Tires are the only part of your car touching the road, and even then the surface area regularly connecting to the pavement could fit on a piece of printer paper. And, yet, many of us just look for the cheapest tire. For certain cars that’s maybe ok, but even our staff is split between people who don’t care that much about their tires and those who spend way too much time tire-shopping.
Matt Hardigree
The tires are the only part of my Subaru that do not let me down. I have Michelin CrossClimate 2s and I think they’re the best all-around tire for people who drive a non-performance vehicle/live in cold climates and might have to drive in snow irregularly.
Thomas Hundal
When I bought my Boxster, I knew it needed new tires, and there aren’t many choices in this particular fitment. Instead of the Porsche N-Spec Pirelli P Zeros, which I haven’t been impressed with, or the ancient and expensive Porsche N-Spec Michelin PS2s, I went with the Continental ExtremeContact Sport 02. It’s a 340-treadwear summer tire competing with the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S, except it’s exclusively an aftermarket fitment. While grip and resistance to flat-spotting has been excellent, the big surprise was road manners. These are incredibly quiet tires that are still sticky enough to throw pebbles, they’re hushed over expansion joints, have a great sense of dead-ahead, and I find the steering more linear than on most Michelin tires. So far, I’m extremely happy. After all, a good car requires good tires, right?
Peter Vieira
I am a discerning consumer, which means I wear out the counter guy at my Local Firestone Tire Center with a litany of questions including “What do you have for a 2015 RAV4” and “What is the cheapest tire for a 2015 RAV4,” followed by “can I keep this pen” and exactly no other questions. I’m an unashamed cheap-tire buyer, but I won’t get the cheapest of the cheap – it’s gotta be a legit name brand, it can’t be something like, “Mile King, a Division of Abakumov Rubber & Sausage.” At present, I’m happy with my [goes out to garage to check] Firestone All-Seasons. They’re the perfect combination of “was on sale” and “seems fine” that I require in a tire. And if anyone’s wondering why I get my tires from a Firestone shop, it’s because it’s close enough for me to ride my bicycle back home after I drop off the RAV4. I can’t be hanging out in no tire store all day, I’m busy.
Mercedes Streeter
My only tire loyalty is to Vredestein. Otherwise, cheapest tire from a recognizable brand.
Top image by Pete, via Twitter (sigh … “X.”)
Cooper CS5 Ultra Touring on the Pacifica, because when I last purchased tires Cooper was still involved in motorsport and the company I worked for had a sponsorship deal with them. I got a nice discount, and I like supporting those who support us/me.
Pirelli P7s on the GTI because that is what came on the car when I picked it up a year-and-a-half ago.
Cooper CS5 Ultra Touring on the Pacifica, because when I last purchased tires Cooper was still involved in motorsport and the company I worked for had a sponsorship deal with them. I got a nice discount, and I like supporting those who support us/me.
Pirelli P7s on the GTI because that is what came on the car when I picked it up a year-and-a-half ago.
My hybrid Maverick has OEM Continental ProContact TX. They’re quiet, and get pretty decent fuel economy, but that’s where the positive attributes end. Awful in any semblance of freezing (despite being all-season). Bought Blizzaks for the truck for winter duty and they live up to the hype.
The ND Miata has Continental Extremecontact DWS 06+ which offer loads more grip than the factory summer-only Bridgestone Potenza S001s. As a bonus, the Continental’s allow for winter shenanigans.
My hybrid Maverick has OEM Continental ProContact TX. They’re quiet, and get pretty decent fuel economy, but that’s where the positive attributes end. Awful in any semblance of freezing (despite being all-season). Bought Blizzaks for the truck for winter duty and they live up to the hype.
The ND Miata has Continental Extremecontact DWS 06+ which offer loads more grip than the factory summer-only Bridgestone Potenza S001s. As a bonus, the Continental’s allow for winter shenanigans.
I have General Altimax RT43 tires on my car. I like them. I liked them enough to buy another set after the 1st set wore out after about 90,000km (right before they went out of production… replaced with the Altimax RT45… which apparently is just as good). They would have lasted even longer but my car had a minor alignment issue which was fixed when I got the next set. With the current set, I put on over 45,000km on them so far and they still have tons of tread left.
They are a good all-around all-season tire that is long lasting and have a reasonable price.
