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.”)
I am nothing but thrilled with the BFG KO2s that I have mounted on the Suburban. I got them a while back knowing that I would occasionally hit snow, mud, etc. While they handle crappy conditions quite nicely I am really impressed at their highway manners. You’d think as all-terrain M+S tires they’d be noisy and handle badly but they are a wonderful blend of on-road and off-road capability. I’ll be running them for as long as I have the Suburban.
I’m not unhappy with them, but I’m much less thrilled with the Michelin Pilot Sport All Seasons that are on my Fiesta ST. I live in Southern California, so the all-season part does literally nothing for me (I have the Suburban if I’m traveling to bad weather). Although I am perfectly happy with lots of sidewall for my larger vehicles, I much preferred the stock 35-series Bridgestone Potenzas that came with the car to the 40-series Michelins currently on it. The Bridgestones were grippier and much more fun, even if I did only get about 28k miles out of them.
I am nothing but thrilled with the BFG KO2s that I have mounted on the Suburban. I got them a while back knowing that I would occasionally hit snow, mud, etc. While they handle crappy conditions quite nicely I am really impressed at their highway manners. You’d think as all-terrain M+S tires they’d be noisy and handle badly but they are a wonderful blend of on-road and off-road capability. I’ll be running them for as long as I have the Suburban.
I’m not unhappy with them, but I’m much less thrilled with the Michelin Pilot Sport All Seasons that are on my Fiesta ST. I live in Southern California, so the all-season part does literally nothing for me (I have the Suburban if I’m traveling to bad weather). Although I am perfectly happy with lots of sidewall for my larger vehicles, I much preferred the stock 35-series Bridgestone Potenzas that came with the car to the 40-series Michelins currently on it. The Bridgestones were grippier and much more fun, even if I did only get about 28k miles out of them.
Continental Extreme Contact. Which replaced the crappy Good Year Eagles, which were really a disappointment.
(have bought the Eagles for all my cars for over 30 years.)
After almost 2 years no visible wear yet. Great response and wet traction.
Would buy again for sure.
My 350z came with eagles, I was amazed at how bad they were. Went with pilot super sports at the time, never looked back.
Continental Extreme Contact. Which replaced the crappy Good Year Eagles, which were really a disappointment.
(have bought the Eagles for all my cars for over 30 years.)
After almost 2 years no visible wear yet. Great response and wet traction.
Would buy again for sure.
My 350z came with eagles, I was amazed at how bad they were. Went with pilot super sports at the time, never looked back.
Just this once I hope you are doing the old lighting site’s content-creation dance:
But please skip step 3 (anger closeted billionaire who sues your parent company into oblivion).
Just this once I hope you are doing the old lighting site’s content-creation dance:
But please skip step 3 (anger closeted billionaire who sues your parent company into oblivion).
’12 Mazda5 – General Altimax 365aw, triple peak rated all season. Only had them for a year and mild winter here in MN, but happy so far
’16 Mazda6 – Had Cooper CS5 but they are hard to get now so switched to Altimax RT45, just got them so no real feedback- Winter was Yokohama IceGuard, but didn’t love them, they are due for replacement so likely going Cooper Evolution Winter
’23 Nissan Rogue – Still on factory Bridgestone. Seem fine. Will be getting Winter tires this season, undecided on brand
’74 Corvette – Firestone Firehawk Indy500, good tires but aging out very soon. Not many white letter options left. Something about the look if BF Goodrich Radial T/A strikes me as better visually, but the Cooper Cobra Radial GT get much better reviews and are cheaper, so likely the direction I’ll go.
’12 Mazda5 – General Altimax 365aw, triple peak rated all season. Only had them for a year and mild winter here in MN, but happy so far
’16 Mazda6 – Had Cooper CS5 but they are hard to get now so switched to Altimax RT45, just got them so no real feedback- Winter was Yokohama IceGuard, but didn’t love them, they are due for replacement so likely going Cooper Evolution Winter
’23 Nissan Rogue – Still on factory Bridgestone. Seem fine. Will be getting Winter tires this season, undecided on brand
’74 Corvette – Firestone Firehawk Indy500, good tires but aging out very soon. Not many white letter options left. Something about the look if BF Goodrich Radial T/A strikes me as better visually, but the Cooper Cobra Radial GT get much better reviews and are cheaper, so likely the direction I’ll go.
bridgestone g-force comp 2’s, price thats easy on the wallet for the wet traction performance, decent treadwear, wheel protection, available as extra load. Braking performance that’s saved my bacon many times over the years
bridgestone g-force comp 2’s, price thats easy on the wallet for the wet traction performance, decent treadwear, wheel protection, available as extra load. Braking performance that’s saved my bacon many times over the years
We off-road our 2021 Toyota Highlander Hybrid plus drive it on snow in the mountains in the winter. We replaced the stock tires with Cooper Discoverer Road + Trail tires – and they have been outstanding in all accounts. Daily MPG only took a slight hit with a big improvement in rock, mud, dirt, and snow performance.
