It’s Wrenching Wednesday, Let’s Talk Tires

Aa Talk Tires
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We’ve been doing Wrenching Wednesday for a while now, and I’ve only just realized we haven’t dedicated an entire installment to tires. Sure, you might only purchase a set every few years, but they’re some of the most critical parts on a car, right up there with the nut behind the wheel.

While David Tracy is perfectly fine with junkyard tires, I’m more willing to splash the cash, as tires really are the only things keeping a car connected to the road. [Ed Note: I did just buy my girlfriend a brand new set of Michelin CrossClimate 2s for her Lexus. -DT]. Unfortunately, this means I can be a bit obsessive, and an impending need to make a tire choice for my Porsche Boxster has me going around in circles.

My Boxster sports a rather intense stagger of 205/50R17 up front and 255/40R17 out back, which means that options are a bit limited. The factory-fit Bridgestone Potenzas I love on these cars are discontinued, and I’m rather unimpressed by the Pirelli P Zero Rosso Asimmetrico that’s currently approved by Porsche. So what else is out there?

Michelin Pilot Sport Ps2 N3

An obvious choice is the Porsche-approved Michelin Pilot Sport PS2, but I’m not entirely sure that’s the best option for my application. Toronto roads are shit, to the point where cruising Detroit’s arterial roads feels like driving on a billiard table. As for Angelenos, they have no idea how good they have it. Basically, all-season tires offer a bit more squish and a bit more quiet, and the current crop of ultra high performance all-season tires is quite good. Then again, you do often give up a few feet of stopping distance, and a few feet can make a huge difference.

Continental Extremecontact Sport 02

So, what’s out there for reasonably comfy summer tires in 986 Boxster staggered 17-inch fitment? Well, there’s the Continental ExtremeContact Sport 02 and the Vredestein Sprint +. Now, the Vredesteins look period correct, and Vredestein did supply us with some awesome winter tires for our Ski-Klasse, but the Sprint + isn’t officially sold in Canada, so getting a set might be a bit involved. In contrast, it’s much easier for me to get my hands on a set of the Continentals, even if they are more expensive.

Thomas Bmw Cc

 

Granted, I’m not always a tire snob. I have 300-treadwear off-brand tires on my 325i that will weather out well before they run low on tread, and they still throw pebbles, even if cornering limits aren’t quite as high as they used to be. Likewise, I had the Firestone Firehawk Indy 500s on my G35 when they were fairly fresh on the market, and found them to be quite fun. Fast, light steering, solid dry grip for the category, slightly edgy (read: fun) in the wet.

So, let’s talk about your tire choices. What are you running on your cars? Are you happy with them? What do you look for in a tire? Let’s get nerdy about rubber, because tires matter.

(Photo credits: Thomas Hundal, Tire Rack, Continental)

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101 thoughts on “It’s Wrenching Wednesday, Let’s Talk Tires”

  1. When the time came to replace the factory tires on my Fiesta ST I was not able to replace the Bridgestone Potenza 35-profile tires it came with – tires I really liked, even if they only lasted about 25k miles with the crazy way I drive the car. I am not as happy with the 40-profile Michelin all-seasons they got replaced with. They just don’t grip or brake quite as well although they work okay, I guess. I live in SoCal and never drive the car into wintry weather conditions so any value from all-seasons is completely lost on me, as is the slightly better ride from the higher profile.

    The Jaguar has some Falkens. They are somewhat serviceable but next time I’m putting the proper Michelins on that it really wants.

    The Suburban is a whole different story. I replaced the highway tires with BF Goodrich KO2s and that is some of the best money I have ever spent on tires in my life. They do everything I need for traction in bad conditions (mud, snow, legitimate but not hardcore off-roading) while still functioning remarkably well for highway use. The latter matters a fair amount because I have to usually drive some distance to get to the point where the mud/snow/off-road capability gets used.

