Tire recommendations

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Omnis

Omnis

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Hey, all. I have three cars in the family that need new rubber. One is an SUV, the others are cars.

On the cars we'd like to keep it under $300, so don't just pop in here to say Pilot Super Sports. At that price, we're pretty much limited to Chinese and other budget tires. The Lexus is coming off a set of Nankang NS-20s which were surprisingly good. They gave a good 30,000 miles of maniacal driving (hauling ass down nasty grooved Miami-Dade I-95), but the rears now are just shot after being just a bit underinflated compared to up front.

Right now I'm looking at GT Radial Champiro UHPs, Nankangs, and Cooper Zeon RS3-As. I think I want to go with the Coopers because 'murica, and they're recommended by Consumer Reports with generally good reviews everywhere else. Anyone have any experience with these budget tires?

As for the SUV, I'm thinking some Generals. Anyone know the difference between the Grabber and the Altimax? This thing will never see cold temperatures, snow, nor gravel or dirt, nor high-speeds, nor excessive Gs. Just looking for something that will stop fast, ride smooth, soak up bumps and last forever. We got some Michelins from Costco on it now but they dry rotted and wore out in a ridiculously short period of time. This thing is maybe driven 10 miles per day on average.

Maybe we can make this into a general tire review/recommendation thread. If you'd like to submit a writeup, please tag me (@Omnis) with a note at the end of your review and I'll curate them all by linking it in the OP.
 
I always used Bridgestone Duelers (D684) on my Forester (they were the OEM) Very quiet and pretty good in the wet. Cheap too for a decent brand.
 
Cooper makes very good tires. My dad has used them for 30 years on just about all of our vehicles with no problems. In fact he likes them so much he's pretty much ruled out any other brand. I would recommend ATR's for the SUV if you can find them. I believe they are about $70/tire and are mildly aggressive for good wet traction without being obnoxious. These are pretty popular in the truck/SUV world for on-road use. For a set of 4 it'll be around $300. I would say try and find A/T's but they have been out of production for a while. Both tires I am about to suggest have good tread life and last quite a long time.

9813852_Cooper-DiscoverATR01.jpg



If you want a lower profile tire like the Neons tend to be, while being more performance oriented, Cooper Cobra's and Cobra GT's are very popular in the muscle car world as far as grip goes as a whole. These are about $10-$20 more expensive per tire than the ATR's however.

Cobra_GT.jpg
 
I'll recomend Coopers as well (at least for you SUV). I've got the Discoverer AT/3 on my truck and it grips very well, much better than the more expensive Michelins I had before. I got mine for $70/tire at S&S.
 
JMoney689
I'll recomend Coopers as well (at least for you SUV). I've got the Discoverer AT/3 on my truck and it grips very well, much better than the more expensive Michelins I had before. I got mine for $70/tire at S&S.
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AT/3's are also very good tires. The AT/3 is one of the reworked and more aggressive versions of the older A/T which is an excellent tire to begin with. Most Cooper tires are nearly 5 of 5 stars from what I can find. You can't go wrong with them.
 
Those cobras are for people that want white letters.

How about some of the other Chinese or taiwanese tires?
 
The CS5s and Zeons are, from my understanding, superior tires anyway.
 
My Dad swears by his Coopers that he's been buying for his last two Avalanches. Good traction in weather (which you don't have), pretty quiet, last a good amount of time. I literally have no idea what he paid for them, but, he won't shut up about them. Dammit, Thor. Nobody cares.
 
@Omins, acknowledged that you say you don't need anything for winter or snow. My recommendation is that you do not consider all season tires for any vehicle you own.

For high performance summer tires, car and driver has done some of the legwork for you.

http://www.caranddriver.com/compari...mmer-performance-tires-tested-comparison-test (Love my PSSs)
http://www.caranddriver.com/compari...res-take-on-the-michelin-ps2-comparison-tests (I used the RE760 for a while, good tire)
http://www.caranddriver.com/comparisons/tire-test-the-quick-and-the-tread-comparison-tests


If you're driving an SUV and you expect to see snow/ice (which I know you said you weren't), I'd get winter tires and run them year round. Actually that's what I do.




