Time for Tires

BananaClip · 07-05-2005, 10:34 AM

My front tires are getting a little bald, so I went out and priced some new ones+ alignment today.
One place where i live wants to sell me some Fuzion HRI's (as seen on Pimp My Ride

)
For $15 less, another place wants to sell me some Lemans Champion HR's.
Im kinda taking the "lesser of two evils" approach here, and i realise neither is anything approximating a performance tire. Does it really matter what i get?
Thoughts, opinions, other suggestions?

legion · 07-05-2005, 11:00 AM

I've got Toyo Proxies (thanks Rammstein!) on mine.

Tires are the #1 piece of safety equipment on your car. They are where the rubber meets the road, if you will.

I have found that handling is very affected by tire choice. Cheaper tires generally tend to lose grip suddenly when in demanding situations.

Don't plan on doing any "performance driving" if you don't have the "performance" equipment.

Have you considered Kumhos? They are a fairly inexpensive performance tire.

BananaClip · 07-05-2005, 11:26 AM

i'll see about some kumhos, but in my town of 30,000 i'm not sure what i'll be able to find. I originally thought about getting a set of falken zeix's, but I really don't think i'd be able to find those here. The tires on the back, which i'm keeping for now, are futura Challenger GTH, which sounds suspiciously like another touring tire. I don't really drive it too hard or autoX it, and i'm not expecting as much from these as if i were getting 4 new pirellis or falkens. Also rain performance is a concern since this is a daily driver.

AaronM · 07-05-2005, 11:35 AM

www.tirerack.com

Can find anything. Have the tires shipped to you and have a local shop mount them.

legion · 07-05-2005, 11:35 AM

That's the beauty of the internet!

Tirerack.com has 1000's of tires ready to ship to you!

Edit: D'oh! AaronM beat me to it.

BananaClip · 07-05-2005, 11:53 AM

agh what is even the point of having performance tires on the front and passenger car touring tires on the back! i don't have the money to buy a full set right now.

legion · 07-05-2005, 12:13 PM

Good point.

Get the best you can afford. New touring tires are better than bald *any* tires. Replace them with a full set of performance tires when you can.

livewirevoodoo · livewirevoodoo's Garage

You can always try a Firestone store and get a charge card if cash is an issue.

After driving 10 months on some "brand new" tires (100% thread) put on by the PO (Toyo Proxes TPTs), i bring the car in to have them rotated and aligned. Get a call from the service center.. The inner sidewalls of all 4 tires were dryrotted. After 2 days of easy driving (amazing what the psycological effect of "dry rot" was) I replaced them with brand new Proxes. *What a difference* Handling and comfort are remarkable. The ride is about 60% less bumpy. Not only that, but I feel alot better knowing the car is sure footed on hot highway tar at speed.

yellowline · 07-05-2005, 03:13 PM

Don't do what I did.

It was November when I replaced the back tires in my car. It had Goodyear Eagle GA Touring tires at all 4 corners. Having never really driven a car with summer tires, I was satisfied with them. Just having a Porsche with more grip than a Volvo was great. Plus, winter was coming, and all-season tires sounded smart to a high school kid with 1 set of wheels and limited income.

So I replaced them with Goodyear Assurance tires.They've been great tires in everyday use, I haven't ever hydroplaned in them, and they're even decent in snow, considering my expectations for a sports car. In fact, I'd recommend them for a normal car. Quiet, road hazard warranty, and an 80k expected life.

But seeing as how they're really Camry/ Impala tires, they're not quite as grippy as I'd like on dry pavement. On a good onramp, you can feel the tires flexing and riding on the sidewalls. Not confidence inspiring. But 90% of the time, they're fine.

AaronM · 07-05-2005, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by yellowline
Don't do what I did.

It was November when I replaced the back tires in my car. It had Goodyear Eagle GA Touring tires at all 4 corners. Having never really driven a car with summer tires, I was satisfied with them. Just having a Porsche with more grip than a Volvo was great. Plus, winter was coming, and all-season tires sounded smart to a high school kid with 1 set of wheels and limited income.

So I replaced them with Goodyear Assurance tires.They've been great tires in everyday use, I haven't ever hydroplaned in them, and they're even decent in snow, considering my expectations for a sports car. In fact, I'd recommend them for a normal car. Quiet, road hazard warranty, and an 80k expected life.

But seeing as how they're really Camry/ Impala tires, they're not quite as grippy as I'd like on dry pavement. On a good onramp, you can feel the tires flexing and riding on the sidewalls. Not confidence inspiring. But 90% of the time, they're fine.