We off-road our 2021 Toyota Highlander Hybrid plus drive it on snow in the mountains in the winter. We replaced the stock tires with Cooper Discoverer Road + Trail tires – and they have been outstanding in all accounts. Daily MPG only took a slight hit with a big improvement in rock, mud, dirt, and snow performance.
Continental LX25’s on my Odyssey. Great tire so far. I always go for American made. Yes it’s a European brand, but the tire is made here. Don’t go cheap on tires or brakes. Your life depends on it.
Continental LX25’s on my Odyssey. Great tire so far. I always go for American made. Yes it’s a European brand, but the tire is made here. Don’t go cheap on tires or brakes. Your life depends on it.
BadAstro has General Grabber ATX3s, and I am impressed. They were cheaper and had better reviews than K02s, and they’re mud/snow rated. I’ve had them for almost 40k miles, and I’ve driven across the country and up into the rockies more times than I can count. Blizzard conditions on a mountain pass at 11k’? Send it! These tires are great and I’ll be buying them again.
Also, hidden gem, budget performance tire: Ohtsu FP7000s. Ohtsu = Falken; same factory, budget brand, but performance tire of budget brand. They are SOOOOOOO cheap, but honestly pretty good for a street car that needs performance tires. For track times I’d pick something else, but man, I have 30k on them and they’ve been great.
BadAstro has General Grabber ATX3s, and I am impressed. They were cheaper and had better reviews than K02s, and they’re mud/snow rated. I’ve had them for almost 40k miles, and I’ve driven across the country and up into the rockies more times than I can count. Blizzard conditions on a mountain pass at 11k’? Send it! These tires are great and I’ll be buying them again.
Also, hidden gem, budget performance tire: Ohtsu FP7000s. Ohtsu = Falken; same factory, budget brand, but performance tire of budget brand. They are SOOOOOOO cheap, but honestly pretty good for a street car that needs performance tires. For track times I’d pick something else, but man, I have 30k on them and they’ve been great.
My cars are either stupidly old or certified as ‘weird’ so they have the tyres they need. If anyone can find a set of OEM spec tyres for a rallye raid Citroen SM ( the carbon fibre wheel sort) I know someone who might be grateful.
My cars are either stupidly old or certified as ‘weird’ so they have the tyres they need. If anyone can find a set of OEM spec tyres for a rallye raid Citroen SM ( the carbon fibre wheel sort) I know someone who might be grateful.
I’ve had the best luck with Continentals and Michelins.
I had some Pirellis that were wonderful for the first 30,000 miles on my 2015 WRX, but were terrible after that point. I had good luck with Toyos, too, but those were out of stock when i needed to replace the Pirellis, so it moved me to Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres that were still on the car when I sold it.
My 2001 996 has Continental Extremecontact DWS 06 Plus tyres, and they’ve been lovely for the year I’ve had them (and 6,000 miles) so far.
My 1978 R100RS is on Bridgestone Battlax tyres (I was actually hoping to buy the Continental RB2/K112 twins, but they were completely out of stock everywhere). Finding 3.25-19 fronts and 4.00-18 rears is harder than it should be, and the available metric tyres actually have a slightly different profile that can rub on the fenders.
My 1985 PX150E is on Continental K62s, and they’re great. I probably need to buy a new tyre and tube and swap out my rear soon.
I’ve had the best luck with Continentals and Michelins.
I had some Pirellis that were wonderful for the first 30,000 miles on my 2015 WRX, but were terrible after that point. I had good luck with Toyos, too, but those were out of stock when i needed to replace the Pirellis, so it moved me to Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres that were still on the car when I sold it.
My 2001 996 has Continental Extremecontact DWS 06 Plus tyres, and they’ve been lovely for the year I’ve had them (and 6,000 miles) so far.
