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Need some tire recommendations

D

dmoney1980

Platinum Member
My wife's 2011 Sonata SE has 30k miles on the OEM tires (Hankook Optimo). These tires are terrible in the snow, as evidenced by our personal experience along with all of the negative reviews from tirerack.com - http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...1&autoModel=Sonata&autoModClar=SE&tab=Reviews

So far I'm looking at:
Continental Extreme contact DWS / Pure contact with Eco Plus
Michelin Primacy mxm4
Kumho Ecsta LX platinum

Looking for any other recommendations based on personal experience. We live in the Chicago burbs so she needs good snow traction.

thanks in advance!
 
Ran a set of Continental Extreme contact DWS on a mazda 3 hatchback. Outstanding all around tire. Great wet traction. Responsive. Acceptable snow performance. I sold the car after a year so can't really comment on the longevity of the tires.

I've run Kumho ecstas on an Acura integra and a Mazda Protege with good results as well. Decent ride, fairly responsive, and got both cars through some inches of the white stuff. Price is hard to beat. Seemed to wear out a bit quick though.
 
NutBucket said:
If I lived in Chicago I'd run snow tires in the winter months. Just a thought.
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Well I do and...............I do! Although I have not put them on yet they will be going on before Christmas (possibly even this weekend with the forecast Ive been hearing) and will be off by early March. With my 80 mile daily commute those snow tires are life savers for those 2-3 months.
 
Vetterin said:
Well I do and...............I do! Although I have not put them on yet they will be going on before Christmas (possibly even this weekend with the forecast Ive been hearing) and will be off by early March. With my 80 mile daily commute those snow tires are life savers for those 2-3 months.
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I did this years ago with my IS 300, but that's a different type of car. This being a FWD daily driver, I figured that it would be best to slap on some good all-season tires and call it a day instead of spending about the same on winter tires, buying winter wheels, then going through swapping them every year.

I'm still debating on the tires though, and I appreciate all of the suggestions so far. I wish they made the Goodyear triple treads in this size as I've had great experience with those. so far it's between the continental's and the Michelin Primacy's....
 
dmoney1980 said:
...so far it's between the continental's and the Michelin Primacy's....
Click to expand...


Both are supposed to be excellent tires from everything I've read and heard, but have not drive them myself.

On the other hand, I have driven Conti's CrossContact LX20 Eco's and Michelin LTX MS2's, so maybe I can give a little insight, if not a direct comparison to your choices.

The Conti's, mounted on an '03 Murano, were impressive. Great hydroplaning resistance, pretty quiet, great dry and wet grip and did quite well in snow, at least in the 2+ feet we on Cape Cod got from Sandy. Nice tire and would buy again, except for the Michelins.

Put a set of the LTX MS2's on our GX 470. Startlingly better tire than the Contis. Much quieter, smoother ride, great in the rain and dry. Kinda feels like the initial bite isn't as good as the Contis, but that's probably just due to them being so much smoother.

I've become something of a Michelin fanboy these days but their tires are, in my eyes, worth the cost. And the MX2's were already on my Silverado when I bought it, which swayed my purchasing decision. (I'm of the belief that if a person invests in top quality tires, a place where it's easy to cut costs, then the odds are more than even that the rest of the vehicle was treated well--maintenance, etc.)
 
Michelin is no better worse than any other maker. For example this is the tire on my car...
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...R8MXM4HX&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes


Its one of the worst rated tires at tire rack yet cost over $200 each. I have 7/32 on the tires and it sucks in wet or dry.
Even with all the tread left on them I am already looking for a good sale/rebate combo to replace them.

So never buy a tire based on its name. I exclude some based on name, nexen and others, but never buy based on just the name.
 
NutBucket said:
If I lived in Chicago I'd run snow tires in the winter months. Just a thought.
Click to expand...

Meh. I live here unfortunately, but winters ain't needed here. I don't think you run into driving on real snow more than 1-2 times a winter.
 
Shouldn't you just get a steel rim set and snow tires and call it a day? All seasons are not for Chicago.

Just replaced my Bridgestone Blizzaks, they were worn out after 5 seasons. Now on Michellin X-Ice 3.


I drove from Peoria, IL to Toronto, ON on Dec 26, 2008. That was scary even with brand spanking new Blizzaks and AWD. The tractor trailers were fishtailing... So was I...
 
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monkeydelmagico said:
Ran a set of Continental Extreme contact DWS on a mazda 3 hatchback. Outstanding all around tire. Great wet traction. Responsive. Acceptable snow performance. I sold the car after a year so can't really comment on the longevity of the tires.

