Non-performance, everyday, all season tires for Girlfriends car

  • Thread starter Thread starter Boz Mon
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Boz Mon

Boz Mon

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My girlfriend has a 2008 Chevy Cobalt LT with the 15inch wheels. All 4 tires are mostly bald thus she needs new tires. I hate tire shopping with a passion. I was hoping I could get some ideas from people here. She doesnt drive fast, just basically to and from work or places. Mostly highway driving, so a higher mileage rating is preferred, and keep in mind we have to deal with Chicago winters. She wants to spend no more than $100 per tire if possible. Heres what I came up with:

These Contenentals were on the car from the factory, but they dont seem to have good reviews:
http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/fi...tail.do&yr=2008&pc=26843&vid=012799&fsv=false

So far, these Yokohamas look like the choice:
http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/fi...yr=2008&pc=44397&cf=false&vid=012799&sw=false

Also, the guy at discount tire (who she talked to while I wasnt around) was trying to sell her this weird Barum brand that I have never heard of
http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/fi...yr=2008&pc=12403&cf=false&vid=012799&sw=false
 
I was actually looking at those Pirellis too. I have a buddy who knows tires more than I do. I'm gonna ask his opinion too. I just dont want her to get taken for a ride (no pun intended) from a sly salesman at one of these tire places.
 
General Altimax HP's, they've scored well in Tire Rack's testing and they are also highly rated by consumers.

Here's a link to the test results: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=152

They come in either H or V speed ratings as well but I'm guessing she'll be ok with the H since it's a Cobalt. Tirerack charges $70 ea for the H rated ones, so assume about $85 at Discount.

Oh and they look cool too :lol:
ge_altimax_hp_ci2_l.jpg
 
I put some Goodyear Triple Treads on my wife's Focus... great tires. BF Good Traction TAs are fantastic as well.
 
I have had Goodyear's Viva 2's on the old Escort that I bought at Wal-Mart and had great luck with them. I have the original Goodyears on the Sebring though!! :scared:
 
Bridgestone RE960AS.



It's the best performing all-season tire available in her size of 195/60-15. I'd like to suggest a tire with better winter credentials, but unless you get a Continental ExtremeContact DWS (which isn't available in her size) then you're just going to have to deal with the typical mediocre and relatively unsafe all-season winter characterstics.


Seventy-seven dollars is cheap as hell for good tires. Do it. Do it.
 
Those Bridgestones may be a worthy replacement. I have their all seasons on the Miata and they really perform well above my expectations.
 
Keef
but unless you get a Continental ExtremeContact DWS (which isn't available in her size) then you're just going to have to deal with the typical mediocre and relatively unsafe all-season winter characterstics.
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185/65/15 are available

She will kill herself on those bridgestones in chicago with the lazy ass snow trucks we have.
 
Just remember, All Season tires suck in All Seasons. If you wanna do it right, get dedicated Summer and Winter tires.
 
eSZee
185/65/15 are available

She will kill herself on those bridgestones in chicago with the lazy ass snow trucks we have.
Click to expand...
IMO, no sense in getting skinnier tires unless they're actually snow tires. Skinny snow tires are actually functional, but skinnier all seasons just sacrifice what little lateral traction they already have. A 185/65 is also going to be a half inch or so taller than the 195/60, which will throw off the speedometer in the wrong direction.

Of course I recommend two different sets of tires, if not a second set of wheels also, and if you can afford a third then you might as well go for it. But there's always those people who get winter armageddon every year and insist on all-season tires. I'm looking at you, Boz...
 
My bad, for some reason I thought you were recommending the winter continentals. Just got mixed up cause I was looking at those for myself.
I just think the bridgestones would be overkill for what he wants and what she needs.
Sacrifice a bit of the summer performance for better wet/snow traction. Though in the end, all seasons will still suck in the snow, just suck a bit less.
 
Try to buy Goodyear or Cooper. Both are great brands and have a lot to offer, that's why I'm giving no specific examples from either.
 
eSZee
I just think the bridgestones would be overkill for what he wants and what she needs.
Sacrifice a bit of the summer performance for better wet/snow traction. Though in the end, all seasons will still suck in the snow, just suck a bit less.
Click to expand...
That's the funny thing about all-seasons that you have to keep in mind. They all suck all-round, especially in winter. From the RE960's exceptional all-season performance benchmark, there is no place to go but down. Getting a lesser-grade all-season will net you nothing but money savings, and you'll sacrifice performance across the board. It'll last 50,000 miles, sure, but you don't want to know what a tire has to be made of to last 50,000 miles.

It's kind of like summer tires and rain performance. Want the best rain performance summer tire you can get? Don't get a lightweight like an RE070...get an RE11. Trust me.
 
I stopped at discount tire today just to see what kind of run around I would get. He told me about some Yokohama YIL520's. Whats the consensus about these?

On the subject of snow, I think everyone makes a huge deal about it for nothing. If you think about it, theres like maybe a weeks worth of total days that there is actually an amount of snow on the ground that would effect driving conditions. Even though Illinois uses wayyy too much salt (this is a sore point with me), they are pretty good at getting the white stuff cleared off in a timely manner.

Shes not going get 2 sets of wheels, shes a girl who drives a Cobalt. 1 she cant afford it, and 2 she doesnt know how to change a tire. I dont have 2 sets of tires because IMO its not needed for how I drive. My all seasons work well in snow rain and dry, and they keep me from going off the edge on our yearly trip to Deals Gap.
 
Only people who haven't driven on winter tires say they're not worth it. Ignorance is bliss. Winter tires are meant to be driven when the temps dip below 50ish degrees.

The problem is that all tires work great for most people, most of the time. It's the one or two emergency situations where that winter tire will save you from a wreck. I drove through that bad storm we had last year where 4" of snow came down in less then an hour. I was on almost bald summer tires but made the 2hr trip cause I was careful. Winter tires basically let you drive during winter like you drive on all seasons in the dry.

Thanks for the info keef. I'll definitely keep that in mind.
 
+1 for winter tires for the winter and summers for everything else. Also +1 for people saying snow tires aren't worth it are people who haven't had snow tires.
 
Tire Rack doesn't sell that model so I can't give you much on performance details. Their treadwear rating is 520 as opposed to the Bridgestone's 400, and while treadwear ratings aren't the clearest gauge of performance or longevity, a difference that large tells be that the Yoko is probably of a lower performance class than the Bridgestone, which generally means it'll last longer but it is exponentially worse with regards to any performance measurement that actually matters.

The Bridgestone, which was the best performing all-season tire on the market before it's replacement came out 6 months ago, is only a dollar more expensive. I outran a Cobalt SS on the TOD with them on my Del Sol. In the rain.
 
I've got the Avid Touring Ss on my 200SX. Not a bad tire, inexpensive for me, yet has pretty good grip. Snow grip is way better than I expected out of an all-season tire.
 

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