Like many others I have been disappointed with my Conti tires.tires wear so fast even a slight alignment issue ruins tires!Dealer help was a complete joke.... they said alignment and rebalance "might" help with noise. Milked me for $80 more.From the tire noise at low speed you would swear they are flat!Now that I am resigned to replacing at my own cost...Could I go with a T-rated Uniroyal Tiger Paw touring,instead of the H's ???? 70,000 vs 55,000 miles !Would the handling really be that different? conti's sucked anyways?.Also does anyone have experience with Douglas GT-H tires?they are from Wallymart... Have an interesting tread pattern.Twin center stripes with different left and right treads.One side looks like a z shape while other is paw like?One poster on edmunds suggested they could be goodyears?thanks, Phil T
Welcome to the Encyclopedia of Vibe!IMO it depends on where you drive. I've always noticed a difference in that subjective thing called 'road feel' between H-rated and S or T rated tires on my other front-wheel-drive vehicles. A friend of mine compared it to having 'numb' power steering vs responsive manual steering. A good source of info including real-world reviews by customers is at http://www.tirerack.comBTW I'm still on worn stock Conti's too, and looking to replace them before winter.
My 2003 Vibe Base Auto 2-tone Salsa "SalsaWagon" was built in May 2002. I acquired it in Feb 2004/Traded it in on a 2016 Honda HR-V in Feb 2018.
Michelin has a great tire - Hydroedge. It has a 720 wear rating, and a 90,000 mile wear-out guarantee. Awesome tire, but it is S rated. BJs will not install it on the Vibe - unless you just bring in the rims - without the car. The car requires an H-rated tire, or better. So, if you put them on, then just don't drive over 112 MPH !
Tires won't blow if you exceed their speed rating. They are rated for a specified speed for extended periods of time. A brief excursion into WARP speed will not cause them to fly off the rim.