Lastly, I would not recommend attempting to put 4 tires on your car for less than $300.
 
$300 a set, or apiece? Installed or shipped to your door?

For your Lexus, they're probably the 215/60R16s, don't put anything less than H-rated rubber on them, or they'll vibrate at anything over 50. Avoid Toyo Proxes J33 on that car, too...I'm not sure why, but they wore extremely quickly on the shell rock/coral-based Florida roads, and had awful radial pull on those ES models, which is odd for an OEM tire. Not every tire works on every car, even if the specs match on paper and the quality is there.

I bought the Uniroyal TigerPaws (v-rated) for my GS, which had the same tire dimensions as above. I think four installed came to $350 at BJ's club. Great all-around tire, quiet, great in the rain, performance wasn't shabby, either.

When I worked in the tire business, we had some people who hated the BCTs, because they seemed to vibrate. I'm not a big cheap tire fan, unless you only cruise around town and never go on the interstate.

I recall the Altimax line is more passenger-car based, less knobby and probably a little quieter. The Grabber line-up is more for the SUV that deals with dirt or muddy roads. You'll probably pay a little more for those, and unless you visit folks who live in the sticks (or the C9 Basin), you won't need them.
 
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I can vouch for Cooper Cobras. Had set on my S Capri for about 3 years and were excellent, gave great grip levels in nearly all driving conditions. Even in light snow where others were just sliding everywhere!

I only switched to BF G Radials because they were wider. When these bite the bullet I'll switch back to the Coopers.
 
@Danoff, the SUV will never see snow. Ever. It only sees the same 20 miles of well-paved roadway in our city and otherwise has to deal with tons of blistering hot sun and the occasionally torrential rain.

I would love to put summer tires on the car (which is why I mentioned the Champiros) but I can't find any in the right size or for the right price.

Pupik
$300 a set, or apiece? Installed or shipped to your door?

For your Lexus, they're probably the 215/60R16s, don't put anything less than H-rated rubber on them, or they'll vibrate at anything over 50. Avoid Toyo Proxes J33 on that car, too...I'm not sure why, but they wore extremely quickly on the shell rock/coral-based Florida roads, and had awful radial pull on those ES models, which is odd for an OEM tire. Not every tire works on every car, even if the specs match on paper and the quality is there.

I bought the Uniroyal TigerPaws (v-rated) for my GS, which had the same tire dimensions as above. I think four installed came to $350 at BJ's club. Great all-around tire, quiet, great in the rain, performance wasn't shabby, either.

When I worked in the tire business, we had some people who hated the BCTs, because they seemed to vibrate. I'm not a big cheap tire fan, unless you only cruise around town and never go on the interstate.

I recall the Altimax line is more passenger-car based, less knobby and probably a little quieter. The Grabber line-up is more for the SUV that deals with dirt or muddy roads. You'll probably pay a little more for those, and unless you visit folks who live in the sticks (or the C9 Basin), you won't need them.
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The Lexus wears 215/55R17s. Thanks for your recommendations on the SUV tires.

Here's the deal: my dad's wholesaler friend called in some favors and I'm going to this place tomorrow to have new tires put on for $69 each including mounting and balancing. Then it's off to get new shocks and an alignment.

I'm sort of dreading what they're going to throw on my car, but, hey, I'm not paying for it. Like I said before, the Nankang NS-2s on it now are surprisingly good. The ride is buttery smooth even at 100mph. Hopefully they'll be those at the very least. Hope it's not Milestars or something Indian, but at least the Milestars are made by Nankang.

I'll have to do my own wheelin and dealin with the Explorer though. So, again, thanks for all the input.
 
Looks like I'm going to put some Lanvigators through their paces. I'm kind of worried that I can't even find them on Google. Hahaha.

I'm kind of mad though since I could've have those coopers for maybe ten bucks more per corner. But these are 60 bucks installed... Can't beat that.
 
