Need some Tire recommendations 09 Malibu

[Paratus]

I've got a rapidly balding Eagle LS 2, (driverside front), on my 09 Malibu LTZ. After I get the alignment checked, (doesn't seem to be pulling hmm..), I'm going to replace the front tires.

I'm looking for all season's and less than $200 a pop, with at least a 50,000 mile warranty for mixed driving in Texas.

Wheel size is P225/50 R18

Any thoughts?

 

[MJinZ]

What width is your wheel?

$200 a pop for 18" tires means you have access to like every single model... ever.

You can get Michelin PS2s, Pilot Sports, Yoko Avans, Avids.. whatever lol.

Just get the best Michelins or Yokos for Summer/All Season in Ultra Performance or Xtreme performance and you'd be good. I would sleep with the Michelin man but hard to afford, so I'm running Yokohamas that are quieter and cheaper and seems to be pretty good.

 

[RKS]

If you can use a slightly smaller sidewall at 225/45/18, the Conti ExtremeContact DWS gets great reviews and is less than $150 on tirerack.

 

[MJinZ]

If you can use a slightly smaller sidewall at 225/45/18, the Conti ExtremeContact DWS gets great reviews and is less than $150 on tirerack.

^ Should also consider 235/45/18

 

[JulesMaximus]

^ Should also consider 235/45/18

Is that what you have on your camry?

 

[MJinZ]

Is that what you have on your camry?

Nope, I have 235/40/18s

 

[Paratus]

As a tire noob what does increasing my width or lower my aspect ratio buy me?

 

[MJinZ]

As a tire noob what does increasing my width or lower my aspect ratio buy me?

Increasing your width increases your traction and can improve handling. It may also improve braking but will probably decrease fuel economy and may slow your car slightly if traction is not an issue.

The aspect ratio must go down to maintain similar sidewall height and overall diameter when width goes up alot. So 335/35 tires for example will have similar amount of sidewall as 225/50 tires for an 18 inch wheel.

 

[HarryLui]

Rotate your tires?

 

[Paratus]

If I'm sticking with my stock rims can I actually take a different width tire? I figured the width and radius were pretty fixed.

Thanks!

 

[RKS]

If I'm sticking with my stock rims can I actually take a different width tire? I figured the width and radius were pretty fixed.

Thanks!

you can to a certain extent. try calling a local tire place or tirerack.com.

 

[MJinZ]

If I'm sticking with my stock rims can I actually take a different width tire? I figured the width and radius were pretty fixed.

Thanks!

Of course, but not excessively. A 235 will be fine though may look a little fat, a 245 probably too wide for your wheels.

 

[Howard]

If you can use a slightly smaller sidewall at 225/45/18, the Conti ExtremeContact DWS gets great reviews and is less than $150 on tirerack.

Do this.

 

[alkalinetaupehat]

Someone needs to jump in here and badmouth owning a GM car or not properly diagnosing the rapidly balding tire. This is FAR too civil for AT Garage.

P.S. Honda sucks.

P.P.S. OP will want to keep the tire sizes same front-to-back to keep ESP, ABS, ETC. from acting up. Seriously.

 

[Paratus]

Someone needs to jump in here and badmouth owning a GM car or not properly diagnosing the rapidly balding tire. This is FAR too civil for AT Garage.

P.S. Honda sucks.

P.P.S. OP will want to keep the tire sizes same front-to-back to keep ESP, ABS, ETC. from acting up. Seriously.

Go ahead. I normaly frequent the AT graphics forum & P&N.

I've got 18,000 miles on the factory tires. I recently realized I hadn't rotated them. When I went to check the tread depth, the rears were fine, the passenger side front was ok, but the drivers side is starting to show metal. It's significantly more worn than the other side. The weird thing is the car doesn't pull or I would have had the alignment checked earlier.

Good point on keeping the same tire size for the electronic nannies.

Michelin Primacy MXM4s look really nice but they're pretty expensive.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=Primacy+MXM4

 

[MikeMike]

Always change the rear tires

take the old rear ones, and put them up front... Im pretty sure you would rather understeer in the slick, than suddenly have your ass end go crazy.

