My tires are actively trying to kill me...

[TheGreenOne]

...in the rain. I was driving home on the parkway, and I had a death grip on my steering wheel and I was driving 55mph because it was raining and it was like driving a surfboard through the perfect storm. It appears as though my first big purchase for my car will be tires that don't give me a heart attack in the wet. Anybody have any experience of suggestions? For reference, the tires that are on there now are Nexen N5000 tires. I knew these tires were familiar. They were the ones on my TC when I spun out in the rain and wrecked.

 

[bobjob]

I hear pilot AS/3's are decent all seasons from other members and are good in the wet. But if you feel you are hydroplaning shouldn?t you just slow down? Go as fast as weather/conditions allow for under the limit?

 

[rodmoe]

AS/3s are awesome in the wet and pretty good in the dry though ice and snow are not their strong suit they get by in a pinch but I would say they are a great 3 season tire ..

 

[TheGreenOne]

I hear pilot AS/3's are decent all seasons from other members and are good in the wet. But if you feel you are hydroplaning shouldn?t you just slow down? Go as fast as weather/conditions allow for under the limit?

You severely underestimate how much I was NOT exaggerating. I was hydroplaning at all speeds because these tires do not push the water outward like a good tire should. Instead, it was trapping all the water under the tire and creating a wave to surf on.

 

[TheGreenOne]

AS/3s are awesome in the wet and pretty good in the dry though ice and snow are not their strong suit they get by in a pinch but I would say they are a great 3 season tire ..

I'll be getting winter tires when the time comes. I'll look into these. Let's see if anyone can recommend some others so I can compare.

 

[me32]

How many miles on your stock tires?

 

[RAAMaudio]

You spun out in the rain and wrecked with the Nexen tires on your TC then put the same tires on your FiST and was not to happy with them?

 

[TheGreenOne]

You spun out in the rain and wrecked with the Nexen tires on your TC then put the same tires on your FiST and was not to happy with them?

I didn't put them on my FiST. They came on my FiST when I bought it. I'm assuming the previous owner annihilated his stock summer tires. The fact that this car is even lighter makes driving with these tires even worse.

 

[boombots]

They probably are just crap tires. Some treads suck in the rain. I used to slip all over in my explorer with a set of bf Goodrich tires. New tires fixed that.

If you want to stay all seasons I have the Cooper rs3-a. Great all seasons. Compare them right with the highly rated conti dws tires but WAY cheaper. Never used in the snow but they are great in the rain and have good grip for an all season. Stable at speed and quiet. They are an asymmetrical tread tire. My roommate has them on his focus with 25k on them and with only 1 rotation they still have 50% life left.

Ideally get summers and then a spare set of wheels for winter but we don't all have that spare cash...

 

[RAAMaudio]

Sorry buddy but it did not seem that way. Nexen are pretty low line tires, might have a few decent ones but I am not sure.

Depending on your intended use and budget the tires you pick can vary quiet widely.

If you are in an area with serious snow or black ice then you might be better off with a winter setup and a summer one for more grip in the sun.

 

[boombots]

How many miles on your stock tires?

Definitely not the stockers. They are nexen all seasons. They were on it when he got the car used. I bet the dealership didn't want to sell a car with bald tread and slapped cheapos on it.

 

[TheGreenOne]

They probably are just crap tires. Some treads suck in the rain. I used to slip all over in my explorer with a set of bf Goodrich tires. New tires fixed that.

If you want to stay all seasons I have the Cooper rs3-a. Great all seasons. Compare them right with the highly rated conti dws tires but WAY cheaper. Never used in the snow but they are great in the rain and have good grip for an all season. Stable at speed and quiet. They are an asymmetrical tread tire. My roommate has them on his focus with 25k on them and with only 1 rotation they still have 50% life left.

Ideally get summers and then a spare set of wheels for winter but we don't all have that spare cash...

Awesome. Very helpful. I'll add that to the list of tires to look at. I'll probably just get all seasons since it rains constantly in Pittsburgh anymore, and get a spare set of winter tires in November or December.

 

[Kip2MyLou]

Awesome. Very helpful. I'll add that to the list of tires to look at. I'll probably just get all seasons since it rains constantly in Pittsburgh anymore, and get a spare set of winter tires in November or December.

I recommend the BFGoodrich Sport Comps 2. I have them and they're amazing in the rain. They have the best ratings on TireRack in their category and highest rating for hydroplaning. And cheap.

 

[TheGreenOne]

Sorry buddy but it did not seem that way. Nexen are pretty low line tires, might have a few decent ones but I am not sure.

Depending on your intended use and budget the tires you pick can vary quiet widely.

If you are in an area with serious snow or black ice then you might be better off with a winter setup and a summer one for more grip in the sun.

It's all good. Like I said, I'm assuming the previous owner killed the summer tires, as the car had 13k miles on it when I bought it, and either it was a 1 year lease and the owner didn't want to get hit with tire cost so he put shit tires on it, or the dealership tried to save a buck and put shit tires on it. Either way, I got shit tires on it. At the price I was buying this car out, I couldn't really argue. I bought a loaded FiST with 13k miles for 19k bucks certified. No way I could've negotiated tires in that deal. They'd have looked at me cross-eyed. I've learned my lesson with cheap tires (quite the hard way), but I'm hoping to stay under 150 a tire. I don't think that's unreasonable for some good tires. All-seasons would be nice because we've been getting a ton of rain lately. I'll be running winter tires for the snow and ice so that's a non-issue.

 

[TheGreenOne]

The funny thing is these tires are "ultra performance all-season tires." Yeah, my ass.

 

[TheGreenOne]

I recommend the BFGoodrich Sport Comps 2. I have them and they're amazing in the rain. They have the best ratings on TireRack in their category and highest rating for hydroplaning. And cheap.

 

[me32]

Definitely not the stockers. They are nexen all seasons. They were on it when he got the car used. I bet the dealership didn't want to sell a car with bald tread and slapped cheapos on it.

Thats explains that. Ill make sure not to get thoses tires

 

[MPA]

Looking at Tire Rack, I would go with either the Michelin A/S3 or the General G-Max AS-03. The General's are $44 per tire cheaper, and they rate them almost as high in the wet, and a little better in the snow.

In the dry, the Michelins look to be a little more responsive, with a little more grip.

If it were me, I'd likely pick the Generals since they're a lot cheaper.

But definitely get something that makes you a little more comfortable in the rain - I used to hate driving in the rain, but with the right tires, it's a lot less stressful.

 

[TheGreenOne]

How about the continental extremecontacts? I can get em in 205/45r17 and they're the #1 ultra-performance all-season tire with excellent ratings?

 

[TheGreenOne]

So far it's either the extremecontact, eagle f1, or the a/s 3. The f1 and a/s 3 have better dry performance with worse snow and ice. The extremecontacts have slightly lower dry performance with better snow and ice. The continentals are the cheapest too. Decisions...