replacement. Worn out almost to the wear bars. Though, the two other rings are as good as new.

    The shoulders have two sets of groves: three thin and shallow ones between every pair of wide and deep. The deep groves are still OK, but the shallow ones are practically disappear. After this the tires started to squeal even on slow turns, 15mph or so.

    My auto mechanic (at the local Firestone service) examined the tires and recommend not to replace them yet. He think they are still OK. Most probably he is right: this is his speciality, and even against his direct interest (I would buy the new tires from him).

    But the tires are definitely worse than used to be. Do not like my wife to drive with the tires through the wet winter, or snow.

    I used to inflate the tires to the GM specs, 29psi front, 26psi rear. Recently added 3psi (32/29psi), on recommendation by the mechanic, to decrease the squealing. It helped, but the cornering traction still is worse than used to be.
  • carnut30carnut30 Member Posts: 51
    This is a very good question, and I hope this clarifies it. Again, what I have been calling "outer tread" is the visible surface, not the lateral outside edge.
    Your description of your Firestone Affinity tires indicates two things:
    First, they were underinflated. (Never underestimate the "cleverness" of a company such as General Motors in trying to give its customers a good ride, meaning soft ride.)
    Second, the development of squealing on turns indicates ply separation or a change in tread compound with partial wear, or both; so the tires are now unsafe.
    Since it is so difficult to obtain evidence on the performance of worn tires, I can only echo the posts of many others on this site — stick with Michelin and Yokohama, and maybe Pirelli for lower initial cost. To my knowledge these companies have never perpetrated the dual-tread-compound scam, and none of their tires suffer internal ply separation.
  • carnut30carnut30 Member Posts: 51
    I had no trouble at all finding 225/55 R16 94V in the list of Yokohama Avid V4 tires. Based on my experience with older Avid H4, the V4 should be an excellent tire.
  • erikf2erikf2 Member Posts: 100
    I asked this question over in the "Aftermarket&Accessories" section a week ago and received no response, so now I'll try here.

    It's time to replace the OE Michelin MXV4s on my '97 Volvo 850 sedan. Tirerack.com rates the Pirelli P6000 Sport Veloce higher than the MXV4 (I'm not sure if they're comparing to the older
    MXV4 or the newer MXV4 Plus), but they don't say a lot about how either tire handles in wet conditions. Their user survey says the Pirellis are better there also, but it also looks to me like the user survey has WAY more "Michelin-miles" than "Pirelli-miles", so the sample-size isn't apples-to-apples.

    Since I live in the Seattle area, I'm looking for tires that will work on wet roads (I'm not talking about Texas-gully-washer wet, just three-straight-days-of-constant-rain wet) as well as providing good "sport-touring" handling on dry roads.

    Any comments would be appreciated.
  • yurakmyurakm Member Posts: 1,345
    Thank you so much for your help!

    I think, though, that the tire shoulders wore up not due to underinflation but because of my driving style. Underinflation cannot explain the substantial wear in the very central "ring" of the tires. And my other car, the 98 Ford Taurus Wagon, also had ate up a bit prematurely the shoulders of its tires, the Yuokogama brand.

    I am usually entering turns at higher speed. 5 to 10 mph higher than most people around. Without any good reason - just do not like braking, love speed and enjoy the centrifugal force. Additionally, I am adding gas after passing 1/2 to 2/3 of the turn.

    The next time I probably would buy performance tires, not the touring ones.
  • yurakmyurakm Member Posts: 1,345
    The Tirerack user survey gives even better rates to the Firestone Firehawk SH30. And the rates are especially good concerning the wet traction and hydroplaning.