  2. I switched my Corvette from summer Hankooks to all-season Generals for a few reasons:

    1. The Hankooks only lasted maybe 12-15k miles (admittedly, half of those were the previous owner so maybe he was constantly doing burnouts or something).
    2. In the Great White North, a sizeable chunk of driving season can include very cold temps, and summer tires are really bad for that.
    3. I only drive this car on public roads and am not a good enough driver to have any business pushing the car harder than a decent set of all-seasons can handle anyway. Also, it turns out it can be kind of fun to stab the throttle going through one of those stupid jughandle intersections and hang the tail out a little. Harder to do with sticky tires.

    Thus far I have yet to regret the move in any way.

    The truck got the nicest Michelins I could buy though. First, because that’s my bad weather vehicle and second because the stock tires got incredibly loud by the time I replaced them. The Michelins made a huge difference in road noise. They also weren’t drastically more expensive than any of the other options.

  3. What kinda tires are y’all running on ND Miatas? I’m curious about the running costs of the Miata vs say a Mustang, which (I assume) has bigger/more expensive tires.

    1. Bridgestone RE71RS, but I’m a track/autoX nerd. A set for my ND (stock size wheels, 225/45/17) costs about $400 less than a set for my 350Z (18x11s, 285/something/18 or wider). Consumables will be more expensive for a Mustang than for a ND.

    2. Michelin Pilot Sport 5 (Texas, so I can run summers year round) on a ND2. They replaced a set of Pilot Sport AS4 that replaced the OEM Bridgestone Potenza’s that apparently everyone hates. I’ve been quite happy with both Pilot Sports and the AS4 lasted me 50-60k if I remember correctly (I daily it and have a long commute).

  4. I have the Conti Extreme DWs on my 911SC in close to the same staggered width on 17″ BBS LMs (215 fronts, 255 rears). I wore through a set of rears in about 20k miles but the fronts are still great. It hangs on hard with the LSD but I tend to enjoy oversteer so the rears pay the price. I was happy enough to buy a second pair for the rear.

  5. I don’t do cheap tires.

    Both my wife’s Forester and my Voyager now have CrossClimate2s on them. Exciting tires? No. Exciting cars? No.

    But in Upstate NY, they genuinely perform very well in the snow, have a long tread life, and they’re pretty quiet. I used to have to deal with snow tire swaps, but no longer. Ideally, each set will last us 5+ years. So far, they seem to be worth the money (a little under 1k per set).

    Edit: The only issue I have with them is you definitely take a bit of a penalty regarding efficiency. I’m seeing a 1-2 mpg drop from the van which… sucks. But I would see that drop or worse from regular snow tires, and since winter in theory (certainly not this winter) lasts about 5 months up here, it probably doesn’t make that much of a difference.

  6. Anyone run the Conti Extreme Contact DWS 06+ for more than 20k miles? I switched over from the Michelin Pilot Sport AS3+ which I though had better turn in and steering feel but became very loud after 20k miles with 5k tire rotations.

    Only switched because I read the AS4 had louder noise than the AS3+.

    2. Just put the DWS 06+ on my Infiniti G37x a few months ago – so far they have been an excellent tire -but I only have a few thousand miles on them. The Potenza’s they replaced lasted 20K to 30K miles – some cars (& drivers) just eat tires. I am not sure any of the ultra-all-seasons are going to last much more than any others, and I definitely believe these tires are worth the smaller lifespan.

    3. My last set of DWS06 made it to 35k. They had worn off the S and about halfway through the W. Still above the wear bars but they were not doing well in light snow anymore.

      I replaced them with the newer DWS06+ that is supposed to be a bit longer lasting but I only have about 10k on them so I can’t say.

      1. How was the road noise at 35k compared to when new? I had the AS3 and AS3+ and each ran about 40k with new issue other than the loud road noise after 20k miles.

  7. Ages ago I was low on funds and purchased a cheap rear tire for the street bike I had at the time. After some pucker-inducing moments, I decided not to skimp on tires ever again.

    The modern-ish sporty bike gets Bridgestone Battlax. They wear well and IMO have really good grip.

    The old dual-purpose bike gets IRC Trials GP-1 tires. Despite the name, they are not actually eraser-soft trials tires; they are semi-knobby so they work on dirt and on tarmac. Oddly enough they are the same brand and the same model that I was using 35+ years ago. (Picture that guy from My Cousin Vinny saying “I *clap* dentical!”.) There is a knockoff version now with the same tread pattern, but I prefer the IRCs for historical and quality reasons.

