Best Passenger Tires?

[Bombardier R142]

Or Tyres for our British friends.

I've got 36K miles on my tires (Goodyears) and I've got uneven wear (more on the outside than center), so I figured I've got to get my self some new rubber. So, considering the myriad of choices out there, does anybody have any suggestions? Here are the basic parameters:

Car: 2004 Chrysler Sebring Lxi convertible. FWD, 2.7l V6 (200hp).

Needs: In order, Fuel efficiency, Smoothness, Quiet, Handling.

The winters here are usually not that bad compared to the Midwest, so I'm only looking at all-weather ones.

[Indy-hp]

I'd say buy Firestone/Bridgstones and support an ICS sponsor, but I've had bad experiences with them, as well as Goodyears. Despite the USGP debacle, I've always been happy with Michelins whenever I've bought them.

That said, I tend to just replace whatever came on the car with the same brand.

[Red Byrd]

Fuel efficiency would most likely be linked to proper inflation than any one tire.

I like my Firestone Firehawks.

Kelly Tires are a good cheap brand.

Remember to be extra sure to buy the right size tire for your car, though!

[Marc P. Gregoire]

Wearing the outside edges means you do not have enough camber and need either an alignment or struts.

As far as a generic mid-sized sedan goes:

Fuel effeciency comes from rolling resistance and weight. A lighter tire the same size takes less force to get and keep going. Oddly enough this can have an effect. Rolling resistance is a combination of construction and tread.

Low rolling resistance tires have good tread life but generally scary handling and poor ride quality. The 2% you may gain from the low rolling resistance tires can be found simply by inflating better tires to the point the "radial sag" is out of the sidewalls. I find this is between 3 and 5 psi over, and sharpens up the handling a little bit while offering better economy. The more pressure you put in, the lower the gains however. 35 to 44 won't gain like 29 to 35.

Going to your tires for fuel efficiency isn't worth it because it costs you a lot in driving enjoyment, wet and dry handling and ride quality. Tires with a B temperature rating are often "OEM" tires chasing fuel mileage above all other parameters.

400 wear, AA or A grip, A temperature is a good place to look for wear and handling. Michelin tires are expensive, but well made (take little weight to balance, don't tend to bulge). Goodyear is iffy. I have good luck with Bridgestone, and the new General Altimax HP (made by Continental) are well regarded and priced right.

Most mainstream brands are pretty good.

If you ever shop for snow tires do not buy anything except Nokians. They are completely insane, I ran 0-100 mph-0 in three inches of slush without getting into traction control except on the 2-3 upshift in a car with them this winter. Nuts.

H speed rated ride right, not too hard, not too mushy. I personally do not even consider a tire lower speed rated than H (130 mph) for any vehicle. Higher end touring tires will often be V rated. Look at the load rating as well, higher load ratings mean a harder sidewall and therefore stiffer ride in exchange for likely improved handling.

I reccomend:
- General Altimax HPs. Quiet, all the right ratings, good handling, good ride and a steal of a price.
- Bridgestone Potenza G 019 Grids are comparable but a little more noisy in trade for better rain grip. More aggressive.
- Michelin Primacy MXV-4s are sort of an all around good tire. They ride well, quiet, good mileage, very grippy considering the type of tire and seem to wear well. Stay away from the fast wearing and not nearly as good Michelin Energy line, however, which is mostly an OEM fuel economy tire.

Tires are something you only change every 30,000 to 50,000 miles and they effect every chunk of a car's performance so there is no reason to skimp on them.

[BADGER]

Wearing the outside edges means you do not have enough camber and need either an alignment or struts.

Outside tire wear could indicate too much positive camber or a "toe in" condition. Either way, when you get the new tires, an alignment job is likely needed. As far as tire recomendations, go to the Tirerack website and read reviews and tests. There isn't a better source of info.