    But the Firehawk SH30 tires are performance, not touring. Probably would have a shorter life. Firestone gives them 50k warranty, but who knows how much they will deteriorate before full balding.
  • carnut30carnut30 Member Posts: 51
    ...from various tire mfgrs. by calling them all, only Michelin and Yokohama were willing to supply test data from an independent laboratory. Assuming your Volvo 850 calls for at least H speed rating, the Yokohama Avid H4 is almost as good as a dedicated rain tire, and will continue to stick to damp pavement right down to the wear bars. Sharper response and probably harder ride may be had from the Avid V4. Equally sharp response with a pretty good ride may be obtained from the Yokohama AVS dB, also V-rated (or higher).
    I am also pretty sure that Michelin would have a competitive tire, but cannot be sure that it is the XGT type mentioned so many times on this site.
  • acabthomasacabthomas Member Posts: 5
    I finally had my explodable Firestone ATX tires on my Ford Explorer replaced and the Ford dealer replaced them with General Ameri*Way tires. Given the name, I half-expected to get a set of Ginsu knives with these tires. Should I demand better tires from the dealer or are they a fair swap for the Firestones?
  • silvercoupesilvercoupe Member Posts: 326
    If I were you I would insist on Bridgestones, Michelins or Yokohamas.
  • joe166joe166 Member Posts: 401
    Now, come on. Given the shortages in that particular size tire, this is not really reasonable. You should have thought of that before you accepted the General tires. It is one thing to request a particular brand or to hold out for Michelins or some other premium brand (and continue to drive on what appear to be "dangerous" tires) when you are seeking to have defective tires removed from your car due to a recall, but it is kind of unrealistic to expect that, having put one brand on you could come back and ask that they be removed (after having been used) and replaced with your choice of tire. What right does anyone have to get a particular tire brand? I think their duty ends when they have replaced your tire with a comparable tire which has no defects. On the other hand, why don't you hold out for asymetrical Pirelli P Zero tires in an SUV size. I don't think they make them, but I expect if the dealer paid enough they might tool up and make some for, say $10,000 a set or so. Hell, if you are going to be unreasonable, go for it.
  • silvercoupesilvercoupe Member Posts: 326
    I was in Sams today and they had stacks of B. F. Goodrich and Michelin tires in the proper size for Explorers. What will it hurt if acabthomas wants to ask for a different tire? All that they can say is no!!!
  • acabthomasacabthomas Member Posts: 5
    I think you're the one being unreasonable here Joe. All I asked was whether or not I got, as you put it, comparable tires. I had never heard of General Ameri*Way tires and, frankly, the name is cheesey enough to raise my suspitions that I had been given inferior tires. Given the tactics used by most cardealers that I've dealt with, I would not put it past them to give me inferior tires.
    As for "accepting" the Generals, I was not given a choice at any time re: the make of the replacements. I assumed that I would get fair replacement tires, and that's what I'm trying to figure out now. Perhaps we don't have a right to a particular brand tire, but we certainly have a right to a comparable brand tire.
    Now, does anyone without an attitude have thoughts re: Ameri*way tires vs Firestones?
    Thanks.
  • joe166joe166 Member Posts: 401
    If the narrow question is whether General tires are comparable to Firestones, that is hard to answer. Firestones reputation is so sullied now that almost anything is better, but I think (based on many years of comparing, but absolutely no scientific or test data), that they are certainly comparable. There are certainly several tire manufacturers whose reputations are far better than both Firestone and General Tire. General's heyday was when they made the dual 90 tire, which was a premium tire many years ago. Now, they seem to mostly make oem tires which is pretty much what Firestone has been reduced to also.

    I wasn't really responding to your post, though, but to the suggestion that you should go back to the dealer and tell him that you wanted Michelins or some other brand than the General. There was considerable leeway in replacing Firestones, and that was widely publicized in recent weeks. I remember reading that they would reimburse you for almost any tire that you chose to replace your Firestones with. But once you go to the dealer, tell them to replace the tires without making any specific brand request and have them on your car and have used them, I think that it IS unreasonable to expect the dealer to take them back and then have on his shelves "used" tires.
  • queenbee1queenbee1 Member Posts: 5
    I agree with joe166.When you went in to get your tires replaced, that should have been the time you raised a red flag and said something to the effect of "you're not putting those on my Explorer!!". See that way you might have some say as to what tire would be acceptable.When you take the "cheesy" tire replacements and drive on them,you no longer have any say because you have used the tires.If there is nothing wrong with the tire except the name then you don't really have a leg to stand on.
  • acabthomasacabthomas Member Posts: 5
    I'll stick with the Generals, just wanted to be sure I wasn't being cheated.
  • paul1741paul1741 Member Posts: 10
    Joe166 was rtight on the money! Acabthomas - you obviously have a computer and internet access so there is no excuse for you not researching yourr tire options before going tro your dealer. Generals are fine replacements for the Firestones, but if you wanted something else you would have had more choices at a Firestone dealer or any TIRE shop, not your Ford dealer. Your Ford dealer is not in the tire business. Firestone reemburses you 100 per tire when you trade out your existing recalled tires at an unafiliated store and then bring the old tires to a Firestone dealer. You get your money within a month.

