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I may of posted some of this before but I wanted to expand upon it and explain things a bit more to help others make the best choice possible.
I will always advise to pick tires by intended purpose, reputation, availability and to buy the best you can afford as they are the only link to the road thus critically important and often times you simply cannot have just one set and achieve all your goals, some require 2 sets, I have 3 different setups for my car and uses. (at the moment 22 wheels and 14 tires but some wheels and one set of tires are being sold, will be at 14 wheels and tires soon)
I have had 16" Michelin on a dually that sucked especially when towing, did not feel safe using it. I ended up spending $5k on new wheels in 19.5" only to have a never ending balance issue, turned out to be bad expensive wheels, very well regarded and expensive Bridgestone truck tires not likely the cause and the truck drove incredibly well on them besides the shake.
The dually I bought new in 2012 came with similar looking tires in 17" on forged Alcoa wheels and they are far superior, superb in fact and not wanting to spend $5k again on 19.5 truck tires and forged wheels and constantly fight tire shake they are the only stock wheels and tires I have ever used in nearly 48 years of driving and likely to replace them when needed with a new set, 30k miles, towing heavy load, at least 20k more to go.
I had new Michelin 18's on a 4runner I bought, handled terribly, felt dangerous, put on Falken ST tires and it made a huge difference, dramatic handling improvement. I have put Michelin on a car no other brand seemed to work well with and had great results. I have their very top all seasons on 17's for the FiST, amazing all around tire for all seasons but even in 205/45/17 ride far more harsh and make more noise than the Rival S in 225/45/15 I have for summer tires so selling them and going to 16" for AS tires, would of gone 15" but none fit over my brakes except 15x9 which is to wide for AS tires.
As for Conti less experience but found the Extreme Contact DWS to be a very soft feeling and less than stellar ultra high performance all season but a nice tire to drive on for comfort and noise so I would not rate it as that high a performance tire though reported to be quite decent in the snow. I have the latest DWS on the list of the few tires I am looking at for 16" AS tires, which I only use for 3 seasons so it will not be the winner. It seems the DWS might be a bit overrated as and Ultra high performance all season or it is really a true all season and most others are 3 season tires and overrated as all season
My list of ultra high performance AS tires I am considering includes the conti but not likely to pick them, also looking at these.
Mich PS-3 A/S, will ride better than the 17's, handle well, last a long time though they are 3 season tires at best if you get snow in your area.
BFG Comp 2 A/S, great reviews, much lower price, perhaps less ultimate grip than the PS-3 as can be seen by tread pattern, better in snow.
Nitto Neo Gen, low wear rating, supposed to be far stickier, older design, still considered best Ultimate handling all (3)season in some areas.
I have driven at least 1,000,000 miles and owned a huge number of wheels and hundreds of tires and always pick tires by the needs, not the brand.
Tire brands used over the years on cars, trucks, trailers, racing....
Michelin, many sets
Conti, a few sets
Yokohama, many sets
Pirelli, a few sets
Falken, several sets
Kumho, many sets
Toyo, many sets
Nitto, a few sets
Bridgestone, several sets
Firestone, a few sets
Goodyear, a few sets
BFG, quite a few sets
Cooper, a couple of sets
LongMarch(damn good G rated trailer tires on my toyhauler), 7 for the trailer
Hoosier, many sets
Dunlop, quite a few sets
General, a couple of sets
Hankook, quite a few sets
Sumitomo, a couple of sets
And more plus a lot of bicycle tires.
Even with that much experience I still research tires intensely online and talk to a few that actually have a great deal of professional experience before I pick any tire.
I will always advise to pick tires by intended purpose, reputation, availability and to buy the best you can afford as they are the only link to the road thus critically important and often times you simply cannot have just one set and achieve all your goals, some require 2 sets, I have 3 different setups for my car and uses. (at the moment 22 wheels and 14 tires but some wheels and one set of tires are being sold, will be at 14 wheels and tires soon)
I have had 16" Michelin on a dually that sucked especially when towing, did not feel safe using it. I ended up spending $5k on new wheels in 19.5" only to have a never ending balance issue, turned out to be bad expensive wheels, very well regarded and expensive Bridgestone truck tires not likely the cause and the truck drove incredibly well on them besides the shake.
The dually I bought new in 2012 came with similar looking tires in 17" on forged Alcoa wheels and they are far superior, superb in fact and not wanting to spend $5k again on 19.5 truck tires and forged wheels and constantly fight tire shake they are the only stock wheels and tires I have ever used in nearly 48 years of driving and likely to replace them when needed with a new set, 30k miles, towing heavy load, at least 20k more to go.
I had new Michelin 18's on a 4runner I bought, handled terribly, felt dangerous, put on Falken ST tires and it made a huge difference, dramatic handling improvement. I have put Michelin on a car no other brand seemed to work well with and had great results. I have their very top all seasons on 17's for the FiST, amazing all around tire for all seasons but even in 205/45/17 ride far more harsh and make more noise than the Rival S in 225/45/15 I have for summer tires so selling them and going to 16" for AS tires, would of gone 15" but none fit over my brakes except 15x9 which is to wide for AS tires.
As for Conti less experience but found the Extreme Contact DWS to be a very soft feeling and less than stellar ultra high performance all season but a nice tire to drive on for comfort and noise so I would not rate it as that high a performance tire though reported to be quite decent in the snow. I have the latest DWS on the list of the few tires I am looking at for 16" AS tires, which I only use for 3 seasons so it will not be the winner. It seems the DWS might be a bit overrated as and Ultra high performance all season or it is really a true all season and most others are 3 season tires and overrated as all season
My list of ultra high performance AS tires I am considering includes the conti but not likely to pick them, also looking at these.