I use these tires year-round. Meaning they get used in hot summer conditions and icy cold conditions with snow. In summer conditions, they’re good, but probably not as good as a high performance summer tire. And in winter, they’re good enough… not as good as a good quality winter tire, but better than cheap Chinese winter tires.
I have General Altimax RT43 tires on my car. I like them. I liked them enough to buy another set after the 1st set wore out after about 90,000km (right before they went out of production… replaced with the Altimax RT45… which apparently is just as good). They would have lasted even longer but my car had a minor alignment issue which was fixed when I got the next set. With the current set, I put on over 45,000km on them so far and they still have tons of tread left.
They are a good all-around all-season tire that is long lasting and have a reasonable price.
I use these tires year-round. Meaning they get used in hot summer conditions and icy cold conditions with snow. In summer conditions, they’re good, but probably not as good as a high performance summer tire. And in winter, they’re good enough… not as good as a good quality winter tire, but better than cheap Chinese winter tires.
I liked the Hankooks on the Sentra pretty well, though I can’t remember if they wore fast or I really just drove that much (it would have been something like 16-18k miles per year).
The (u-haul, poverty-spec) truck has some ridiculously rare fitment for tires, so much so I considered buying new wheels in a common size to offset the cost. I would have come out ahead after the next round of tires. Discount Tire receipt says they were $192 apiece: Hankook Dynapro AT RF08 P 235 /75 R17 108S SL BSW FO.
The Z4 has tires attached to wheels that have spent more time the last year on the ground than on the car. I know I didn’t buy run flats or cheapies.
The bike also has tires, Continental UGH not knowing is bothering me, brb
…
Okay the z4 has BFGoodrich g-force Sport Comp-2, and the bike has Michelin Road 5 GT. I don’t know much about bike tires but I think I’ll try to go upmarket. Not for racerboi insecurities, just because sometimes I get a slightly squidgy feeling sometimes and if that’s the tires I’d like to get rid of that feeling. Not even under high acceleration or tear-assing around on backroads, just sometimes in traffic at regular speeds.
tl;dr:
Truck: Hankook Dynapro AT
raison d’tîre: cheapest + decent experience with hankook
Z4: BFGoodrich g-force Sport Comp-2
raison d’tîre: probably cheapest with speed and traction ratings I’ll never use
Bike: Michelin Road 5 GT.
raison d’tîre: came on the bike
I liked the Hankooks on the Sentra pretty well, though I can’t remember if they wore fast or I really just drove that much (it would have been something like 16-18k miles per year).
The (u-haul, poverty-spec) truck has some ridiculously rare fitment for tires, so much so I considered buying new wheels in a common size to offset the cost. I would have come out ahead after the next round of tires. Discount Tire receipt says they were $192 apiece: Hankook Dynapro AT RF08 P 235 /75 R17 108S SL BSW FO.
The Z4 has tires attached to wheels that have spent more time the last year on the ground than on the car. I know I didn’t buy run flats or cheapies.
The bike also has tires, Continental UGH not knowing is bothering me, brb
…
Okay the z4 has BFGoodrich g-force Sport Comp-2, and the bike has Michelin Road 5 GT. I don’t know much about bike tires but I think I’ll try to go upmarket. Not for racerboi insecurities, just because sometimes I get a slightly squidgy feeling sometimes and if that’s the tires I’d like to get rid of that feeling. Not even under high acceleration or tear-assing around on backroads, just sometimes in traffic at regular speeds.
tl;dr:
Truck: Hankook Dynapro AT
raison d’tîre: cheapest + decent experience with hankook
Z4: BFGoodrich g-force Sport Comp-2
raison d’tîre: probably cheapest with speed and traction ratings I’ll never use
Bike: Michelin Road 5 GT.
raison d’tîre: came on the bike
Curious to hear folks thoughts on the CrossClimate 2 EV tires. We put them on the Polestar after the OEM ones wore through in about 13k (due in no small part to shenanigans and high acceleration in all directions). We needed something that could be a all year round tire with potential light snow and lots of hydroplane resistance for standing water we get on the roads here. No option to store tires specifically for winter and summer unfortunately.
Swapping from the stock Sport Contact 6, the CC2s are noticeably softer, have similar road noise, and are much nicer in the ran and wet. Lots more treadblock squirm under forward acceleration, braking is excellent, and grip and responsiveness is great for what they are and how heavy the car is.
How have folks found them or other performance all-weather tires to be on EVs? I’m hoping to get 20k on these.
