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I was surprised how much difference good tires make

E

Exterous

Super Moderator
I mean I knew that good tires were important but that point was really driven home last night. I was helping a friend out and drove her car which is identical in terms of model series and trim package but was a year older. Having driven my car over the same roads with absolutely no issues just minutes before I was shocked when I drove her car. The damn thing was slipping and sliding all over the place and had a really hard time getting traction when accelerating.

When I got out I looked at her tread wear, assuming they were nearly bald. Nope. Should be around 6/32" according to the penny. Looked up her Ling Long 788 tires and can't find anything about them other than they are a cheap chinese tire. She said she got them cheap from the dealer and that they are better than her old ones 😱

I wonder how many people are driving around in wintry areas with absolute shit tires? Just seems like a really stupid area to cheap out on tires (along with brakes) but I wonder if its an ignorance issue as she is otherwise an intelligent person
 
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Exterous said:
I mean I knew that good tires were important but that point was really driven home last night. I was helping a friend out and drove her car which is identical in terms of model series and trim package but was a year older. Having driven my car over the same roads with absolutely no issues just minutes before I was shocked when I drove her car. The damn thing was slipping and sliding all over the place and had a really hard time getting traction when accelerating.

When I got out I looked at her tread wear, assuming they were nearly bald. Nope. Should be around 6/32" according to the penny. Looked up her Ling Long 788 tires and can't find anything about them other than they are a cheap chinese tire. She said she got them cheap from the dealer and that they are better than her old ones 😱

I wonder how many people are driving around in wintry areas with absolute shit tires? Just seems like a really stupid area to cheap out on tires (along with brakes) but I wonder if its an ignorance issue as she is otherwise an intelligent person
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A lot. That's how many.

A good buddy of mine was a manager at a large tire shop (yea that one) and we would trade customer stories. I was amazed at how many people refused to pay for good tires. It wasn't that they couldn't afford them or that they had a good excuse, they were just too cheap and didn't care.

We live in Michigan, it snows in Michigan. Do everyone else on the road a favor and cheap out on something else (like the alignment the tire shop sold you to make up for lost profits on the cheap tires).
 
rudeguy said:
A lot. That's how many.

A good buddy of mine was a manager at a large tire shop (yea that one) and we would trade customer stories. I was amazed at how many people refused to pay for good tires. It wasn't that they couldn't afford them or that they had a good excuse, they were just too cheap and didn't care.

We live in Michigan, it snows in Michigan. Do everyone else on the road a favor and cheap out on something else (like the alignment the tire shop sold you to make up for lost profits on the cheap tires).
Click to expand...

What I lack in tire quality, I more than make up for it in patience and skill 😉
 
rudeguy said:
A lot. That's how many.

A good buddy of mine was a manager at a large tire shop (yea that one) and we would trade customer stories. I was amazed at how many people refused to pay for good tires. It wasn't that they couldn't afford them or that they had a good excuse, they were just too cheap and didn't care.

We live in Michigan, it snows in Michigan. Do everyone else on the road a favor and cheap out on something else (like the alignment the tire shop sold you to make up for lost profits on the cheap tires).
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They don't think it through. "I can pay $550 for tires or $750. I'll take the $550." For $50 more per tire, they'll get a better tire that will last longer. $50 over 90K miles might as well be zero.
 
The best tires I ever had were a set of Michelin's. Unbelievable the difference in drive quality - traction, handling, noise.

Now have a set of Bridgestones which are ok but will replace them with Michelins the next time.
 
I like michelins, but damn, you'd think they were made with gold for what michelin charges for them. I have some cooper ATP tires on my truck now and they are ok. Much better in snow with weight in the back of course, and road noise is not bad.

Cooper tires are $175 apiece.

Michelin tires are $234 apiece.
 
Costco sells Michelin for a good price. My buddy who works at a dealership says Costco sells some tires for less than he can get wholesale
 
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highland145 said:
They don't think it through. "I can pay $550 for tires or $750. I'll take the $550." For $50 more per tire, they'll get a better tire that will last longer. $50 over 90K miles might as well be zero.
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Her car isn't even 4WD so she could buy two good tires at a time. $300 for two great tires peak season and $200-250 if she gets them on sale
 
Radial tire for passenger car
1.Pattern with strong grippage improves swerve performance when running at high speed.
2.Low noise.
 
highland145 said:
They don't think it through. "I can pay $550 for tires or $750. I'll take the $550." For $50 more per tire, they'll get a better tire that will last longer. $50 over 90K miles might as well be zero.
Click to expand...

:thumbsdown: Cost has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with tread wear ratings.

On my last car I put Michelin performance tires on after my first set wore out. I got about 40,000 miles out of them and they cost me almost $1000 for the set. Next set I bought Riken Raptors for half the cost and they lasted about the same mileage and very similar performance.