Assurance aren't high-performance all-seasons. If you're going that route, I'd say to get a set of Bridgestone Potenza RE950 tires. I had them on my 924S and they were very good. Gave plenty of warning and had a good, long treadlife.

Despite the tread appearance, the Assurance is classified as "Passenger All-Season", not even basic "Performance All-Season".

The RE950's are categorized as "High Performance All-Season" and will be significantly superior to the Assurances in all conditions except snow (though I can say from experience that they're not bad in snow, they pushed my 924S through 12-14 inches of the stuff on an unploughed road just fine).

Don't go lumping every all-season tire into the same category.

yellowline · 07-05-2005, 05:21 PM

Hmmm, the Potenzas do come in 215/60/15. Perhaps that would have been a better choice.

My message wasn't "Don't buy all-season tires"...it was more about doing your homework and not simply buying what sounded acceptable and what the local tire mounter could purchase from his supplier. I read an article on them in Road and Track, saw that they were available in the right size, and simply decided I'd get them.

sca037 · 07-06-2005, 03:33 AM

This may not be terribly helpful considering your budget constraints, but I just mounted a set of 215/60/VR15 Yokohama AVS ES100's and so far (only about 100 miles) they're fantastic. They are a high performance summer tire, but feel good in the wet so should be fine for Texas year-round.

Brian

BananaClip · 07-06-2005, 06:32 AM

Thanks for the response. I'd like to get 4 of those RE950s or even 4 Ziexs, but I just don't have $600-700 to throw at it. In any case, my dad is pressuring me to just buy some tires as soon as possible. (RARARARHARHRAR TIRES ARE TIRES) Unfortunately it looks like i'm going with one of the original two options.

parents just don't understand am i right

legion · 07-06-2005, 06:34 AM

"Tires are tires."

Tell that to Max Mosley.

sca037 · 07-06-2005, 06:41 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by BananaClip
Thanks for the response. I'd like to get 4 of those RE950s or even 4 Ziexs, but I just don't have $600-700 to throw at it. In any case, my dad is pressuring me to just buy some tires as soon as possible. (RARARARHARHRAR TIRES ARE TIRES) Unfortunately it looks like i'm going with one of the original two options.
parents just don't understand am i right

I feel your pain my good man

The Yoko's co$t about $500 for the set from my local Belle Tire (they had to be ordered, so time isn't on your side here), mounted & balanced.

Brian

helowrench · 07-06-2005, 08:43 AM

I just picked up a couple of the Falken ZIEX and am quite happy with them. Good tire at quite a good price. Bought mine at Sears.

Jason Judd · 07-06-2005, 08:47 AM

Tires are not just tires...

As has been pointed out already, they are what connect us to the road. That's a major reason to put some extra effort into it, if possible.

It's just not that simple.

Jason

jimbilly · 07-06-2005, 09:46 AM

Even Kuhmo 711s are quite good, and good in the rain too. If you're not going to drive in the snow get some of those. A set should be under $400. For my VW (in 195/50/15) they're only $37 ea, or something ridiculously cheap like that. They'd be SO much better than the crap you're looking at.

ronniebaldino · 07-06-2005, 10:10 AM

You should have no problem getting a set of four good high performance tires for $400. Try Falken, Kuhmo etc. I have Falkens on my 944S and they are great. I have Kuhmos on my Passat and they are also great. Have you though about ebay?

I just did a quick search on 205/60/15 and 215/60/15 and found these. (only 4 hours left at the time I am writing though)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7983445792&category=66474&sspagename=WDVW

Just an example of what can be had these days if you look a little.

BananaClip · 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by ronniebaldino
You should have no problem getting a set of four good high performance tires for $400. Try Falken, Kuhmo etc. I have Falkens on my 944S and they are great. I have Kuhmos on my Passat and they are also great. Have you though about ebay?

I just did a quick search on 205/60/15 and 215/60/15 and found these. (only 4 hours left at the time I am writing though)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7983445792&category=66474&sspagename=WDVW

Just an example of what can be had these days if you look a little.

whoa tires on ebay! will 205's fit in place of 215/ 225? for that price i could afford 4 new tires and alignment with little more expenditure. hmmm. time for an ebay account maybe?

edit: on further thought i can't really afford the extra right now. finances are a bit tight, and that $100-150 could really go towards other stuff on the car. New touring rubber it is, but i'm totally putting something more interesting on in march or so.