Love em in Wisconsin, hear there is a new higher rated different brand with reviews on rack rack but I haven’t looked yet.
My Polestar came with Primacy 4’s. The salesman told me they were all-season but apparently he was mistaken. I also have no room to store wheels and tires so I’m looking for a good all season alternative.
I don’t recall the model, but there’s a set of Continentals that are supposed to be slightly better. I might try those next.
Love my CC2s though. 16k miles and not much wear, even though I drive through corners like a maniac in my Clarity PHEV. (I accelerate faster than most gassers from stoplights, but I’m not that hard on the throttle.) I just had one tire replaced under a road hazard warranty about 2k miles ago, and there’s no visible difference in tread depth, so I expect a nice long life from them as well.
Curious to hear folks thoughts on the CrossClimate 2 EV tires. We put them on the Polestar after the OEM ones wore through in about 13k (due in no small part to shenanigans and high acceleration in all directions). We needed something that could be a all year round tire with potential light snow and lots of hydroplane resistance for standing water we get on the roads here. No option to store tires specifically for winter and summer unfortunately.
Swapping from the stock Sport Contact 6, the CC2s are noticeably softer, have similar road noise, and are much nicer in the ran and wet. Lots more treadblock squirm under forward acceleration, braking is excellent, and grip and responsiveness is great for what they are and how heavy the car is.
How have folks found them or other performance all-weather tires to be on EVs? I’m hoping to get 20k on these.
Love em in Wisconsin, hear there is a new higher rated different brand with reviews on rack rack but I haven’t looked yet.
My Polestar came with Primacy 4’s. The salesman told me they were all-season but apparently he was mistaken. I also have no room to store wheels and tires so I’m looking for a good all season alternative.
I don’t recall the model, but there’s a set of Continentals that are supposed to be slightly better. I might try those next.
Love my CC2s though. 16k miles and not much wear, even though I drive through corners like a maniac in my Clarity PHEV. (I accelerate faster than most gassers from stoplights, but I’m not that hard on the throttle.) I just had one tire replaced under a road hazard warranty about 2k miles ago, and there’s no visible difference in tread depth, so I expect a nice long life from them as well.
My ’18 Si has Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 4
My ’18 Si has Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 4
BFGoodrich K02s on my 2015 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. OEM were KMs. However, I like the KO2s both for off-road and on-road performance. Best balance for me in the Arizona Sonora desert.
BFGoodrich K02s on my 2015 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. OEM were KMs. However, I like the KO2s both for off-road and on-road performance. Best balance for me in the Arizona Sonora desert.
I have Yokohama Geolanders on my Crown Victoria that I’ve been really happy with, still decent grip and comfort on the highway, and noticeably better traction on the sorts of dirt roads/logging trails and light off roading that I tend to do with it from time to time. Seems like a good tire so far
I also have Cooper Endeavors on an Ioniq Hybrid that I’ve been less happy with, but some of that is just the fact that they’re the typical low roll resistance issues, lots of road noise, harder ride, some of it is just the car. They’re also wearing pretty badly, but I know the shocks and struts are getting due for replacement, which is probably the reason there
My Corvair has some weirdo Chinese brand I don’t immediately recall, they’re fine, but they’re also getting older and harder, and the section width is slightly wrong, so I’ll be replacing them soon with another Chinese off-brand that will at least be brand new and the totally correct size. Not a lot of options out there for radials in 185/80/13, but there are some, so you take what you can get, anything today is better than the original bias plies anyway (still have one of those as the spare, but it is 60 years old, so I’d have to be pretty damn desperate to use it)
I have Yokohama Geolanders on my Crown Victoria that I’ve been really happy with, still decent grip and comfort on the highway, and noticeably better traction on the sorts of dirt roads/logging trails and light off roading that I tend to do with it from time to time. Seems like a good tire so far
I also have Cooper Endeavors on an Ioniq Hybrid that I’ve been less happy with, but some of that is just the fact that they’re the typical low roll resistance issues, lots of road noise, harder ride, some of it is just the car. They’re also wearing pretty badly, but I know the shocks and struts are getting due for replacement, which is probably the reason there
My Corvair has some weirdo Chinese brand I don’t immediately recall, they’re fine, but they’re also getting older and harder, and the section width is slightly wrong, so I’ll be replacing them soon with another Chinese off-brand that will at least be brand new and the totally correct size. Not a lot of options out there for radials in 185/80/13, but there are some, so you take what you can get, anything today is better than the original bias plies anyway (still have one of those as the spare, but it is 60 years old, so I’d have to be pretty damn desperate to use it)
Mavis Traction Controls. They’re made by Hankook and they last forever (well 6ish years but that’s still about 85k that gets put on them). Had them on my Tucson and now that I’ve had to swap out the original tires I have them on my Elantra.