  8. I ran a set of ExtremeContact DWS on my Honda. Didn’t make it over a thousand miles. Couldn’t get them to roll smooth even after 2 different shops tried to balance them. I took them off to look at something else and that is when i noticed there was steel wire from the belts sticking out from around the tread on the inside on two of them. Tire Rack didn’t want to take them back, but Conti finally covered them under a warranty.

    Never ran into something like that with Michelin, Dunlop or even cheap Kumho or Kelly. Later I got a set of PureContact LS and they were absolutely great as a regular tire on an Accord.

    Years ago I got a set of Bridgestone Turanza to replace a series of cheap (price and performance) Generals. Those Turanzas would lose traction and spin even if there was a chance of rain in the forecast. At least they didn’t scream in turns like Uniroyal Tigerpaws. Bridgestone has since evolved the rubber compound and they are better these days.

    I’ve since gotten a Honda Ridgeline. The Pirelli Scorpion AS 3+ are really good for a highway tire. Quite, tracks well and doesn’t slide around in the wet.

  9. I ran all-season Hankook Dynapro HTs on my old conversion Econoline, and generally found them good, so I got the closest thing in my Prius, the Kinergy PTs. They’re an identical size to the stock tires, although the load/speed rating is 92H rather than the stock spec 91V (why do the stock tires need a speed rating of over 120 mph when the car can’t break 106?). The mildly extra load rating is a modicum of peace of mind, and the 80,000 mile warranty was a very high priority for me. I got one replaced under warranty a few months after they were installed after picking up a nail near the sidewall.

    I did replace the donut spare in the Prius recently when I realized the original one was 11 years old. Had to dig to find something that was a close (but not identical) size, since the original size was discontinued.

    I don’t really have a comparison point for tire noise. The van was carpeted inside so it was fairly quiet and smooth, and the Prius didn’t audibly change after the new tires were installed, at least as far as I could tell. Then again, the tires it came with were a mismatched front and rear pair that weren’t OEM recommended tires, anyway.

    If I hit the Prius accelerator a teense too fast from a stop, the front tires can spin out for a moment, but that’s rare. And it’s handled fine in what little snow I’ve driven in.

    I just want to put tires on, get them rotated, maintain their pressure, and otherwise not give them a second thought. For how expensive they are, I’d rather not have to think about replacing them for a long time.

  10. I’m currently running Continental DWS 06 Plus all seasons on my Sportwagen, and my fiancee has the same tires on his Mazda3. I’ve had them in the past as well, and they’re great. Unless something better hits the market, I’ll keep buying those Continentals in the future.

    My Sportwagen had a set of snow tires on it when I bought it in 2020, so I ran those in the winter, till this year. They’re now seven plus years old and have a lot of cracks in the sidewalls. I thought about getting another set of snows, but the problem is that winter around here is a lot more mild than it used to be. Lots of days, even weeks, with temps above 40 degrees. We get accumulating snow a few times a year and even then it’s not usually very much. We get a lot more rain than snow these days. Plus I work from home, so even if we get a bunch of snow, I don’t have to go anywhere. All seasons are really the best option for where I live at this point.

    1. I ditched the Pirelli’s on my S5 for Conti Extreme Contact DWS 06+ and liked them so much that when the Q7 got a nail in one of its Michelin’s, I used it as an excuse to throw a whole set of Conti’s on it. I had to go up from a 285 to a 295, but the diameter increase is negligible and they’re like $100+ (each!) cheaper than the OEM size Michelin’s. They’re super quiet and smooth, and awesome in the wet. I cannot comment on how they do in the snow, though. Just as good as if not better than the Michelin’s in many categories, and the fact that they’re cheaper makes it a no-brainer.

      1. It’s been a while since I drove with a set of those in the snow (I tried out a set of Goodyear F1 Asymmetric all seasons for my last set of tires) but from what I remember, they did pretty well. I really love how quiet they are, my Sportwagen leaves something to be desired in the NVH department so these were a welcome upgrade over the Goodyears, which were getting ridiculously loud.