Not sure about Chinese ling ling tires but generally speaking, new tires will always be much safer and provide better traction and performance than tires that are worn out.
 
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Why are you surprised that the single component connecting a car to the road has a tremendous impact on the car's performance?

:awe:
 
How old were her tires? How old are yours?

A fresh set of rubber is the bees knees especially when it's cold. After a few seasons even the best tires start to get rock hard.
 
monkeydelmagico said:
How old were her tires? How old are yours?

A fresh set of rubber is the bees knees especially when it's cold. After a few seasons even the best tires start to get rock hard.
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Mine are older and have less tread left. Guesstimating she has 25-30k miles on them while mine are 50k+
 
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I love Michelin LTX m/s on my old SUV, got 70k miles before I traded it in, probably good for another 20k miles, so they are worth the little bit higher price. My wife's RDX came with Michelin Pilot, they are horrible in wet condition, very noise, we got 40k miles (which isn't bad) out of them. We replaced them with Continental ExtremeContact DWS, they are so much quieter and better.
 
JulesMaximus said:
:thumbsdown: Cost has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with tread wear ratings.

On my last car I put Michelin performance tires on after my first set wore out. I got about 40,000 miles out of them and they cost me almost $1000 for the set. Next set I bought Riken Raptors for half the cost and they lasted about the same mileage.

New tires will always be much safer and provide better traction and performance than tires that are worn out.
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I wouldn't expect performance tires to last 90K miles. Aren't they made for better handling/gripping?
 
highland145 said:
I wouldn't expect performance tires to last 90K miles. Aren't they made for better handling/gripping?
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No, of course not. But cost didn't make a bit of difference either. Both tires wore about the same and provided similar performance over nearly identical mileage but the Michelins were nearly twice the cost. Totally not worth it.

So, don't get complete shit tires but do your research. There might be alternatives to the top tier tires that perform just as well for far less money. If you drive a Porsche 911, sure, get the top tier tires for it. If you drive a Camry or a Mazda 3, don't waste your money.
 
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JulesMaximus said:
No, of course not. But cost didn't make a bit of difference either. Both tires wore about the same and provided similar performance over nearly identical mileage but the Michelins were nearly twice the cost. Totally not worth it.

So, don't get complete shit tires but do your research. There might be alternatives to the top tier tires that perform just as well for far less money. If you drive a Porsche 911, sure, get the top tier tires for it. If you drive a Camry or a Mazda 3, don't waste your money.
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We're talking about the wife's RAV4 so she'd better not be driving like Mario, with my kid in the car, to start with.😛

The $550 set was rated for 50K, iirc, The $750 Michelin's for for 90K. So if that holds true, +$50/tire is a no brainer. And the shop is giving us free rotations every 8K miles, something that I "might" have done every 20K otherwise. The ride difference was unexpected.
 
highland145 said:
We're talking about the wife's RAV4 so she'd better not be driving like Mario, with my kid in the car, to start with.😛

The $550 set was rated for 50K, iirc, The $750 Michelin's for for 90K. So if that holds true, +$50/tire is a no brainer. And the shop is giving us free rotations every 8K miles, something that I "might" have done every 20K otherwise. The ride difference was unexpected.
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Not sure what size tires that car runs but $750 for a set of tires for a RAV4 seems a bit pricey IMO. Should be plenty of decent options for around $500-600 for that vehicle... even less if it is a 16" tire.

I'm looking at tires for my Camry and there are tons of options in the $500 range (215/55R17). I have 40,000 miles on my OEM tires currently and they are about shot. Not looking for performance rubber, just something that gives a smooth quiet ride. Definitely not wasting my money on Michelins.
 
JulesMaximus said:
I'm looking at tires for my Camry and there are tons of options in the $500 range (215/55R17). I have 40,000 miles on my OEM tires currently and they are about shot. Not looking for performance rubber, just something that gives a smooth quiet ride. Definitely not wasting my money on Michelins.
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Michelin's are overpriced for performance but they make some outstanding max performance tires -

I'm running these in 215/50/17 for the last 5K miles and really like them.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...ewall=Blackwall&partnum=155VR7PUREC&tab=Sizes
 
Fmr12B said:
Michelin's are overpriced for performance but they make some outstanding max performance tires -
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Yes, they do but I'm not looking for max performance. I'm looking for max economy and max comfort/quietness. 😀

I'm running these in 215/50/17 for the last 5K miles and really like them.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...ewall=Blackwall&partnum=155VR7PUREC&tab=Sizes
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Are they pretty quiet? That is important to me, the OEM tires are kind of noisy now and I'm about ready to make a change. That tire you linked is in my target price range so if fuel economy is good and they are quiet then I'll give them a look.
 
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