I've run Kumho ecstas on an Acura integra and a Mazda Protege with good results as well. Decent ride, fairly responsive, and got both cars through some inches of the white stuff. Price is hard to beat. Seemed to wear out a bit quick though.
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I concur, get the Continental Extreme contact DWS. I have had them on my Protege 5 and i just got a second pair. I have tried Kuhmo, fine but noisy, and Bridgestone was the OEM but sucked eggs in winter. I also did the falken tires which should not be called all season. the Continental's are quiet and work great, the tirerack ratings on them do not lie.
 
sdifox said:
Shouldn't you just get a steel rim set and snow tires and call it a day? All seasons are not for Chicago.
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That's exactly what I did......Steelies and General Artic Altimax for under $500 and that should last me for years. It's not so much about getting stuck in the snow that worries me but the directional control and STOPPING distance and that's where you get a little more control using snow tires. Ususally the most dangerous driving conditions are on a lightly snow covered frozen road.
 
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Vetterin said:
That's exactly what I did......Steelies and General Artic Altimax for under $500 and that should last me for years. It's not so much about getting stuck in the snow that worries me but the directional control and STOPPING distance and that's where you get a little more control using snow tires. Ususally the most dangerous driving conditions are on a lightly snow covered frozen road.
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Lightly snow covered frozen highway was when I kept going straight despite the road curving to the right. Luckily, there was a lot of shoulder. Luckily, I got control after I decided to straighten out my wheel. Luckily, no accident involved.

That was last winter. (Honda civic with Michelin all seasons) I'm getting my winter kit installed next Monday (Massachusetts.)
 
Vetterin said:
That's exactly what I did......Steelies and General Artic Altimax for under $500 and that should last me for years. It's not so much about getting stuck in the snow that worries me but the directional control and STOPPING distance and that's where you get a little more control using snow tires. Ususally the most dangerous driving conditions are on a lightly snow covered frozen road.
Click to expand...

Winter tires in Chicago? I thought you guys only get snow a couple times a year?
 
NutBucket said:
Have you tried all-seasons in below freezing temps? There is no grip to be had.
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Lived in Chicago my whole life and driven through some bad weather. Never had a issue with AS tires as long as it's not pure ice on the road, in which case no tire can save you. I'm just looking for a good all around tire. The OEM's on the Sonata are terrible in any kind of wet / snow conditions. I'm not looking for anything crazy here, as my wife's not going to be making turns at 50 mph or trying to slam the brakes on snowy roads.

We live in the NW suburbs of Chicago so we do get a decent amount of snow. It typically falls in bunches. It may only snow 6-8 times per year but it's usually pretty heavy 2-3 times
 
dmoney1980 said:
Lived in Chicago my whole life and driven through some bad weather. Never had a issue with AS tires as long as it's not pure ice on the road, in which case no tire can save you. I'm just looking for a good all around tire. The OEM's on the Sonata are terrible in any kind of wet / snow conditions. I'm not looking for anything crazy here, as my wife's not going to be making turns at 50 mph or trying to slam the brakes on snowy roads.

We live in the NW suburbs of Chicago so we do get a decent amount of snow. It typically falls in bunches. It may only snow 6-8 times per year but it's usually pretty heavy 2-3 times
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I would still get winter tires. I was backing out of a parking spot nicely when the snow was above the axles of my car. D: Meanwhile the other vehicles were spinning their tires.

Chicago weather should be similar to where I am. All weather means they suck in all weathers.

Think of it this way, a set of winters is cheaper than a single collision and upset.
 
I have a set of DWS tires on my Evo in 245/40/18. I've had them on for ~17k miles now and they are great every day tires. They are not performance tires and they are not snow tires. I purchased them to soak up miles and they are great in normal conditions + rain. I've used them a few times in light to moderate snow and they have done well with the Evo's AWD system; however, they are not as good in the snow as the conti 3D wintersports that I had been using for winter duty previously. That being said, if you only use them in snow a few times a winter, it might not be worth it to run dedicated winter tires. I'd rather have DWSs for "cold" driving where there was no snow / ice most of the time over a dedicated winter tire that wasn't really needed. The DWSs are great for a daily driver / commuter car. Their tread ware is fantastic relative to most other tires. That being said, I'll be replacing them with pilot super sports in a wider width come summer (on a new set of rims) and I'll probably just save them for the colder months here in South Carolina. When I move back home (PA) I'll probably replace them with dedicated winter tires when they are worn past their "W" rating (which may take a while based on the way they are wearing). I will say that they are no R compound track tire (lol) but they still have plenty of grip for spirited driving as long as you know what your limits are.
 
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apathy_next2 said:
What do you guys think about the hancook road handlers touring with the 100k mile thread t warranty
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I've never used a tire with that long of a tread warranty but my logic asks how a tire that lasts so long can have any grip. I mean, isn't the rubber hard as a rock by definition?
 
apathy_next2 said:
What do you guys think about the hancook road handlers touring with the 100k mile thread t warranty
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Its a basic longlife tire. If you don't get any snow and not much heavy rain it will do ok.

But you will very unlikely get 100k out of them. Tire warranty numbers sometimes are just marketing BS.
 
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