 

[NutBucket]

What width is your wheel?

$200 a pop for 18" tires means you have access to like every single model... ever.

You can get Michelin PS2s, Pilot Sports, Yoko Avans, Avids.. whatever lol.

Just get the best Michelins or Yokos for Summer/All Season in Ultra Performance or Xtreme performance and you'd be good. I would sleep with the Michelin man but hard to afford, so I'm running Yokohamas that are quieter and cheaper and seems to be pretty good.

You can't be serious; recommending top-of-the-line all-season tires for an unmodified family sedan that will likely never see its handling limits?

 

[MJinZ]

Always change the rear tires

take the old rear ones, and put them up front... Im pretty sure you would rather understeer in the slick, than suddenly have your ass end go crazy.

Almost impossible to lose your rear in a FWD car even if your rear tires are bald.

 

[MJinZ]

You can't be serious; recommending top-of-the-line all-season tires for an unmodified family sedan that will likely never see its handling limits?

His money limit, not mine.

 

[RKS]

Almost impossible to lose your rear in a FWD car even if your rear tires are bald.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=52



When tires are replaced in pairs in situations like these, the new tires should always be installed on the rear axle and the partially worn tires moved to the front. The reason is because new tires on the rear axle help the driver more easily maintain control on wet roads since deeper treaded tires are better at resisting hydroplaning.

Hydroplaning occurs when the tire cannot process enough water through its tread design to maintain effective contact with the road. In moderate to heavy rain, water can pool up in road ruts, depressions and pockets adjacent to pavement expansion joints. At higher speeds, the standing water often found in these pools challenges a tire's ability to resist hydroplaning.

Exactly when hydroplaning occurs is the result of a combination of elements including water depth, vehicle weight and speed, as well as tire size, air pressure, tread design and tread depth. A lightweight vehicle with wide, worn, underinflated tires in a heavy downpour will hydroplane at lower speeds than a heavyweight vehicle equipped with new, narrow, properly inflated tires in drizzling rain.

If the front tires have significantly less tread depth than the rear tires, the front tires will begin to hydroplane and lose traction on wet roads before the rear tires. While this will cause the vehicle to understeer (the vehicle wants to continue driving straight ahead), understeer is relatively easy to control because releasing the gas pedal will slow the vehicle and help the driver maintain control.

However, if the front tires have significantly more tread depth than the rear tires, the rear tires will begin to hydroplane and lose traction on wet roads before the fronts. This will cause the vehicle to oversteer (the vehicle will want to spin). Oversteer is far more difficult to control and in addition to the initial distress felt when the rear of the car starts sliding, quickly releasing the gas pedal in an attempt to slow down may actually make it more difficult for the driver to regain control, possibly causing a complete spinout.

 

[Vetterin]

In your original size check out the Hankook Optimo H727 @ $124 with a $40 rebate or the Yokohama Avid TRZ @ $94.

 

[Lotheron]

What part of TX? If you're south enough, you do not need All Seasons.. I run Summer Tires all year round.

 

[Mermaidman]

If you're keeping the car for a long time, then get the Michelins. They're worth the extra cost and the tread seems to last forever! (Based on anecdotal observations)

 

[JCH13]

Almost impossible to lose your rear in a FWD car even if your rear tires are bald.

On the contrary, this is very possible to do in poor weather or on poor roads.

 

[MJinZ]

On the contrary, this is very possible to do in poor weather or on poor roads.

Disagree, and most tire shops in my experience agree with me when they put the good tires up front.

The reason is that steering and control are more important, oversteering is unlikely in a FWD car, that will also have weight biased heavily up front (60/40 or more).

If you put bald tires in the back and hydroplane back there, it really wouldn't affect things much as long as you can keep your fronts planted and controlled.

In a RWD car, better tires in the back makes much more sense, as you can apply traction to bring your back in control.

Of course, you should ignore all of this if you can't drive at all and would freak out and crash if you start losing traction (front or back). I've been in many a hairy situations where my backs go out of line (in snow) and they were easy to bring back in.