New Tires

[09vGT]

When it comes time to buy new tires for my 09 Vibe GT do i have to stick with low profile tires..? Now they have the goodyear eagles which are expensive and don't last very long..

[lovemyraffe]

No, you don't have to stick with the same low-profile tires, but you would want to keep it close unless you are planning on changing wheel size. Check out this thread. It has a calculator attached to it that you can compare sizes and what it will do to your speedometer. http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=1066

[Raven]

There are lots of excellent tires in OEM size which are not expensive. Your tires are what keeps you alive, don't comprimise to save a couple of bucks. The stock tires on cars are usually crap anyways.

[Kincaid]

You need to keep the overall diameter of the tire withing 3% (I think) because getting too big or too small will throw the ABS out of wack.So, if you want much more sidewall or to go more narrow, you'll need to get different wheels.

[vibolista]

I played around with different size tires for my 08 Vibe and ended up with a 225/50 17. I could have put a 225/55 17 on there too. You have a lot of choices, as long as all 4 tires are the same size and you don't have clearance issues. Go for as good a quality tire as you can afford. Do your homework and look at the UTQG numbers when you compare different tires. tirerack, discounttiredirect or tiresavings (all are .com) are some of the many good places to compare tires, prices, sizes and ratings. You can stay OEM size or you can vary quite a bit. Get opinions from other second generation Vibe owners to see what diameter and width sizes they have tried with success on their 09s/10s. You won't confuse your ABS system as long as your 4 tires are the same diameter.

[Kincaid]

Quote, originally posted by vibolista »You won't confuse your ABS system as long as your 4 tires are the same diameter.I am not sure if this is accurate - using the tire size calculator at Tire Rack (or maybe it's Discount Tire) gives you a warning when you exceed 3% too big or small. I don't think it's just because it throws off your odometer.

[Raven]

Over 3% puts added stress on brakes, suspension etc. which they weren't designed for. If saving $20.00 per tire is worth risking handling and safety, well.....

[vibolista]

I'll let you know how a 4% larger diameter tire act on my Vibe in a few thousand miles. My old 98 Nissan pickup is still going strong with its 6% larger tires that I bought for it before it was 3 months old. Ball joints: good, ABS system: check, brakes: still going strong, Clutch: like new. It's a truck that spends 24/7 outside, so the clear coat is boiling off and and black paint is starting to look a bit thin on the upper surfaces. Maybe the 6% bigger tires had a hand in that? I think that driving a car with a little extra mechanical sympathy will generally overcome any tendency that a set of larger tires would have to overly stress components on our Vibes, like brakes, suspension and transmission. So far, handling safety and comfort are great. My Vibe feels well planted, balanced, and drives smoothly. Maine roads will make sure there's some stress thrown in, though, so not quite completely stressless.