As far as which brand is best. Every company has such an extensive lineup, they are all bound to have some good, and some not so good tires. I've had Continentals, Goodyear, Yokohamas, and Mich on my EVO and have yet to see much over 25K on a set. Keep in mind those are all high performance tires, but I saw nothing magical about the life of the Michilens over any of the others.

[Marc P. Gregoire]

Outside tire wear could indicate too much positive camber or a "toe in" condition. Either way, when you get the new tires, an alignment job is likely needed. As far as tire recomendations, go to the Tirerack website and read reviews and tests. There isn't a better source of info.

As far as which brand is best. Every company has such an extensive lineup, they are all bound to have some good, and some not so good tires. I've had Continentals, Goodyear, Yokohamas, and Mich on my EVO and have yet to see much over 25K on a set. Keep in mind those are all high performance tires, but I saw nothing magical about the life of the Michilens over any of the others.

That's right, I wasn't clear on it. Needs more negative camber or less toe in.

On your Evo, your driving style and the type of tire you are using is biased more towards maximum performance than A to B. Michelin performance tires are really good but won't show anything special for wear, nor will any other tires in that category. In something like a Primacy, they are a very solid touring tire and they do wear well as well as have a construction that doesn't start to break down once they get towards the end of their life.

I got my reccomendations from Tire Rack and forums but you have to watch out for people who post that they replaced awful OEM fit tires that were wore out with any tire and notice how "miraculous" the improvement is.

[comfortably numb]

I would drive to Riverside California and talk to Dave Kuma of Kuma's Tire...
...he has never steered me wrong.

[Jakester]

Wearing the outside edges means you do not have enough camber and need either an alignment or struts.

Or it could be just the inevitable result of a front wheel drive, weight forward bias, designed in understeer car (with a little underinflation contribution).


Per Firestone website, Chrysler recommends 30 psi front, 30 psi rear.

36K aint bad on a set of tires (of course, I'm used to high perf tires and a heavy foot).

[Star_951]

I've had good luck with several sets of tires recently

Bridgestone Turanza (not exactly sure which one) bought two sets of these and both good - there's a firestone version of the same tire.

Yokohama Avid - Very good low-mid priced tires - put them on my older car and they worked great, until my son got T-boned in the car - probably will put some more on his replacement car.

Michelin Primacy MXV4 - After 2005, I promised never to buy Michelins again, but a buddy talked me into these for my luxury car. Expensive, but awesome tire.

I don't think I will ever again touch anything that says General on it - I've had more bad sets of General OEM tires than I can count.

[Bombardier R142]

Or it could be just the inevitable result of a front wheel drive, weight forward bias, designed in understeer car (with a little underinflation contribution).


Per Firestone website, Chrysler recommends 30 psi front, 30 psi rear.

36K aint bad on a set of tires (of course, I'm used to high perf tires and a heavy foot).

The Sebring comes with Goodyears which say 44 psi front and back, so that's what they get. I keep forgetting about checking them so it may be a bit of underinflation. But, the car was my mom's for the first 30K, so I guess I can blame her.

[Marc P. Gregoire]

The Sebring comes with Goodyears which say 44 psi front and back, so that's what they get. I keep forgetting about checking them so it may be a bit of underinflation. But, the car was my mom's for the first 30K, so I guess I can blame her.

I would not run pressures that high in a car like that, it will make the tires more prone to uneven wear (especially center wear), unneccisarily harshen the ride, and not offer that much of a fuel economy gain over a more conservative fill. Your car is not heavy enough to need that sort of tire pressure.

The sidewall number is an absolute maximum, not a reccomended pressure.

My car is 29 front, 26 rear, and I only overinflate the tires enough to take the radial "sag" (the bulge the sidewall has) out of them. They are at 33 front and 30 rear, and I find it rides and handles better, gets better mileage, and the tires still wear evenly.

If you really, really want to play race engineer, you can get an IR temperature gun. Set your tire pressures at something reasonable, say 35 pounds cold, and then drive around your normal "route" the way you normally would for 30 minutes. When you get to your starting point, take outside, middle, and inside temperatures for all of your tires. You want the center to match the outside for best wear. Go as high as you can without the center getting hotter than the shoulders. This is best done after an alignment and on new tires so you have a baseline.