  12. I tend to be a bit anal when it comes to tires. I’ve been bit buying based on “interwebs wisdom” a few times so I’m cautious about reviews.

    A few sets ago, the wisdom was that Nitto Invos were great tires for my Z06. I bought in and quickly found out the people making that recommendation must only drive the car under the speed limit and never touch the throttle – they were pretty poor. I’m running Michelin PSS now and they do quite well, even holding up to moderate track duty. The PSS seem to be gone so I’ll have to start over for the next batch.

    For the DD MKZ, it came with Michelin Energi tires and, holy carp, they were terrible in any kind of weather. They wore well but were downright dangerous in even the mildest winter weather. I threw them out and replaced with Conti DWS06 then the DWS06 Plus and have been thrilled. I was tempted the last time to go with the Michelin Cross Climates, though. I think the Contis will do better in dry/wet but the Michelins would probably edge out in snow. Maybe next time.

  13. CX-30 is still on OEM supplied all seasons, they suck but they have tread. Unfortunately Continental DWS06+ isn’t made in that exact size, but there are sizes within a couple percent of width and OD, so I’ll likely swap to them when the time comes. Had them on my previous Golf Sportwagen and holy moly are they exceptional in every condition, and a really reasonable price.

    NA Miata is on Kuhmo Ecsta V730s, and for a “budget” 200 TW AutoX type tire, they are an absolute cheat code. Absurd grip, and at about 40-50% less than similar tires that are comparable, I’d highly recommend. They do kick up plenty of rocks, and I can’t speak to tire noise since it’s an NA Miata on low, stiff suspension, everything else creaks and rattles louder than the tires, and I just blast the headrest speakers until I cant hear it.

    Moral of the story, buy a Miata, acquire Kumhos, smile.

    1. My NA Miata came with the rock-hardest, bargain-basementest tires that the previous owner could find at Discount Tire. Receipt showed they were $35/ea. I was OK with that at first; they had plenty of tread and I had real repairs to spend time and money on.

      After about a year, I discovered that even a hint of rain made those cheap tires give up: I yeeted myself out of a slightly wet roundabout and barely missed two trees en route to being stopped sideways on the sidewalk.

      I run General Altimax RT43s year-round now. The grip is predictable, the ride is comfortable, and I don’t fear for my life every time there’s a chance of precipitation.

      1. I admittedly went the uber cheap route for all seasons on my spare set of daisies, only because I’ve got the Kumhos on the Koseis I typically run. The car came with 3 full sets of wheels (8 diasies and the 4 kosies) and all three sets had tires at least 10 years old, So the generic cheapo walmart tires do a much better job than what was on it, but I never drive mine in the rain since its a fun car, so I can get by. Definitely wouldn’t recommend them for all weather use though haha.

        1. I live on the foothills of the Rockies and all my fun drives are up into the mountains, so you need all-seasons by default. Will it suddenly snow in the middle of this June drive? Maybe! Will the road turn to gravel for a random stretch? Quite possibly!

          I’m terrified of putting proper summer performance tires on my Miata, mostly because that inevitably leads to a $3k order of suspension upgrades from Flyin’ Miata and that just isn’t in the budget right now. Sounds like you’ve got a great setup!

  14. Continental Extreme Contact DWS 06 on the wife’s Acura. Great tires. When I had my EvoX, the factory Yokohama Advans were total crap. I replaced them with Goodyear Eagles which were much better. Currently have Bridgestone KO2s in 35×12.50 on the Bronco. Not too noisy on the road, good traction when I’m off the road. The 718 Cayman will need new tires by the end of the summer to replace the Potenzas I have on there (19″ wheels), and will probably go Michelin. I might go to the Pilot Sport All Season 4’s to see if I can get a few more miles out of them since I don’t track the Cayman.

  15. Currently 8 Blizzaks in my garage. With this MN winter, I have no idea why.

    Both cars needed new summers last year, I wanted Michelin Defenders for my wifes Rav4 but they were expensive and never on sale – so I went with Goodyear Assurance Maxlife. They are… fine. They improved over whatever I put on when we bought the car 7ish years ago, but those were worn pretty low. The car has pretty lame driving characteristics anyway, so I wanted something safe, relatively quiet and long lasting.

