Tires

[orbital]

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As the saying goes, "where the rubber meets the road"
The most important part of your car, truck, bike for its safety / handling / comfort

What do you run?
Would you recommend them?
Tire pressures?
Mileage?
...stories❄️🔥⛈️

 

[bykfixer]

To me, the most important thing is how well a car/truck tire stays round over the years.

I like Uniroyal tiger paw tires for a good compromise between tire life and quiet comfort. For the money they've been a favorite of mine for about 20 years now.

My favorite tire ever was a Road Handler tire Sears had Kuhmo produce. Those 80k miles tires were the smoothest, quietest tire I ever owned. And they lasted.

My Preludes used to get Kuhmo tires. But one had some Goodyear Eagle 50k mile tires I liked. Trouble was that car broke so often I never got to enjoy them very much.

Now if a vehicle sits around outside a lot and the tires don't get a lot of miles, Michelin tires have a good history of sidewalls staying fresh where others dry rot in just a few years. I have a truck sitting in the yard I parked 10 years ago with 5 year old Michelins and the sidewalls would pass inspection today. The truck used to sit a lot and I kept having to replace tires due to sidewall rot every 2-3 years.

My current work truck has 60k Goodyear Wrangler light truck tires with 50k miles on them that should easily go another 20k. They don't live off road mainly but have shown decent traction in mud, muddy sand and snow while staying round. I've had to put it in 4wd a few times to make it through some spots but in 2wd they do fairly well.

My bicycles typicaly use the stock tire they came with but for speed I prefer Panasonic because they have good rolling resistance with good grip. I tried some Specialized kevlar wall tires on a beach cruiser once but there was nothing special about them enough to buy another set for other bicycles. Kenda tires go on any classic bikes I restore. They sell nice period correct reproduction tires.

 

[Poppy]

I'm not too particular about the brand, it's more about the ratings.
I ran my 1999 Crown Vic for 260,000 miles, and I had Michelin, Cooper, Goodrich or Goodyear, and Michelin's again. Pretty much the same with my 2008 Grand Marquis, it has about 265,000 miles on her.

They are highway cruisers so I get tires that are befitting them. I go for higher mileage all season touring tires. I look for ones that are rated for at least 120 mph, and have decent rain ratings. I am currently running on Michelins again.

A friendly mechanic doesn't like Michelins, he says they are hard tires, and are tough on the front end. You can't prove that by me, nor my experience.

 

[kerneldrop]

I used to only have oversized 10 ply mud tires.
Now in my wiser days I stick to OEM size that ride as nicely as possible for a 10 ply tire.
I do need an all terrain tire though.
When i need mud tires I just park where an All terrain tire will take me and drive my side by side from there.

When using a tire on a vehicle that is being used as designed then the tire pressure on the door is best.
In my 3/4 ton I run a lighter pressure because I'm not pulling all day every day. I've never cared enough to do a chalk test on my tires to have the perfect psi. I just rotate often and roll with it. I also have Firestone lifetime alignments.

Tires are a rabbit hole unlike no other. Half of the reviews out there are junk because they are based on a new tire. Every passing mile the tire will ride and sound worse than the mile before. Reviews on new tires are garbage. Give me a review at 45k miles. A good portion of the other half of the reviews are from folks that shouldn't be influencing anyone. My mud tires ride and sound great for the first 10k miles at 35 mph. Ride like a dream. But compare them at 30k miles at 70mph and it's a totally different animal.

 

[Silly Rabbit]

I currently run Continental and Nitto in the summer and Bridgestone in the winter. I have gone by the door of a vehicle for tire pressure, but find lowering the number slightly from that the tires are wearing more even.
In the past Tirerack has been very good to deal with. But local shops that can compete price wise are good to deal with too, and support local.

 

[sgt253]

Cool thread. I have run a wide variety of tires over the years. Tire makers that have been used are Goodyear, Firestone, Michelin, Pirelli, Continental and now I am running Vredestein for the second time. Very impressed with ride quality, noise and "performance" of Vredestein (Quatrac and now HiTrac 220-60-16R). Pressures are 36psi cold per the placard on vehicle. Only have a couple hundred miles on this set. I had approximately 40K on last set before that other vehicle was put out of service. The tires wore evenly and maintained good ride quality and performance during that time. I would recommend Vredestein without reservation based on my experience so far. Best of luck.