[R22]

The Sebring comes with Goodyears which say 44 psi front and back, so that's what they get. I keep forgetting about checking them so it may be a bit of underinflation. But, the car was my mom's for the first 30K, so I guess I can blame her.

well at least you aren't running "retreads" like we did in the "old" days.
or even just dropping by local tire shop and buying a "good used tire"........

no, i agree with the others......

spend the money on a "good" set, then since you are the car owner/driver now........TAKE CARE OF THEM.

and take care of the suspension parts they hang on.

[Bombardier R142]

well at least you aren't running "retreads" like we did in the "old" days.
or even just dropping by local tire shop and buying a "good used tire"........

no, i agree with the others......

spend the money on a "good" set, then since you are the car owner/driver now........TAKE CARE OF THEM.

and take care of the suspension parts they hang on.

The suspension runs fine and looks pretty good when I take the wheels off to rotate them. MOPAR did a pretty good job with this one. I'm going to have to get a good caliper to check the rotors, but the brakes work great for a 36K old set.

[Truth Detector]

My experience with Goodyear is that you get what you pay for. Their cheap tires are crap but their expensive tires are pretty good.

[roach]

My experience with Goodyear is that you get what you pay for. Their cheap tires are crap but their expensive tires are pretty good.

I put a set of Goodyear Wrangler "SilentArmor" tires on my SuperCrew two years ago (~30,000 miles) and I love them. My only complaint was I had to re-learn how to drive my truck - they have so much grip that any input in the steering wheel results in an immediate response on the road!

roach

[Bombardier R142]

Well, got myself new tires. Decided on the Fuzion HRi. Good value, high performance, IRL sponsor (sort of). I've only driven them back from the tire shop, but so far so good.

Oddly enough the guys at the shop asked me "Did you have any handling problems with the car shaking?" I said "only on very smooth roads at high speeds, but as I was going to get new tires, I didn't think much of it" and they showed me a huge bulge on one of my tires. I guess that says a lot for my cars suspension that I couldn't feel something like that.

[irloyal]

I run Firestone Firehawks on my wifes 2004 Quest and Firestone FR's on my 94 Explorer Sport (2wd never off the road). Both drive well and get very good wear. The 'vette gets Hankook's for the track and the Good Year run-flats (stock,'Vette has 10K on the ticker and they are wearing well) for the street.

I put a set of Hankooks on the van and it handled great!!!! They were at the limit on the load range and only lasted 20K miles. I'll stack Hankooks performance against anything else on the road, and you'll spend 20% to 40% less!
The new HHR SS has bridgestones on it and they seem to handle well, but I have not pushed it on the track, so I don't have a real opinion yet.

[LouCopits]

I've heard good things about Goodyear Assurance. I have the ComfortTred pattern and like them.

[Indy Red]

I have Michelin HydroEdge Tires great ride unbelievable traction in wet or snow and long life!

My Town Car will get another set in about 80,000 miles or 360,000 on the odometer.

They are the best tires I have ever owned!

[Bob Riebe]

I guess that says a lot for my cars suspension that I couldn't feel something like that.

This is a serious question, not a zinger.

Do you, and others reading this, consider this truly a good thing?

Not being able to feel the car, and problems arising, seems dangerous to me.

I used to be able to hear and feel even slight changes in how many of my cars from the sixties and seventis ran, so that there were not sudden surprises.

[badart]

I put a set of Goodyear Wrangler "SilentArmor" tires on my SuperCrew two years ago (~30,000 miles) and I love them. My only complaint was I had to re-learn how to drive my truck - they have so much grip that any input in the steering wheel results in an immediate response on the road!

roach

I just got Firestone Firehawks on my car on Tuesday. I drove it to Chicago yesterday a noticed the same thing. I had to be very careful with my steering until I adjusted to it.