Tires, tires, tires

7006 messages, Last post on Oct 29, 2009 at 11:24 AM

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What is this discussion about? Tires, Wheels, Steering

Edmund's Feature Article: Tire Safety: Don't Ignore the Rubber on the Road

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#4526 of 7006 Re: Tires for 2000 Neon ES [mz6greyghost] by dialm4speed Mar 02, 2005 (2:24 am)
Replying to: mz6greyghost (Feb 08, 2005 2:04 pm) I've got a question. You say your wife drives aggressively, so I'll assume you mean she likes to put her foot in it. Since this is the case, why wouldn't you want to get a performance type tire that fits her driving style? Your free to get what you like of course but I'm just curious. Replies to this message: mz6greyghost (Mar 02, 2005 7:21 am)
#4527 of 7006 Re: KUMHO triumphs in top magazine test [dialm4speed] by driftracer Mar 02, 2005 (5:12 am)
Replying to: dialm4speed (Mar 02, 2005 2:19 am) Hey, everyone has an opinion - I was a regional manager for Super Shops and our primary sales motivation was tires and wheels - I've been to over a hundred tire classes and equipment seminars. I've used 4 sets of Kuhmos on my cars and my son's cars, with the only negative being a little tire noise that developed after 20k miles on a set of 712s. I have a brand new set of 285/60-18 Kuhmo STX truck tires in my garage to go with the OZ Nova ST wheels I just bought - they'll me mounted on my Dakota Quad Cab 4x4 tomorrow. Michelins, I suppose, are the hallmark of tires, but 2 reasons keep me from buying them - Kuhmos and Dunlops are usually half the price, and I'll never buy anything made by a French company again as long as I live. Replies to this message: imidazol97 (Mar 02, 2005 5:21 am) sduford (Mar 02, 2005 6:15 am)
#4528 of 7006 Re: KUMHO triumphs in top magazine test [driftracer] by imidazol97 Mar 02, 2005 (5:21 am)
Replying to: driftracer (Mar 02, 2005 5:12 am) > I'll never buy anything made by a French company They have plants in the US building tires. That's the same response I got about buying foreign brand cars from the foreign brand car group. When I commented that the profits (after all offshore billing and no tax states games) go to a foreign country, I was told they have salesmen, suppliers, haulers, dealerships with workers here, all making the money from selling them. I guess the same would go for Michelin. Actually, I feel uncomfortable about French and Germans (and Russians). But Michelin tires are so long-lasting and true that I have to overlook that part. (I'm going to check the sidewall of my Harmonys for the plant code to see where they're built.) I respect that other people have other tires that have served them well. I've found the Symmetry Michelins on the new LeSabre aren't lasting nearly as well as I'd expect (80000 mi.); otherwiese I've had good service from perhaps 44-52 Michelins I've bought since they had tubes in them in 1967. Replies to this message: sduford (Mar 02, 2005 6:15 am)
#4529 of 7006 Re: KUMHO triumphs in top magazine test [imidazol97] by sduford Mar 02, 2005 (6:15 am)
Replying to: imidazol97 (Mar 02, 2005 5:21 am) Yeah, I was jsut going to say, if your upset with the french you should also be upset with the Russians, the Germans, the Canadians, and 75% of the rest of the world. The French have been your friends for a long time (they helped you kick out the British and gave you the Statue of Liberty, remember?) Friends are allowed to have a divergence of opinion, and real friends respect their friend's opinion. And in retrospect, the French were right to point out that your evidence and reasoning for going to war was wrong (jsut ask Powelll, he knew all along). They were in fact trying to do you a favour! So this is all non-sense, and you're only hurting yourself if you won't buy a tire "just because" of a stupid disagreement. Sly
#4530 of 7006 Hmm - interesting. by driftracer Mar 02, 2005 (6:30 am)
I never said WHY I wouldn't buy French - I may have had an old girlfriend stolen by a French tourist. This isn't a political forum, and I'm a very well-informed tire buyer and tuner shop owner, and in addition to not liking Michelins and many French products, I simply don't see the value in Michelin products. I swap tires way too often to consider paying astromonical prices. If I had a Buick and wanted 80k tires, then Michelin might be a possibility. I race autocross in 3 cars and drive a very fast, hopped up truck - Michelin has nothing to offer me, especially considering the cost.
