which tires?

[fpsfreak209]

my front two tires need replacing asap.all tires i have atm is michelin.they seem to be ok but i gues i can try a different brand? last time i bought a rear tire it costed me $200.i live in central california where temps in the summer reach 100 degrees. any advice on which model of tire is reccomended? i have 2005 pontiac vibe.

[Caretaker]

well, you have asked a very open question since you did not mention how much you are willing to spend, is this for a car or large truck, whether you get any snow where you live, and whether you have access to a club tire shop like Costco. Assuming minimum snow, here are my recommendations for an all season tire:

1. do your research on tirerack.com. Their website is a wealth of information to help you narrow your choices.
2. While Michelins are still the best tire around, I have done lots of research to try and prove that theory wrong. While I have had both the Pilot Exaltos and MXV4s on my cars, I cannot deny that they are the quietest and smoothest running tires out there. They are just plain expensive. So, if you want Michelins, I would recommend getting them at a Costco-like tire shop to save on overall tire cost, rotation, warranty, and flat repair.
3. As I no longer want to fork out the big bucks for Michelins, my next tire will likely be Kumho PA31s. Tire Rack's summer testing went extremely well and I am awaiting their winter test from Sweden next month. Given the very aggressive sipe patterns, I expect them to do well in the snow. They will be my next tire unless something extraordinary comes along, or if the winter test goes kaplooy. These are directional tires (meaning there is a pointing arrow on the side wall ensuring they always face forward and don't get switched to the other side of the car where they will face in the wrong direction), so you will not want these if your rear tires are NOT directional tires. An alternative would be the Kumho LX Platinums. I have these on my Fit and they are very good. They also did pretty well on a recent snow test I did around the neighborhood.
4. My last piece of advice in the nominal cost range would be the Hankook H727. I have these on one of my cars and think they are great. The wet and dry grip are excellent, and for the cost - the ratings on Tire Rack are very good as well. I did some ice testing on the tires yesterday and did not like what I felt, but I doubt any tire is going to get my Caretaker seal of approval on ice. Should you not have any icing where you are, then it is nothing for to worry about anyway.
5. While Costco has served me well over they years, I don't like being boxed in by their choices of tires. Kumho, Hankook, and Pirelli have come out with some outstanding tires over the past few years. Costco doesn't seem to want to change their lineup. As such, I am switching over to internet tire buying. There are lots of great websites to include tirerack.com, valuetread.com, discount tire direct, treaddepot, onlinetires.com, tire crazy, and tread source. Some run free shipping on select tires, and there are sometimes rebates on select tires as well.

Good luck with your search.

[Water boy]

I installed:

Yokohama YK580 205/55-16 $589.19 drive out

No regrets.

[Zimm]

about a month ago, i bought michelin defenders for my 2010 base (205/55/16). i'm not a michelin loyalist or anything but i have been extremely happy so far and have driven them in a wide variety of conditions from pleasant to full on blizzard.

iirc, i paid $540 out the door for 4. a $70 mail i rebate check will be here in a couple of weeks, bringing my out of pocket down to $470.

[Water boy]

about a month ago, i bought michelin defenders for my 2010 base (205/55/16). i'm not a michelin loyalist or anything but i have been extremely happy so far and have driven them in a wide variety of conditions from pleasant to full on blizzard.

iirc, i paid $540 out the door for 4. a $70 mail i rebate check will be here in a couple of weeks, bringing my out of pocket down to $470.

I got a VISA card for IIRC $60.

As for being loyal to anything, my checkbook determines that.

[Raven]

I too would recommend Hankook H727. The have excellent treadlife, handle well, quiet and wet or dry have great traction. I had a set on my '97 Outback that lasted forever. When we
bought our 2012 Outback, I immediately sold the Continental "shipping" tires and put on the Hankooks.

http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direc ... =16&cs=205

P.S. I would replace all 4 at once, not just the fronts. I'm a tire fanatic and believe there is nothing more important than a good set of matching tires, properly inflated.

[Zimm]

the hankook 727's were my #2 choice and a good option. the reason i did not go with them is that with a sale price + rebate i got the michelin's cheaper, and also the store i went to (a large chain here in michigan) did not have them in stock. they tried to get me into hankook 724's, but they are rated quite poorly compared to the 727's.

[jake75]

For what it's worth, in July 2013 I got four of the Yokohama YK580 205/55-16 at Discount Tire. My driveout number was $523 after the $60 rebate. I am satisfied with the ride, traction and noise level of this tire. Did not opt for the additional warranty. Got free rebuilt tire pressure sensors. Also did not pay them $10 to take my old tires - a used tire place right on the way took them off my hands. They would have paid me a little for the old tires but I was glad to just save the $10. Listening to the sales persons talking with other customers while they were installing my tires was an eye opener. Much misinformation and over selling of additional services was the norm. Not sure I would go back there.

[DennisLee]

Fall of 2012 I put Continental PureContact on my 2009 Base w/ 2.4L engine and the 17" factory alloys. These are between the ExtremeContact DWS and the ProContact tires. That Winter I had the care out driving around the neighborhood following a 5 - 6" snowfall. I was only 2nd or 3rd car down the streets, but the Vibe drove as well as my AWD Tribute used to. I have been extremely please with the performance of the tires on dry, wet and snow. Performance on ice is as good as any all-season tire I've had, You'd have to go to a dedicated winter tire (like Blizzak) to get better in my opinion.

These are definitely not a performance tire, they have very good traction but you can tell the sidewalls are not as firm as the Sumitomo's that were on the car when I purchased it (used). I specifically wanted a softer riding tire and these a definitely a more comfortable ride. I guess what I'm saying, if you want an excellent all-season tire for your Mom's car (or if you're an old fart like I am that is more concerned with a comfortable ride than pure performance), I would highly recommend these.

[Chiadog]

3x for Hankook 727's! Relatively inexpensive, durable, highly rated and very good in snow from my experience.

[Caretaker]

I scored a great deal on treaddepot.com for a new set of Pirelli Cinturato P7 Plus tires. The ratings have been very good on every website I've done research on. I'm going to wait until the winter is finally over before mounting them to save a little frozen wear and tear on the tires. My Michelin MXV4's continue to perform admirably with only 3 or 4/32nds left on the tread, however, I have cracks on the outer tread of each 4 year old MXV4 and I am now hesitant to take the car on a long highway trip. I was going to buy the Kumho PA-31s, but when the deal on the Pirelli came along, I nailed it. My only concern with the PA-31s is that they are directional tires which means you really need to keep the car perfectly aligned because if the tread starts wearing unevenly you can't try to balance it out by moving the tire to the other side of the car.
I have the H727s on my HET and highly recommend them as well. They performed extremely well in the snow and ice in the Delta Quadrant today.