    Expecting your car dealer to offer multiple choices is unreasonable. Thinking they should replace the replacement tires (even for a second) is totally absurd.
  • bblahabblaha Member Posts: 329
    You'll lose about 1/2 inch ground clearance. Your speedometer will read about 3.5% fast. IE when it reads 55 mph, you'd only be doing 53 mpg (assuming its otherwise perfectly accurate)
  • carnut30carnut30 Member Posts: 51
    ..is available in your Maxima's size. See the Michelin.com site.
  • bnormannbnormann Member Posts: 335
    Bretfraz,

    Thanks for keeping it honest....{B^)

    Your host, Bruce.
  • masonmimasonmi Member Posts: 148
    Has anyone heard good or bad anything about the Kelly Tire called Safari SUV ?
  • tomkktomkk Member Posts: 4
    I have a 98 Caravan Sport with P215/65R16 tires. I
    seem to be having a bit of trouble finding that
    size and a tire store told me that P225/60R16 is
    an
    acceptable substitute. I have no experience with
    tire size replacement. Is he right?

    Thanks
  • bobs5bobs5 Member Posts: 557
    p215/65r16 = 27" diameter
    p225/60r16 = 26.63" diameter

    Close enough.
    Speedometer may be ever so slightly off. (the actual speed will be slightly less than than the displayed speed)
    drive and enjoy.
  • bblahabblaha Member Posts: 329
    The Michelin X-One is available in 215/65R16.
  • charlewcharlew Member Posts: 6
    I just purchased a 2000 Max and it is equipped with Toyo Proxes...I am not familiar with this make of tire. Are they any good? Would it be a good idea to switch to the X-ones that are getting such rave reviews?.... Baffled in Pgh.
  • cil4kidscil4kids Member Posts: 5
    Hi, I am considering buying the above and was wondering if anyone out there has one that they drive in snow and ice(I live in Illinois)? I am told that snow tires would be a great boon to this vehicle let know. I guess for Pirelli snow tires price would be around $180 a piece. Any advice would be appreciated.
  • vernlewvernlew Member Posts: 87
    Agree with Bret,
    I have had Toyo Proxes on previous BMW's and they were very good tires....although I am a fairly conservative driver....if you are more on the aggressive side....would go with the Michelin's as recommended....have the XGTH4s on my wife's car and they are great...otherwise, would jus wear out the Toyos.
    Vern
  • stobarstobar Member Posts: 110
    Hi all. I left this post in another topic section but haven't received much of a response, so I'd like to post here and get opinions from anyone who reads this:

    I have a '97 Chevy Silverado pick-up equipped with Uniroyal Tiger Paw AWP, P235-75-R15.
    I have had the truck a little over 3 years now with just over 36K miles on it. Tires are riding good and tread still looks good. I figure they will be do for replacement next year. My thought is to go ahead and buy three more of the same type and use the full size spare for the 4th tire. In light of all the information that has been provided in the media lately on tires due to the Firestone incident, I read somewhere that a normal tire will start to break down after three years. I also know from past experience (my father) that when he went to replace a tire that was seven years old on a car he barely drove, the tire nearly fell apart when the mechanic took it off the rim due to dry rot. Can anyone provide an opinion on using a brand new four year old spare for the 4th tire, or has anyone out there done it and what were your results? Thanks for any and all opinions!
    Barry
  • carnut30carnut30 Member Posts: 51
    ...those Toyo Proxes tires and let us know how they do. Toyo is a real company. I have no idea whether they practice the dual-tread compound scam of Goodyear, Dunlop, and (in the past) Bridgestone. Will your Proxes lose their wet traction when 1/3 worn?
    I have no idea whether they will go squishy, which indicates internal ply separation, so common to Goodyear and Dunlop (and others). So keep us posted.
  • michaelsolomonmichaelsolomon Member Posts: 7
    Buy a used cheap suv,like a blazer or jeep,say 1990-1993.We bought an Olds Bravada 1991 for $3500.It runs good and goes thru snow like crazy!
  • carnut30carnut30 Member Posts: 51
    What does #621 have to do weith tires?
  • bblahabblaha Member Posts: 329
    There probably isn't any doubt that over time, the tire will deteriorate. But after only 3? That seems a little short. Maybe it has to do with the definition of "starts to deteriorate". Surely it must be related to whatever environment the tire is subjected to.

    If it of real importance to you to save a little money I would have whichever tire place you have change the other 3 tires inspect the spare carefully; if they say its ok it probably is.

    Personally, I wouldn't be bothering with that idea. I'd be selecting whatever set (of 4) best fits my needs within my budget.
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