Omnis
@Danoff, the SUV will never see snow. Ever. It only sees the same 20 miles of well-paved roadway in our city and otherwise has to deal with tons of blistering hot sun and the occasionally torrential rain.

I would love to put summer tires on the car (which is why I mentioned the Champiros) but I can't find any in the right size or for the right price.
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Understood. I posted the links because you said you wanted the thread to be more general. I would definitely try hard to find summer tires.
 
I wish I would have noted the mileage when I got the Lanvigators. They weren't bad tires for the price, but the heavy Lexus just ate them up. The rears look like new, but the fronts are shot. I don't know if they're too worn to rotate, but the outer shoulder is pretty much bald up front. Thanks, heavy-ass V6. Seems like the ES has an 80/20 brake bias, and that hasn't helped either.

I'm looking at either Bridgestone Driveguards to be bought and serviced by costco, or just go my own way and buy some Kumho TA71s. What does GTP think? I can get some Direzza DZ102 summer tires instead of the all-seasons, but I want something that's going to last 30k miles.

edit: I should note that I'm cool with Chinese levels of grip. I just want rubber that's going to hold air and not need to be re-filled to pressure every month. I'm not sure how much the Lanvigators are deforming during cornering (and tucking under to cause such massive shoulder wear), but it'd be nice to have something that was responsive, yet comfortable.
 
That model ES could eat tires easily, desired V-rated rubber (you could use H, but I would not go to lower than that), and requires lots of rotation. Some folks did it themselves every 2-3K to get the most out of them. P215/55R17, then? Are you getting a yearly alignment? I rarely had customers in that region who exceeded 30,000 miles on a set.

It's a weird car: heavy front end, can eat up tires, soft steering feel, torque steer if you're mad at the throttle, and it's notably quiet. The last is funny because if you put a noisy (read: cheap) tire on it, you'll hear it more than you would on anything else. So with something too soft, and we're having this conversation in 15,000 - 20,000 miles.

Off-brand tires are hit and miss, but sometimes even great tires on one car just don't work perfectly on another (even on the same type of vehicle with similar performance characteristics). Another factor might be that suspension components are probably stating to have more play than before; I can't comment specifically because I didn't see many 100K+ cars of that exact model. But all cars eventually wear those things out on most any vehicle after a decade of use.

Personally, I'd just spend more on Turanzas and have a great day (especially if you have great rainy days). But that's probably $150 a tire. If you can afford just using and replacing cheap rubber that's otherwise been good to you, your wallet, and your car, just do it again.
 
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I just put a set on Firestone Firehawk AS's on the Focus and for the price they seem pretty good. I paid $500 out the door for everything.
 
I can side will all of those vouching for Cooper tires earlier in the thread. My parent's vehicles run them and we put brand new Cooper (or Mastercraft, which is Cooper's other brand) tires on customer's vehicles where I work all the time. They last for a long time on our vehicles, and have great traction, even in Michigan winters.
 
I can vouch for the General tires. I had a set of Altimax RT43s on my last car, and they gripped the road remarkably well. I think that set ran me about $400?

They have excellent traction for all season tires, and are really good in the snow if it ever happens. I did drive through a winter with them, and had pretty much no issues.

Could I also use this thread to check tires for my car? @Omnis
 
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This thread is for everyone's tire needs, @Obelisk.

It's hard to find a good source for what folks think of their tires. Too many useless reviews like "Gripz Gud" etc.

Thanks as always for your thoughts, @Pupik .

This car will most likely never ever see snow. I like the idea of the brand new models of Kumhos because they're almost as cheap as the chinese crap and have great reviews. Their only weakness is snow handling, but I'll never see snow so I couldn't care less. I think Kumho is smart-- sounds like they're making their all-season tires more of a summer in-between, using warmer weather compounds. They probably know everyone already has their set of Blizzaks if they actually have winters.
 
Right. What are some good tires for 205/60R16 size? I want to get some better tires than the Bridgestone Ecopia set on my 3.
 