 

[turbodog]

My prior trucks have been f150, tundra, tacoma, etc. Have bought mid to upper brand/price tires but never got much more than 35k miles from them even with monthly pressure checks, good alignment, etc. Tires would be at/below the wear bars when replaced.

Moved to ridgleline 10 years ago. Am now easily getting 50k before I reach wear bars.

 

[Poppy]

Even within brands one can get high mileage/low rolling resistance tires or sticky good traction/low mileage tires. A lot is determined by how soft the rubber is, and of course the tread pattern. I suppose the depth of tread can be meaningful too.

 

[alpg88]

Whatever comes with cars, i rotate them at 15k. and at 30k if i put over 30k in 3 years, by the end of lease they still have another 20-30k of life left in them. I do get set of chains for each car, just in case. but so far never had to use them. If my tpms tells me tire is low i add some, otherwise, i do not touch them,

 

[bykfixer]

Even within brands one can get high mileage/low rolling resistance tires or sticky good traction/low mileage tires. A lot is determined by how soft the rubber is, and of course the tread pattern. I suppose the depth of tread can be meaningful too.

That's what was so cool about those Kuhmo made Road Handlers. They were a hard rubber compound that rode like a much softer one. And unbelievably quiet. I oufitted the wife's van with them one year and on the interstate the difference in noise (rather lack of) was striking. They were on a Mercury Villager van that was already a pleasure to drive.

Man, I loved that van but when it reached 125k miles the drive train began to disintigrate $400-700 at a time, on a near monthly basis. It was just stuff wearing out so if I had just taken it to a shop and sunk about $3k into replacing stuff it would have been great. And I considered doing that but then the chassis started the same thing. Doors, windows, seats, mystery squeaks and clunks.... but at 45k miles those Roadhandlers were still like new. They were the best 'touring' tires I have ever owned.

Her current ride has some Continentals (not sure what model) that still look like new and ride nice and round at 36k miles.

I generally run the pressure the tire sidewall says to run. Sometimes that's a match for inside the door panel, sometimes not. I generally run1 to 2 over in summer and 1-2 under in winter. Example the Wranglers on my truck say 32-35 so in summer it's 35 and winter 32. In winter I figure a lower pressure will warm the tires more so with a little luck that may melt small areas of black ice. In summer when the pavement is hot the 35 will allow the tires to run a wee bit cooler.

 

[orbital]

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About ten years ago we had an incredible cold snap here, it was the type when the temperature map was getting white tints instead of the purple,, bitter cold.
Then mother nature throws a curve ball and forces some moist air and we get an ice storm, because the asphalt and concrete are extremely cold ice formed on everything.

Working on something with my back door I slipped and my head smashed into a glass section on the door and my head partially went through. If I hadn't had a hat on, I may have lost and eye or worse.
Bloods poring from my forehead, just pouring,, thought ,'I have to get to the emergency room' panic starts to set in just a bit.

Decided to drive to the emergency room which is 25 minute drive on a clear summer day, NOT at night during an ice storm.
Fell three times trying to walk up to my Jeep.
Understand it's rather hilly where I live so to even attempt driving was slightly nuts.

Turned my brain off and drove my 4wd jeep the the emergency room, it was crowded with people who fell ect..
Get patched up and I leave, still misting and drizzling rain so conditions are now even worse.
Driving home was beyond sketchy, I couldn't use my brakes at all or I would've slid off the road = downshifted to slow the Jeep

I get home and park at my neighbors because my driveway is more like a parking area and it's on a slope,, no way was I going to try to drive into that. after parking, I closed my door and the Jeep starts sliding sideways downhill, holy phxxx!1! near heart attack yet again.

The Jeep stops slinging & I make my way back to my house. Once inside, I shake my head in disbelief in the last 4 hours.
If I hadn't had a heavy 4wd, with the soft Michelins I was running at the time, there is absolutely no chance the night went as is did.

{This may sound like a Michelin ad, but it's not,, running Continentals at the moment}


******** do NOT consider doing any of what I just typed out, period!
How I didn't end up in a ditch, at night during an icestorm is one of life's greatest mysteries for me.

