How do you decide which tires to buy?

[glen]

?????????????

 

[GoatMonkey]

The major car magazines occasionally do reviews. I know car and driver does them every couple of years or so. Then there's the tire rack, they have tons of user reviews along with their in house ratings.

 

[T2urtle]

tirerack.com has very decent reviews.

What kind of car do you have? What size tires are you looking for? What type?

 

[glen]

I have Michelin Energy MXV4s on my car, a BMW 525i.

A guy at Sears recommended the GoodYear Carbon Fiber tires.
He said they were quiet, puncture resistant, and good handling.

 

[NutBucket]

Well, pretty much anything is an upgrade over a MXV4. What kind of tires are you looking for...like more performance oriented or more comfort, etc.

 

[glen]

Originally posted by: NutBucket
Well, pretty much anything is an upgrade over a MXV4. What kind of tires are you looking for...like more performance oriented or more comfort, etc.

That is a really nice tire. Were you joking?

 

[Capt Caveman]

tirerack.com

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Looks at the tires available in my size (all four of them) and look at the prices. I decided on the BFG Radial T/As this last time and am much happier than the Goodyear GT-IIs.

Now, when we looked up tires for my cousin's GTO things were a bit more complicated. There were atleast 80.

 

[dustmann]

I usually have this routine..

1. go in to my local dealer
2. ask him what kind of tires he has that will last longer/get more grip/be better in the rain
3. ask how much they are
4. ask if he's got time to put em on
5. drive home after 45 min on new tires

 

[programmer]

From what I see on tirerack.com, the Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Position sounds like a good choice.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/...ing=Y&minSpeedRating=H

Not sure what year your BMW or whether you have the sport pkg, but I believe that tire should be available.

 

[jtvang125]

You should also take the type of weather you'll be driving in into consideration too. If you're east coast or midwest it might be best to go with all season tires or if you must have performance tires for some part of the season then go with a set of high performance in the summer and switch to a set of winter tires in the winter. For the west coast you can get by on high performance tires all year round due to the milder temperatures. You'll just have to figure out if you want ultra high performance and sacrifice noise and comfort or perfer the latter and sacrifice some performance.

 

[jagec]

For my MR2, it was all about the user community. Recommendations varied, depending on what one wanted from their tires, but the now-discontinued Falken Azenis were pretty well-respected for superb grip at a wonderful price point. Of course, they don't last long. Hankook Ventus R also came recommended. From what I hear about the Pilots and other well-recognized "performance tires", they're by no means bad tires, but they aren't the absolute best, and you can certainly find an equally good tire for much cheaper.

 

[T2urtle]

so 525i.. i assume your in the market for

1.all-season tires
2. quiet ride?


MXV4 are decent for the price. i say that because normally they are over priced. I've had my yoko avid's on my maxima for 1.5 years now and i really do like them compared to the MXV4 i had prior. A lot more quiet and smoother the the MXV4. I think they are equal in wet/snow weather but the price diffrence was worth it. Hence i believe yoko avids for all-season normal tires are a better buy then MXV4.

My next set i would like to try are toyo proxy 4's they are another decent lower priced tire. Just because you pay an lot doesn't mean you get a really nice tire. Pirelli's are overpriced and they just are bad. Always too loud and blow up more then anything.

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: glen

Originally posted by: NutBucket
Well, pretty much anything is an upgrade over a MXV4. What kind of tires are you looking for...like more performance oriented or more comfort, etc.

That is a really nice tire. Were you joking?

Actually I wasn't joking. My experience with Michelin has been that they are overpriced relative to their performance. I much prefer Yokohama or even BFG. Even many of the Kumhos and Falkens are excellent tires.....that I'd choose over Michelin.

 

[b3av3r]

I purchase all of my tires through discounttiredirect.com. They have great prices on them and over a road hazard warranty on every tire they sell which is usually only about $50 per tire and has saved me tons of money. Also the sales guy know a thing or two about cars and tires and can offer great advice on what tire you need. I would give them a call and talk to them about it.

 

[Fulcrum]

Originally posted by: T2urtle
tirerack.com has very decent reviews.

Agreed. I would visit that site and any enthusiast forums geared toward your particular vehicle model or type. When I had a 2000 Camaro SS (sadly totaled by a drunk driver who plowed into me while I was sitting at a stoplight!) for example, I found a ton of useful information on the LS1.com and CamaroZ28.com boards.