Omnis
It's hard to find a good source for what folks think of their tires. Too many useless reviews like "Gripz Gud" etc.
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Tire Rack is going to have the best collection of user and professional reviews on the net regarding tires. Obviously take user ratings with a grain of salt, but their professional reviews are typically pretty good.

Omnis
This car will most likely never ever see snow. I like the idea of the brand new models of Kumhos because they're almost as cheap as the chinese crap and have great reviews. Their only weakness is snow handling, but I'll never see snow so I couldn't care less. I think Kumho is smart-- sounds like they're making their all-season tires more of a summer in-between, using warmer weather compounds. They probably know everyone already has their set of Blizzaks if they actually have winters.
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There's a growing trend of high and ultra-high performance all-season tires that seem to be springing up, and really they are more like a 3 season tires instead of an all-season since they don't really work well in the snow. Your best bet is to find a set of tires like that since you'll never see any snow. The Kumho's you're looking at are considering grand touring all-seasons which means they'll do decent enough in all four seasons.

Obelisk
Right. What are some good tires for 205/60R16 size? I want to get some better tires than the Bridgestone Ecopia set on my 3.
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What are your looking for? Do you need grip? Will you see snow? Do you have dedicated snow tires? Do you live where there's a lot of dirt roads or wet weather?

The Firestone Firehawk AS's I just put on my Focus are good all around tires, offer a decent amount of grip, and can be serviceable on all road conditions.

If you go with a 215/55-16 tires, which will be slightly wider, you open up more choices. The Continental DWS's are great tires and function more like a summer tires than an all-season but based on my previous use of the tire they work well enough as long as the snow isn't super deep.
 
Joey D
What are your looking for? Do you need grip? Will you see snow? Do you have dedicated snow tires? Do you live where there's a lot of dirt roads or wet weather?

The Firestone Firehawk AS's I just put on my Focus are good all around tires, offer a decent amount of grip, and can be serviceable on all road conditions.

If you go with a 215/55-16 tires, which will be slightly wider, you open up more choices. The Continental DWS's are great tires and function more like a summer tires than an all-season but based on my previous use of the tire they work well enough as long as the snow isn't super deep.
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I can't go above the 205s, unfortunately. I'm just looking for a high-grade set of all season tires that'll improve my car's handling.
 
Obelisk
I can't go above the 205s, unfortunately. I'm just looking for a high-grade set of all season tires that'll improve my car's handling.
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Then I'd stick with my initial recommendation of the Firehawk AS's, they have really good reviews and are fairly sticky for an all-season. I researched a ton of different tires before I pulled the trigger on them and they work great on my Focus.
 
Joey D
Then I'd stick with my initial recommendation of the Firehawk AS's, they have really good reviews and are fairly sticky for an all-season. I researched a ton of different tires before I pulled the trigger on them and they work great on my Focus.
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Thanks!
 
I have General Grabbers on my Durango SUV. Love 'em. I've been partial to General tires since the 70's. Not cheap though.
 
I need tires for my Silverado. The factory size is 245/70/17, but the last set I bought were 265/70/17. It has had 3 sets so far, I was not a fan of the factory Generals, I dumped them at 15k miles. My 2nd set were Michelin LTX A/S, I liked those a lot. I let a tire shop talk me into my last set, Summit Cascades, they have been decent.

I can't seem to find anything less than $600 a set that have decent ratings all around. I am leaning on trying Cooper this time.

Also, I may be buying a 2004 GTO, factory wheels, the one I am looking at needs new tires bad. That may not pan out but its looking like it will lol.
 
Go with Michelin Ltx MS2s on the truck. I used to have the same a/s tires on our Explorer but they dry rotted like hell and almost killed me in the rain after they wore out. The new MS2s are phenomenally better. They're buttery smooth but also responsive (for a truck) and still look new after a year. They're universally lauded as the best all season truck tire and I have no reason go question that so far. Totally worth the price premium. Costco will have Michelin on sale again in September for what it's worth. Free balancing and repair /replacement for the life of the tires makes it worth it. No heavy ass jack or truck wheels to deal with.
 

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