Tires

[Quadman2]

Well let's put some things into perspective, then you can make your own choice down the road.

At 70 mph (106 ft per sec), those four rather small points of contact that your tire is touching the hard top are actually pretty important! When I see your reference to "Cheapos", it kind makes me wonder how much you value your life, your passengers lives and the people in the oncoming traffic.

Personally, I'd do a fair bit of legwork, assessing the different brands by reading up on the unbiased sites out there that try to share the different tires perform in terms of stopping on different road surfaces, the reliability, longevity, speed ability and characteristics of each brand.

Also, take into consideration the region/climate wherein you make use of these tires, as some do a better job than others at certain tasks.

I'd also take the time to de-code the info on the tires in order to know just how old the tires really are, as some out there are selling tires that really aren't new.

It's great to take others opinions on what they have, but your selection of tires should be based on your knowledge base.

Q

 

[Djcoolray]

I’ve found that Bridgestone Duelers from light pickups on light SUV’s tend to last much longer due to stiffer sidewalls......got a set on my ML320 for the last ten years. If the tires you put on a car are for a heavier application like putting tires for a van on a car you will have those tires for quite a long time. If you put cheap tires that belong on an A-body car and you put them on a B-body car they will overheat, wear out quickly or separate. Off road SUV tires on a car will provide superior traction in all kinds of weather and won’t hydroplane during a torrential down pour and outlast any car tire.

Because think about it, if you put a cheap set of tires on a car every three years....you are spending a third more than you would using a heavily constructed tire due to reduced tread squirm.

 

[gadget73]

reading up on the unbiased sites

Places that do actual testing can be useful. Reading the reviews at TireRack are just not. You'll get everything from "5 stars, they hold air!" to "0 stars, I tried a track day in my minivan and I couldn't keep up with my buddy's Porsche", or complaints about how summer-only or 3 season tires get stuck in 6" of snow, or car tires on a heavily loaded 1/2 ton pickup truck don't hold up.

 

[electronjohn]

When I was buying new, I usually bought the 2nd cheapest regardless of brand. Seemed to work well for me. The pickup needed immediate replacements after I bought it, and, being cheap, I asked my neighbor with the salvage yard to keep an eye out for 2 pair of good 245/65-16s...since 2 pair is cheaper than a set of four Ended up with a nice pair of Firestones for the front, and brand-new Wranglers (spares off of wrecks) for the rear. Happy. My wife's Jetta is wearing Continental ContiSports and when the time comes they'll be replaced with identical Continentals. BTW: She has had no complaints about their performance during a Minnesota winter.

 

[Jailtime]

Truck tires - BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2. Great off road performance, good treadwear, great looks, and quiet on the highway. I liked the Cooper Discoverer AT3 on my 2012 Sierra, weren't as good off road as the KO2s though. Both are heavy and will knock fuel economy down some compared to a highway tire.

 

[Mark B]

Running Michelin Defenders on my medium size SUV. They handle well in snow, rain & dry, are quiet and the wear life is excellent.

 

[2011etec]

When i had my f150 i had 10 ply motomaster at3 lt tires (made by cooper).Excellent tough tire that i found were good in mud and snow though slightly noisy on the highway compared to less aggressive tread patterns.Now with my new 2013 awd ford edge i have mich greenx for the 3 seasons and bridgestone winters and rims which grip like crazy.When the green x,s get worn im not sure what to buy but since i run off road and tow the same maybe at3,s in a 6 ply would be good.The edge only has 26,000 miles on her and ive only had it since August but i have to admit i really like her .

 

[gadget73]

I do sort-of wish whitewalls existed in stuff that wasn't either extremely terrible, extremely expensive, or both. White stripes would look proper on my Continental with it's wire wheels, but the only things I could find in that size were both crappy and expensive, so it got boring blackwalls.

 

[beat_truck]

Another very satisfied (past) user of General tires. I had General Grabber AT2s on my old Ranger. They wore like iron, and went excellent in the snow and off road, even when in 2wd. I also had a set of General Altimax Arctics on my little beater car and they went like hell and wore decent for dedicated snow tires.

I also had a set of Hankook and Continental snow tires on the little beater car. They were good but not quite as good as the Generals.

For summer, I had a set of low end Falken tires (forget the exact model) on the above beater car. They didn't wear for crap, and the wet traction was never great and got worse as they wore.

I have Mastercraft AS IV white walls on my '83 Dodge 1/2 ton 2wd. They perform OK overall for cheap all seasons on a pickup.

I had a set of no-name Milestar MS932 tires on my old Saturn. I didn't have the car very long, but they seemed to wear like iron and went very well in the wet. I liked them enough that I just put a set on my Grand Caravan. They weren't great in the snow but that's OK because I run dedicated winter tires.

My current snow tires for the Caravan are some no-name Vitour Polar Bears that I picked up cheap on Amazon. They look almost like a copy of the General Altimax Arctics. We had a mild winter and I didn't put a whole lot of miles on them, but they are doing well so far.

One of the worst wearing tires I ever had was the cheap Goodyear Wranglers that only come in a 235 75 15. I had them on an old S10 Blazer, and when it spun a bearing (crappy 2.8) and went to the bone yard, they only had about 8k on them. They were already down to half tread.

 

[dly66]

Have a '98 Ranger 2WD with 14" tires. Liked the Indy 500s, put a set on back in 2013, but like so many makers they dropped those sizes so selection rather limited now. Shifted to the Hankook Optimo H724 in the 215/75/14 much cheaper than the original 225/70/14, were as low as $35 for the tire before installation a few years ago. Closer to $60 now. Last as long as any other tire historically has on that truck (25-30k) and with some cap blocks in the back it has been surprising how good they do in the snow. My dad before he died in 2008 liked the General Tiger Paw GTS tires for it, but that was another tire that disappeared.