    I tend to spend a lot of time+energy researching tires to make sure I get something quality – then promptly forget it all once they are installed.

  16. For my Focus, I tried Firestone Firehawk all-seasons and have been quite pleasantly surprised.

    They’re not regular Firestone all-seasons, but rather a more on the sporty edge of things version. Good handling, wear, price, with the only downside being a little more road noise, but it’s a non-issue for me (the engine is buzzy enough, which I for one love).

    Bridgestone’s takeover has seemingly really bumped up Firestone quality and value.

    1. I’ve been happy with my Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 summers. Grippy, great value. I’ve got them on my Kona EV right now, huge upgrade over the EV all-seasons given the torque that thing puts out.

      1. Given how much I’ve enjoyed the all-seasons, I’d been considering the 500s for my Mustang’s next set (I’ve been running Goodyear Eagles for ages), so I appreciate hearing your direct experience – thank you!

        The value proposition on them seems really high.

  17. I put some Yokohama Geolandar A/T-S on my Kia after the OEM’s wore out. The Geolandar’s lasted a lot longer than I thought they would. I had to switch back to OEM spec tires after getting a bolt through the sidewall, as they stopped making the size that fit my 16s.

  18. Those Pilot Sports are good tires. I’ve had them on all manner of cars. Quiet, good treadwear, and still enough grip to make driving fun. I’ve had them through snow and Ice and they are decent there too.

    I’ve had other tires that I bought just to keep a car running like Goodyear Assurance and it’s amazing the difference.

    Pilot Sports do have some stiff sidewalls though. And (at least for my rims at the time) they were a little more snug than other tires of the same size. So it may make installation a little more difficult. But, those are still my vote.

  19. My ’76 BMW 2002 came with 13″ wheels. Years ago I upgraded to 14″ to get a better selection and now the 14″ selection is also crap. I tried several suspect brands but they always would go out of round quickly so I splashed out for some Michelins. They are not the grippiest tires but they are super smooth riding and very predictable. I am cheap but sometimes the good stuff is worth it.

  20. I replaced the tires on my used Mazda3 with another set of Dunlop SP 5000s. It’s the OEM tire and the first set made it to 53,000 miles, and that sounded good to me. I am beginning to suspect that those were actually the 2nd set of tires and that the SP 5000s are only good for 25,000-30,000 miles. The ones I put on it are at 22,000 miles and will not have enough tread left by next winter. I might decide to buy them again anyways because of how well the car drives with them in all conditions. I haven’t had any issues yet in 3 snow seasons.

    1. Had those on my Focus previously, and enjoyed them. They were a HUGE step up from the Kumho econo-tastic tires she came with the from the factory. Though the Kumhos were so stiff that it was easy to chirp the tires, which was kinda fun.

  21. Indy 500s on the Focus ST, slightly wider than stock. They’re fine, I guess. I don’t have any complaints, I just haven’t pushed them to the limit to know what they are really like.

    Just this last weekend I lifted the Scion xB so I could throw some meaty off-road tires on it. At 27×8.5R14 they are kinda small for a real off-roader, but for the toaster they are ginormous.

    The mini has Yokohama A539s, a good all around tire. As you might guess, there isn’t a ton to choose from when you’re shopping for something to fit a 12″ wheel.

  22. For winters, the General Arctic are the best price to performance out there. And, they run reasonably quiet too.

    The OEM Goodyears that came on my 2012 Acadia were the shittiest tires I have ever owned. So-so traction while being louder than winters.

    I’ve likely got research to do for my Volt, I think the summers are due. Ugh.