 

[orbital]

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Sidewall flex is probably the most important aspect to tire construction that's not talked about.
If you look at a slow motion shot of a top fuel dragster off the starting line, you see the tire sidewall massively flexing and wrinkling under power.
Imagine if that was a really tall rim with thin hard sidewalls, that same top fuel would smoke the tires just by looking at the throttle.

I'v had three brands of tires in the last 20 years.
Pirelli
Continental
Michelin

~ Pirelli had the hardest sidewalls and hardest compound, you'd think they would last the longest,, nope.
The tread basically ground off because the sidewall didn't flex much.
~Michelin had by far the softest sidewall (that's what I was referring to in my ice storm post, by the 'soft' Michelins LTX M/S)
This is great for tread life and foul weather traction,, but not the best on higher speed cornering.
~Continentals are somewhere in the middle and are overall pretty good tire.

Compound of tire is important for what you're mostly doing, but the amount of sidewall flex is even more important.

 

[JustAnOldFashionedLEDGuy]

I just check Tire Rack and look at the top 2 or 3 rated tires that they have also tested. Has never failed me yet. Different vehicles get different tires. Not putting all-seasons on the toy! We have settled on X-Ice for winter. Blizzaks have more ultimate grip, but noisy and don't last long. Most tires recently have been Continental and Michelin with a Toyo, Pirelli and Bridgestone thrown into the mix.

 

[KITROBASKIN]

I just check Tire Rack and look at the top 2 or 3 rated tires that they have also tested. Has never failed me yet. Different vehicles get different tires. Not putting all-seasons on the toy! We have settled on X-Ice for winter. Blizzaks have more ultimate grip, but noisy and don't last long. Most tires recently have been Continental and Michelin with a Toyo, Pirelli and Bridgestone thrown into the mix.

What region are you located?

 

[JustAnOldFashionedLEDGuy]

Northeast

 

[fulee9999]

I follow the same method as LEDguy, I check the current test (ADAC) and choose by that, worked for me so far.
My summer tires are Continental EcoContacts, grips very well, gets a bit a louder around 120kmh/75mph but nothing terrible. It loses a fair bit of traction around freezing temperatures, but that's not very surprising. For winter tires I use Goodyear Ultragrip 9s, they are impressive below freezing temps, slightly longer brake distance than with summer tires, but corner traction is terrific, even sudden direction changes are not an issue. Been using both for the 5th year, so next year they'll be replaced, but they did their job very well.

 

[pnwoutdoors]

For the past ~20yrs, I've lived in places that benefit from having a proper set of winter tires for one-third of the year. Don't drive nearly as much as I once did, and not to the sketchier back-country spots I used to. So, a good all-weather tire works for me, and I can ditch the need to have a second set of rims+tires.

Nokian WR G4 -- It's nearly as good as the Nokian Hakkapeliitta, but with a tread compound that provides a decent 60Kmi tread life. Handles snow exceptionally well. Handles icy/sleet conditions tolerably well (but then, what tire really does?). Handles normal 3-season driving without batting an eye. Very good tire.

Nokian Tyres WR G4 SUV - Performance in all weather conditions / Nokian Tires

The versatile Nokian Tyres WR G4 SUV optimally combines high-performance, all-season handling and reliable winter grip to make it a true all-weather tire.

www.nokiantires.com

 

[orbital]

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Just read that the winning overall Prototype (GTP) for the Daytona 24 hours was stripped of the win, big fines, points removed, suspensions, ect.
They were under the minimum tire pressures set by Michelin, for how long may not be known??

***Lower tire pressures will give better adhesion under braking, better adhesion mid corner and most importantly, far better traction out of a corner.

I watched last 25 minutes from a restart,, the lead GTP was simply walking away from the other prototype teams, even the same car from a different team. At the time thought that was boring, it was tire pressures.

 

[The Hawk]

I have had good luck with Michelin tires. I run the recommended PSI indicated by the sticker on the driver's door jam.

 

[knucklegary]

My GMC van I run Michelins, gone through two sets of mud and snow. Getting about 30k milage.. But lately, can only find white outline lettering (WOL) in 17" size.
I would mount lettering on inside but the inner sidewalls are not so great looking. The latest batch have these plastic barcodes labels cast into the rubber. Ugly things starring right at me, and they don't peel off so easy.
There's no alternative to these Michelins. Nothing comes close to the highway performance on a light truck