My 1978 R100RS is on Bridgestone Battlax tyres (I was actually hoping to buy the Continental RB2/K112 twins, but they were completely out of stock everywhere). Finding 3.25-19 fronts and 4.00-18 rears is harder than it should be, and the available metric tyres actually have a slightly different profile that can rub on the fenders.
My 1985 PX150E is on Continental K62s, and they’re great. I probably need to buy a new tyre and tube and swap out my rear soon.
Why on earth do we have 2 of our 4 writers here completely ignoring the importance of tires in the driving experience and ‘just buying the cheapest thing’? Its literally the only thing that touches the road. Nearly everything about the driving experience is impacted by tire quality like traction, MPG, wet/snow performance, noise, and even things like durability. All these drastically change depending on the tires. Pretty shocked to see those responses completely dismissing the importance of tires.
I’ve found that the cheapest performance tires from some brands usually cost less than all seasons from big brands, and I’d rather go that route. Example, the Ohtsu FP7000s I listed above. Great tires, soooooooooo cheap.
I sort of agree with you but also appreciate the honesty that price at whatever is in stock is the deciding factor. I think most people buy tires on those criterias, I ten to go for wha does well in tests for summer/winter and try to stick with known brands.
Why on earth do we have 2 of our 4 writers here completely ignoring the importance of tires in the driving experience and ‘just buying the cheapest thing’? Its literally the only thing that touches the road. Nearly everything about the driving experience is impacted by tire quality like traction, MPG, wet/snow performance, noise, and even things like durability. All these drastically change depending on the tires. Pretty shocked to see those responses completely dismissing the importance of tires.
I’ve found that the cheapest performance tires from some brands usually cost less than all seasons from big brands, and I’d rather go that route. Example, the Ohtsu FP7000s I listed above. Great tires, soooooooooo cheap.
I sort of agree with you but also appreciate the honesty that price at whatever is in stock is the deciding factor. I think most people buy tires on those criterias, I ten to go for wha does well in tests for summer/winter and try to stick with known brands.
I got a set of Bridgestone tires on my XC90 V8 shortly after purchase, along with a replacement set of newlg-refurbished wheels, as the prior owner seemed to park against curbs by feel. They’re the Alenza AS Ultra series, and they’re easily the best tires I’ve yet had on any of my vehicles, including countless Michelin, Goodyear, and other name brands.
Amazing in the wet – almost too good, for the amount of sheer overconfidence and bravado they instill. Supremely quiet. Surprisingly high amount of grip most noticeable on highway cloverleafs. Heavy snow performance is yet untested but they’ve done better than the prior car’s Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza Plus would have in the same conditions. They’re delightfully predictable, and I’ve not yet felt any lack of confidence or control with them, which is more than I can say about most Michelins I’ve had.
They’re not Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake rated – the Bridgestone WeatherPeak came out a year or so after these did and serve that role – but I haven’t had as much wintery precipitation as I have in years past, so I’m looking forward to trying to get all 80,000 miles or more out of the expected treadlife of these.
I got a set of Bridgestone tires on my XC90 V8 shortly after purchase, along with a replacement set of newlg-refurbished wheels, as the prior owner seemed to park against curbs by feel. They’re the Alenza AS Ultra series, and they’re easily the best tires I’ve yet had on any of my vehicles, including countless Michelin, Goodyear, and other name brands.
Amazing in the wet – almost too good, for the amount of sheer overconfidence and bravado they instill. Supremely quiet. Surprisingly high amount of grip most noticeable on highway cloverleafs. Heavy snow performance is yet untested but they’ve done better than the prior car’s Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza Plus would have in the same conditions. They’re delightfully predictable, and I’ve not yet felt any lack of confidence or control with them, which is more than I can say about most Michelins I’ve had.
They’re not Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake rated – the Bridgestone WeatherPeak came out a year or so after these did and serve that role – but I haven’t had as much wintery precipitation as I have in years past, so I’m looking forward to trying to get all 80,000 miles or more out of the expected treadlife of these.
2018 F150, replaced the stock Hankook Dynapros with E rated Michelin LTX M/S.
Super silent on the hwy and they don’t seem to wear as fast as the Hankooks, but they break out traction on dry pavement a bit easier. Wet performance is great, though.
2015 Jetta, Dunlop Enasave A/S. The ones that came up with when we got the car 18 months ago. Great for fuel economy and not much else. We’ll get something else