#4531 of 7006 Re: Tires for 2000 Neon ES [dialm4speed] by mz6greyghost Mar 02, 2005 (7:21 am)
Replying to: dialm4speed (Mar 02, 2005 2:24 am) A fair question... Unfortunately, her aggressive driving has also brought multiple tickets and an accident, so her aggressiveness has all but gone away. The bigger reason was that we wanted tires with higher mileage numbers and a more aggressive rain/snow tread. The Goodyear Eagle LS could last maybe 25K miles, but they hydroplaned badly, even after 5K miles, and good snow traction lasted only one season. After two sets of these, we've had enough! She's had the Michelin Harmonys on for 2 weeks now, and she wishes we found them sooner. Snow traction is excellent, no problem going up snow-covered hills, or driving through unplowed driveways. No noticeable loss in dry traction or performance compared to the LSs. If they only last 40K miles, I'll be happy, but I'm sure they'll have another 20K miles after that!
#4532 of 7006 More bucks :but not enooogh bang by ruking1 Mar 02, 2005 (7:25 am)
There are indeed indications that Michelin is not the hotest ticket in each category as they advertise and market themselves to be. I am a long time user of Michelin SUV tires LTX's 275 70-16 (8 sets and its earlier variants and sizes). At the time of purchase they were probably the best in their class, abeit expensive. I have switched this application to Bridgestone Dueler AT Revo's and will switch the other one when the Michelin's wear out. Also in the 195-65-15 tire size the Michelin MVX4's are not only at least 1.5-2x the price of others, they seem to last most folks app 34k. They don't even have a mileage warranty, both oem and aftermarket. In this application it seems their subordinate company BFG seems to make not only a cheaper tire but better in almost all performance parameters. Michelin Pilot Sports are also close to $350-400 more than the Toyo Proxes T1S's that I decided to get.
#4533 of 7006 Michelin MXV4 by imidazol97 Mar 02, 2005 (7:49 am)
I've noticed the shorter mileage or lack of stick in Honda discussions where these or a variation are original equipment. Original may not be the same as a service tire. Friend has one of the versions of MXV4 on Pacifica. They seem to be going to do just fine on mileage for him. He drives normally. No hotrodding but does corner the thing more than I would. Michelin life: XH4 on 93 LeSabre only gave 110 and 100 K miles. Put two used tires on and traded the thing with 150K on it. (My wife made me trade; it ran fine.) X-Ones on 98 LeSabre have 80K and have 4-5/32nds. Siping is gone and lost lot of snow traction for pull. Directional control still fine. Put on 2 Harmonys. Will replace two more next fall. If I hotrodded like my 67 Mustang, I only got 80K out of X tires. ********* I'm sure there are better traction tires or lower-priced higher quality tires. I just buy what has served me well. As for cheaper: I'm too poor to be able to buy cheap stuff. I want quality that stays round and doesn't cause balance problems and that wears well.
#4534 of 7006 Bang for the Buck by ruking1 Mar 02, 2005 (8:43 am)
Well for sure cheaper is not always better and neither is more expensive always better. In the case of the oem MXV4's, my lowly oem Goodyear's look to be able to go at least 85,000 miles vs the more normal Michelins of 34,000 miles. Needless to say replacement price is 72 vs 108. So to me, the key is to: separate the wheat from the chaff, so to speak. Replies to this message: imidazol97 (Mar 02, 2005 9:08 am)
#4535 of 7006 Re: Bang for the Buck [ruking1] by imidazol97 Mar 02, 2005 (9:08 am)
Replying to: ruking1 (Mar 02, 2005 8:43 am) >In the case of the oem MXV4's, There are different versions of MXV4s from what I pick up from the Honda discussion. I wonder if some are stickier, softer rubber than others. AND OEM stuff may be a different rubber from the tire sold at the brand store because the manufacturer specified that the tire meet certain specs. I had oem wide ovals from Firestone long ago that last 12K miles. If I've gleaned wrong information about that, I belief Drift has been in the business or anyone else can correct me.