Mich PS-3 A/S, will ride better than the 17's, handle well, last a long time though they are 3 season tires at best if you get snow in your area.
BFG Comp 2 A/S, great reviews, much lower price, perhaps less ultimate grip than the PS-3 as can be seen by tread pattern, better in snow.
Nitto Neo Gen, low wear rating, supposed to be far stickier, older design, still considered best Ultimate handling all (3)season in some areas.
I have driven at least 1,000,000 miles and owned a huge number of wheels and hundreds of tires and always pick tires by the needs, not the brand.
Tire brands used over the years on cars, trucks, trailers, racing....
Michelin, many sets
Conti, a few sets
Yokohama, many sets
Pirelli, a few sets
Falken, several sets
Kumho, many sets
Toyo, many sets
Nitto, a few sets
Bridgestone, several sets
Firestone, a few sets
Goodyear, a few sets
BFG, quite a few sets
Cooper, a couple of sets
LongMarch(damn good G rated trailer tires on my toyhauler), 7 for the trailer
Hoosier, many sets
Dunlop, quite a few sets
General, a couple of sets
Hankook, quite a few sets
Sumitomo, a couple of sets
And more plus a lot of bicycle tires.
Even with that much experience I still research tires intensely online and talk to a few that actually have a great deal of professional experience before I pick any tire.
Had a terrible experiences with a set of Yokohama tires. At stock pressures, newly installed they felt like you were riding on a bubble. Very waffley and loose. Bumped the pressures by ~10 PSI and they were normal. Had to worry about getting stuck in the snow all the time, and often did. (we're in a valley so if you're not going up a hill, it's only because you're going down one)
The kicker? One of the four had a partial tread separation accelerating past 70mph... still quite new, quite meaty.
Couldn't give me a Yokohama tire... an enemy wouldn't deserve those things.
The kicker? One of the four had a partial tread separation accelerating past 70mph... still quite new, quite meaty.
Couldn't give me a Yokohama tire... an enemy wouldn't deserve those things.
If I had to name one, it would be Dunlop, but only for sentimental reasons. I like that they are an old school company with a lot of motorsport history, and the fact that they are British makes them seem classy and a little exotic. I do have a set of the original Star Specs on my 91 Miata, and I like them a lot.
On the other hand I do have BFGs on two of my cars right now, the Rivals on my 97 Miata and the Sport Comps on my Fit. I suppose that means BFG is my current practical favorite, but that can change the next time I need tires.
In reality, like most people, I buy what seems to be the best tire for my needs, and don't really care about the brand, no loyalty from me. I used to autocross a lot, and I have four cars, so I've bought a lot of performance tires over the last decade. I've had Bridgestone RE 11s, Nitto NT 01s, BFG Rivals, Hankook slicks, Hankook RS 3s, Dunlop Star Specs, Falken Azenises, and BFG Sport Comps. I've liked them all except for the RS 3s, which didn't heat up quickly enough for autocross. That was an early version though, I've heard they are much better now.
On the other hand I do have BFGs on two of my cars right now, the Rivals on my 97 Miata and the Sport Comps on my Fit. I suppose that means BFG is my current practical favorite, but that can change the next time I need tires.
In reality, like most people, I buy what seems to be the best tire for my needs, and don't really care about the brand, no loyalty from me. I used to autocross a lot, and I have four cars, so I've bought a lot of performance tires over the last decade. I've had Bridgestone RE 11s, Nitto NT 01s, BFG Rivals, Hankook slicks, Hankook RS 3s, Dunlop Star Specs, Falken Azenises, and BFG Sport Comps. I've liked them all except for the RS 3s, which didn't heat up quickly enough for autocross. That was an early version though, I've heard they are much better now.
Not at all a perfect tire by any means, BUT, the Nexen N'fera SU1 has lasted me 20K miles and i'm barely at the wear bars. Pretty dang good in the dry, okay in the wet (unsure of snow, California), and not to mention that low price tag. I think i found them for $275 with tax in 215/40R17.
Now if only i can find PSS's for cheap![[like]](/images/smilies/icon_smile_like.gif "Like [like]")
Now if only i can find PSS's for cheap
As far as budget tires go, I really like my Federals SS595s so far for the price. (<$60 each). Traction is not bad at all for street purposes so far. Will probably change sizes next so will try Accelera Alphas since they come in the size I'm looking for next time. But these Federals are still going strong with plenty of tread left after 24k+ miles so...can't say it'll be anytime soon yet.
Sent from my LG-H918 using Tapatalk
Sent from my LG-H918 using Tapatalk
I've had Continental ExtremeContact DWS all-seasons on a couple of cars (including an SVTF) and they were a great all-around tire for the money. I've come to the conclusion I need all-seasons living in Seattle and not planning to get a spare set of wheels/tires at this time, so I may get them again when the OEM Potenzas need replacing.
I have 20k on the stock tires and another 10-15K to go. I see no reason to change as I don't do low temp driving. I find the Potenza to give great all around wet/dry performance, somewhat noisy but I had Goodyears on my Nissan and they were much louder. Miles driven is not a reliable indicator of tire performance. Driving style does affect the longevity much more. if you are a LBS (late braking specialist) expect to wear out tires sooner, hard acceleration more tire wear. I expect to suffer tire wear with spirited driving, that is why I bought an ST, but the other reason was economy. And that means much more than MPG, LBS folks will pay in tire wear, constant monitoring and checking pressure and condition. In the past 18 moths I have discovered two nails in my tires. One penetrated one did not. BTW, the Goodyear stores here fix tires free.
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