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Best tire opinion for Malibu

14 messages,  Last post on Jan 10, 2010 at 5:01 AM

You are in the Chevrolet Malibu Forum.

What is this discussion about? Chevrolet Malibu, Safety Technology, Steering, Suspension, Tires, Sedan

Messages Page 1 of 2

#1 of 14 Best tire opinion for Malibu by e_net_rider

Oct 19, 2009 (8:05 am)

Mine is an '09 with 17" Firestone FR710.
I feel there must be a better tire for handling or there is a suspension problem which may be design. The steering feels slow to respond or a bit mushy. And it tends to track the road surface too much in my opinion. Especially the road crown, both left and right crown. I've seen complaints about the electric PS being weak, and that might be related, but suspect it has more to do with tires or alignment.
Respond with your experience.

#2 of 14 Re: Best tire opinion for Malibu [e_net_rider] by xmech

Oct 25, 2009 (3:09 pm)

Replying to: e_net_rider (Oct 19, 2009 8:05 am)
Well, I don't have a Malibu, went with the Fusion, but was looking at the Malibu, too. (That's why I still check in here once in a while.) But we recently replaced the tires on the wife's Tuscon, and I went to Tirerack.com to check all the reviews and tests. Tire noise was a problem with her car, and we were able to pick a good rated, quiet tire which we're really happy with. You can read their test ratings as well as people's personal ratings, even filter it down to the ratings of tires on the same model car as yours. Much like here at Edmunds!
 
Good luck!

#3 of 14 Re: Best tire opinion for Malibu [e_net_rider] by e_net_rider

Dec 30, 2009 (5:10 am)

Replying to: e_net_rider (Oct 19, 2009 8:05 am)
Update. I looked at my window sticker again a few weeks back. Under the wheel upgrade it clearly says "Touring Tires". Those Firestones are a basic A/S passenger tire. I've been cheated.

#4 of 14 Re: Best tire opinion for Malibu [e_net_rider] by gonogo

Dec 30, 2009 (10:20 am)

Replying to: e_net_rider (Dec 30, 2009 5:10 am)
You need a hobby, you complain all over the net, lol.

#5 of 14 Re: Best tire opinion for Malibu [gonogo] by e_net_rider

Dec 31, 2009 (5:59 am)

Replying to: gonogo (Dec 30, 2009 10:20 am)
Not complaining here, but to the dealer. Here I am trying to pass what can be valuable information to those with similar situations. I was pointed to the GM forums because of issues with this new car, but have been a very long time user of Edmunds. And it has saved me a lot of headaches and money with various models. Oddly, with this vehicle, it is the only time I've been criticized for input. With one vehicle, none of us were criticized for saying that certain parts, mostly engine related, needed to be GM originals because that engine was finicky and you'd end up doing the job again in a few thousand miles. Despite that the GM parts were much more expensive we were constantly thanked for the input, especially from those who made the mistake of using an aftermarket part.
One such part I got burned on, but felt it was an OK part because Rochester had been making many of the parts for GM. The fuel pressure regulator had gone bad and using the Rochester seemed to cut power a little at some parts of the range. It turned out that the specs they got from GM were not totally inclusive for that specific vehicle but covered a wide range of GM vehicles and thus so did the Rochester part. The reality was that it needed a different spring rate for NorthStar Aurora engines.
 
  Share the info and give valuable replies!

#6 of 14 Re: Best tire opinion for Malibu [e_net_rider] by gonogo

Dec 31, 2009 (9:21 am)

Replying to: e_net_rider (Dec 31, 2009 5:59 am)
Maybe on this forum, the Malibu forum wants you to go away, you sure like to type,lol

#7 of 14 Re: Best tire opinion for Malibu [e_net_rider] by malexbu

Dec 31, 2009 (2:42 pm)

Replying to: e_net_rider (Dec 31, 2009 5:59 am)
Please do not listen to gonogo and stay. Your musings are interesting and are appreciated. Those who don't like them, can skip them. No one here has the privilege to send another away.

#8 of 14 Re: Best tire opinion for Malibu [malexbu] by gonogo

Jan 01, 2010 (8:04 am)

Replying to: malexbu (Dec 31, 2009 2:42 pm)
I never told him to go away, I just said he needed a hobby. The other Malibu forum got tired of his complaining and told him to sell his Malibu, then all his problems would be solved. He listed about 12 problems on that site, they got tired of it.

#9 of 14 Re: Best tire opinion for Malibu [gonogo] by e_net_rider

Jan 01, 2010 (9:04 am)

Replying to: gonogo (Jan 01, 2010 8:04 am)
Thanks Malexbu.
As you can see, there are some that are offended by any mention that a Malibu could have a problem, despite numerous other posts with many similar issues.
Sharing tire information was common in some of the other edmunds forums I've been in and was always appreciated. I know I appreciated it for one particular vehicle I owned because it saved me and many others hundreds of dollars when it came time to replace.
This tire issue just being one of several issues seemed to ignite a fuse when I posted that I had discovered that the tires that came on the car were not "Touring Tires" as stated on the window sticker.
Maybe some of the critics don't realize the difference between such ratings as passenger, touring, grand touring, winter, summer, or even truck tires. And definitely do not understand that even within a tire grouping what tire is great on one vehicle it might not have the same qualities on a different vehicle. And that is specifically whay I started a thread to learn others experience with different tires.
Certainly I expected "Touring Tires" as a starting point, even if they were not the best match for this vehicle.
And with other issues present, over in those GM formums it seemed like there were company men dedicated to quashing anything but praise for Malibu.
However,. there are some over there that truly seemed to help with good advice.
 
I would strongly suggest that the better forum to start in is Edmunds. Then if you run out of help, then maybe take a look at GM since there seems to be some dedicated mechanics over there, or do as I did, follow the suggestion here, Edmund forum, to check over there. It might not be a place for the thin skinned.

#10 of 14 Re: Best tire opinion for Malibu [e_net_rider] by malexbu

Jan 01, 2010 (7:41 pm)

Replying to: e_net_rider (Jan 01, 2010 9:04 am)
Maybe some of the critics don't realize the difference between such
ratings as passenger, touring, grand touring, winter, summer, or even
truck tires.
 
To be honest with you, I still don't realize that difference -- if you
could share your experience/opinion, I'd appreciate it.
 
We (you and I, in particular) briefly talked about tires a couple of
months ago and I said I could not, in honesty, distinguish between
various tires on my three Malibus. Since then, I changed the rear
tires on my Maxx -- the ones I bought it with were pretty worn out,
and, in the early November, I was almost thrown off the ramp entering
the highway. So, I installed the pretty expensive Eagle ComforTred
ones there, with the "20% extra padding". Did it make my pretty
road-sensitive Maxx smoother? A bit, undoubtedly. But not to the
extent that I could say it changed the nature of the car and the road
feel. Of course, I have no fear of losing the road grip now, but this
is simply because the old ones were so worn out. (The old tires were
"Cooper Lifeliner GLS", of wrong size, it turned out: P215/65R instead
of P215/60R16 supposed to be there (in that older discussion I
misidentified them as Continentals, IIRC).)
 
So, a direct question to you: what would be my experience if instead
of ComforTred, a "passenger" tire, I installed a touring or grand
touring one?
 
When you regret not getting "Touring Tires", what exactly you think
you are missing, other than the name?

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