  23. Huge tire nut here. As we have several cars we race in Lemons, I always use my personal cars as a guinnea pig. As soon as they come back in stock I’m ordering the Nankang CRS V2, to see if they can be a viable replacement for a Hankook Ventus RS4, which is our current favorite. The most important attribute to me is heat tolerance. We used to run Dunlop Direza Z1 star specs and would expect about 15 hours out of them, when they were discontinued we tried the Z2 and those overheat in about 30 minutes and wear out in about 2 hours. Our next favorite was the BF Goodrick Rivals, but the rival 2.0 and 1.5 also have the same problem. Next we switched to Azenis 615K, but then the 615K+ that came afterwards had the same problem… Too many performance tires are now designed around autocross or a hot lap where you want to get as much temp into them as quickly as possible, for endurance racing I want the opposite, a tire that doesn’t “turn on” until 10 minutes of driving. On a tow rig, I couldn’t believe how good Pirelli Scorpion All Terrain Plus tires on. They are the quietest on the road of any I’ve tried, have great grip in dry, wet, dirt, mud, and just blew me away in every way.

    (as an aside, how on earth are Toyo 888R’s popular? wet grip is awful, dry grip is only OK and only forward / back, breakaway is instantaneous and non-communicated, sidewall is stiffer than most run flats, treadlife is non-existent…)

    1. Oh, one thing to add, Federal RS595-PRO is an amazing tire. It drives like a 99% as good clone of a Hankook Ventus RS4 but sells for 60% the price.

      1. Likewise I really enjoy the Kumho Ecsta V730 I have on my NA, and iirc they were about 20-40% less than the RS4, but it’s been a couple years and I could be way off. Heard great things about those Federals from other Miata guys too.

      2. Which Lemons do you run? I’ve heard really good things about the Federals, too. Meanwhile, the 944 has always fared pretty well on Star Specs, but it’s also as stripped out as I could get it and I’m slow as balls.

        1. We’re mostly in the Chicago area so Autobahn, Gingerman, Road America, High Plains for the 24, and randomly show up other places like CMP, or Pitt. Drive the 404 “Hacura” Civic, had a gray RX8 that was a magnet for getting t-boned in the drivers rear wheel by Miatas when raining, which has since been replaced with a red one, the Jetta TDI, used to run a Subaru XT, and rarely bring out a Volvo 240 wagon now with an LS (21 Gallons per hour 🙁 ). Last few years we’ve run the federals on the RX8 and Civic as the Hankooks aren’t available in a compatible size. They’re soo close to the Hankooks in raw grip and durability, their only downside is they’re just slightly less forgiving when you overdo it, but still better than the Dunlops, Falkens, and about equal to the BFG’s.

    2. On a tow rig, I couldn’t believe how good Pirelli Scorpion All Terrain Plus tires on. They are the quietest on the road of any I’ve tried, have great grip in dry, wet, dirt, mud, and just blew me away in every way.

      Very glad to hear that. Picked up some that were on discount from Tire Rack for my ’62 GMC Carryall. Be testing ’em out as soon as the paint on the wheels is cured.

  24. My Kona N came with Pirelli P Zero summers on it and those things sucked ass for normal driving. They wore out at an alarming rate, they rode rough as hell, and under about 60 degrees they were absolute bricks. Don’t get me wrong-I knew I’d have to change them when I bought the car, but I didn’t expect to have to change them as soon as I did.

    I currently have Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate performance all seasons on her. They’re…fine, I guess? They’re grippy enough to have fun with (they held up to a full track day) and do well in the sort of moderate winter we get in DC. They also have great wet grip. But stopping distance increased significantly with them.

    The Kona N doesn’t exactly have stellar brakes to begin with (certainly nothing like the equivalent you get on a GTI) and that added stopping distance irks me profoundly. It’s right in that area that it’s not really dangerous but it’s just enough to make me anxious, especially at low speeds. The brakes and tires are actually great at slowing down from significant speeds (triple digits to way less is extremely confidence inspiring) but in day to day traffic they’re not ideal.

    Anyway next go around I’m going to do the Continental Extreme Contact performance all seasons. They’re apparently the gold standard. Being in DC I’m in the weird middle ground where I don’t necessarily need winter tires but can’t away with running summers year round….so I’m stuck with performance all seasons that I worry will always leave me wanting a bit more.

    1. I love my Continental DWS 06+ tires and I too live in an area where you don’t really need winter tires but can’t get away with summers year round. I love them, and can definitely see why they’re considered one of the best high-performance all season tires you can buy.

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