Its a white truck so I have always had them install the Hankook's whitewall side to the outside.

 

[Grenadeslio]

I do sort-of wish whitewalls existed in stuff that wasn't either extremely terrible, extremely expensive, or both. White stripes would look proper on my Continental with it's wire wheels, but the only things I could find in that size were both crappy and expensive, so it got boring blackwalls.

White walls can be added to the tires, it's done on motorcycles all the time.

 

[spicer]

I buy the biggest Michelin passenger car tire that will fit under the wheel well, or not hit the lower part of the strut, for my cars. Being over rated, two sizes larger than stock size, they provide excellent mileage and great forgiving/predictable handling in any weather as well as increased road clearance and they balance well and are quiet. I probably could do a bit better in one or another aspect shopping/trying different brands but am satisfied with the Michelins, confident of their basic quality. Their load carrying rating is significantly above the stock size and I air them to 35psi as indicated on the tire. There is a bit of speedo error and it does not affect engine/trans management, as least as far as I can tell.

 

[Grenadeslio]

Another very satisfied (past) user of General tires. I had General Grabber AT2s on my old Ranger. They wore like iron, and went excellent in the snow and off road, even when in 2wd. I also had a set of General Altimax Arctics on my little beater car and they went like hell and wore decent for dedicated snow tires.

I also had a set of Hankook and Continental snow tires on the little beater car. They were good but not quite as good as the Generals.

For summer, I had a set of low end Falken tires (forget the exact model) on the above beater car. They didn't wear for crap, and the wet traction was never great and got worse as they wore.

I have Mastercraft AS IV white walls on my '83 Dodge 1/2 ton 2wd. They perform OK overall for cheap all seasons on a pickup.

I had a set of no-name Milestar MS932 tires on my old Saturn. I didn't have the car very long, but they seemed to wear like iron and went very well in the wet. I liked them enough that I just put a set on my Grand Caravan. They weren't great in the snow but that's OK because I run dedicated winter tires.

My current snow tires for the Caravan are some no-name Vitour Polar Bears that I picked up cheap on Amazon. They look almost like a copy of the General Altimax Arctics. We had a mild winter and I didn't put a whole lot of miles on them, but they are doing well so far.

One of the worst wearing tires I ever had was the cheap Goodyear Wranglers that only come in a 235 75 15. I had them on an old S10 Blazer, and when it spun a bearing (crappy 2.8) and went to the bone yard, they only had about 8k on them. They were already down to half tread.

As I stated earlier, one of the only off road tires thst come with a mileage warranty. Living in the mountains in Ca really wears tires fast, braking down the mountain and all the tight mountain rds.

Purchased a set at Wally World for the wife's Ranger so she could make it up our 300' dirt drive without a 30mph running start. They wore in less than 1/3 the guaranteed mileage, went back for another set, prorated 2/3 of my purchase, I like that lol.

Now on my Jeep not in the mountains watching the tire wear and adjusting the inflation as needed, and timely rotation I've gotten well over the 50,000 mile warranty.

 

[gadget73]

White walls can be added to the tires, it's done on motorcycles all the time.

Sounds like work, and then I also considered how much I hate cleaning whitewalls. They look terrible unless they are really clean. The wheels aren't that nice and the paint is toast on the car, so it honestly doesn't get much detailing effort.

 

[Grenadeslio]

Sounds like work, and then I also considered how much I hate cleaning whitewalls. They look terrible unless they are really clean. The wheels aren't that nice and the paint is toast on the car, so it honestly doesn't get much detailing effort.

Not a lot of work, comes in an easy kit form.

 

[sKiZo]

Yokahama Avids ...

Expensive and they wear relatively fast, but it's all about traction. Also the only tire I've found that would balance smooth on my ultra sensitive suspension, eh. Road Force balancing of course, at around $30 a tire, if you can find someone who has the right equipment to do it ...

 

[rickb119]

Michelin in the summer and whatever brand of studded snow, that's in stock, for winter. The handling with the snows is a little "looser", and I drop about 3-4 MPG, but they've saved my butt more than once traveling through the mountains, in blizzard conditions. (Weather forecasts aren't always accurate.)

 

[REMINGTON700]

Just put a set of Coopers on my 2015 Ram. So far so good at half the price of a similar tire from Firestone.

I also generally like the Cooper tires I put on light trucks in the past, and would not hesitate to use them again. At least in the Southwest.

 

[richamor]

Michelin LTX on the Silverado. Came on it when bought and will get replaced with the same when it's time. I've bought them before and they wear well, ride nice, and generally do everything I expect a truck tire to do and done it very well.

Bridgestone Potenza's on the Miata. First used these on a 2006 Dodge Neon R/T. Will buy again when needed. Grip, ride, mileage all what I expect from a tire on a sports car driven like one.

Continentals on the MB C230. First set of those replacing multiple sets of Yokohamas. The Yokos always did everything perfectly except mileage. I was getting around 15 to 20,000 miles on a 45000 mile tire. The Contis are holding up well so far. But they are noisier and rough when cold. Only have about 8000 miles on them so far but once warm they ride well, handle fine, and are quiet.

 

[jdurbin1]

My Lexus IS300 came factory with Bridgestone Potenza's... great tire for handling in the dry, not as good in the wet and on that car anyway, and wore like crazy - never had a set last past 14K miles. They were expensive to replace, too.

I tried a Falken equivalent - ok, nothing great - and have settled on Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season tires in the same size as the original P215/45 Potenza's. They're close to as good on dry pavement, better on wet, and wear much less quickly even though I still drive the car like I stole it more often than not.

Your Miata is probably not quite as hard on the tires as mine what with the lower weight plus the IS can be a pig to keep in alignment - but, you might give the Pirelli's a try.

John