Mavis Traction Controls. They’re made by Hankook and they last forever (well 6ish years but that’s still about 85k that gets put on them). Had them on my Tucson and now that I’ve had to swap out the original tires I have them on my Elantra.
The daily tires for the Camaro are the Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4’s and I love them. For racing I have the Bridgestone RE-71RS. The Beige Unicorn has the Falken Wildpeak A/T3W, which do a fantastic job of being a truck tire that still have traction in the wet and snow and dry with very little noise.
The daily tires for the Camaro are the Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4’s and I love them. For racing I have the Bridgestone RE-71RS. The Beige Unicorn has the Falken Wildpeak A/T3W, which do a fantastic job of being a truck tire that still have traction in the wet and snow and dry with very little noise.
I bought a 2003 Kia Sorento with some no-name cheapo Chinese tires on it. I wasn’t thrilled with them, and they didn’t have the best traction.
But I channeled my inner David Tracy, certified Cheap B@stard and refused to replace them until they wore out.
Once I got the front end aligned, those stupid tires REFUSED to wear out. I put something like 50k miles on those tires, and they STILL weren’t down to the wear bars. I swear, those tires were partially cast iron.
One day, on a normal left turn on dry pavement, I did near 360 spin.
Couple days later, I replaced them with a set of Yokohama Geolanders. Much better traction!
I bought a 2003 Kia Sorento with some no-name cheapo Chinese tires on it. I wasn’t thrilled with them, and they didn’t have the best traction.
But I channeled my inner David Tracy, certified Cheap B@stard and refused to replace them until they wore out.
Once I got the front end aligned, those stupid tires REFUSED to wear out. I put something like 50k miles on those tires, and they STILL weren’t down to the wear bars. I swear, those tires were partially cast iron.
One day, on a normal left turn on dry pavement, I did near 360 spin.
Couple days later, I replaced them with a set of Yokohama Geolanders. Much better traction!
I’ve owned more Falken tires than any other brand, my goto is the Falken Zeix, but they didn’t have them available in 225/45/r15 I wanted for the Civic, so it’s rolling on Toyos, and I’m pretty happy with them. I think they’re the Extensa’s? They even held up admirable on Waterford Hills, where my driving coach mentioned normally I’d recommend better tires, but yours seem to match your ability.
I want super expensive sticky race car tires, but the reality is I just do regular driving nearly all of time, so performance all seasons seem to be the sweet spot for me on price/performance.
Falken makes a RT660 that is really quite sticky, affordable, and available in your size. If you want to improve your driving ability start with a tire in the 200 treadwear class. All season tires, even in the performance category are not the right tool for the job.
Yeah, sadly, I do performance driving like Jeep owners offroad, very occasionally; so I’ll stick to all-seasons for now.
Love the username!
I’ve owned more Falken tires than any other brand, my goto is the Falken Zeix, but they didn’t have them available in 225/45/r15 I wanted for the Civic, so it’s rolling on Toyos, and I’m pretty happy with them. I think they’re the Extensa’s? They even held up admirable on Waterford Hills, where my driving coach mentioned normally I’d recommend better tires, but yours seem to match your ability.
I want super expensive sticky race car tires, but the reality is I just do regular driving nearly all of time, so performance all seasons seem to be the sweet spot for me on price/performance.
Falken makes a RT660 that is really quite sticky, affordable, and available in your size. If you want to improve your driving ability start with a tire in the 200 treadwear class. All season tires, even in the performance category are not the right tool for the job.
Yeah, sadly, I do performance driving like Jeep owners offroad, very occasionally; so I’ll stick to all-seasons for now.
Love the username!
I most recently put a set of Firestone Firehawk all seasons on my Focus and love them – they’re not the regular all seasons, but rather a more aggressive/sport version. Nicely splits the difference between standard all seasons and performance tires.
Bridgestone’s investment upon buying the company has made a HUGE difference in Firestone’s product quality…Firestones are now great bang-for-the-buck tires in a way they often weren’t for a long time.