yes i have searched.... and i have come across a lot of bickering (what?! not on jbo!!!
s eyes) exactly, who would have thought!! i also found a lot of threads talking about different needs in the tires.. so i thought it would just be easier to create a new thread.
my stock tires are low on tread and i want to replace them before it starts snowing.
facts:
my steelies are 15"
i would like some decent handling tires, good treadwear (dont want these to just last me a year or two)
im in indiana and will be driving in the snow from time to time...
and im shooting for the price range of around 70each.
thank you for all your help!
I've heard some good things about the Kumho asx I think thats what I'll be getting for my wifes car next, also the falken ziex 512 are a good light weight tire, I had them on her 2003 GAGT and they lasted ~ 35,000 miles... actually a little over, if it wasn't getting ready to turn to winter I would probably leave them on till 40,000 but it is and I want her to be safe with enough traction, only reason I'm not getting them again is because they are directional and they cant be rotated to run backwards, makin them kind of noisy towards the end of their lifespan, of course all tires get pretty noisy when this old, I still may get them again... If you to get the falken ziex 512 (not 912 I don't have any experience with those,) run them at 35-37 psi i ran them on her car at 35 psi for more even treadwear and a better ride due to the softer sidewall
Will Paulman wrote:I've heard some good things about the Kumho asx I think thats what I'll be getting for my wifes car next, also the falken ziex 512 are a good light weight tire, I had them on her 2003 GAGT and they lasted ~ 35,000 miles... actually a little over, if it wasn't getting ready to turn to winter I would probably leave them on till 40,000 but it is and I want her to be safe with enough traction,
So did you miss the part they he was specifically looking for winter tires?
I have been running Firestone Affinity LH30 for the past few years as my winter tires. Far from performance tires, but they ride nice, pretty quiet, no problems in the rain, and do a pretty good job in the mid-western winters. They are no where as nice in the snow as dedicated snow/winter tires, but they don't punish you during the 2 months between actual snow storms.
I do not remember what I paid for them each, but I know my total bill with taxes was under $400. I think I have 4 winters on them now, maybe even 5. I figure I am about 50% through the tread now? They are on my car from November till April usually and I drive about 12k miles per year with this car so my best guess is they have around 25k miles on them or so.
thanks to the both of you so far for you help...
UPDATE: i think i am leaning towards these....
Yokohoma AVID TRZ's
has anyone had experience with these? GOOD AND BAD PLEASE!!
I have them on my car right now, but in my opinion not a great snow tire. Depending on how much snow your going to see I would vote against them, lost it pretty good twice last winter. Treadwear is decent, handles well, good in the rain, so as an all season tire not too bad. I would look for tires with a little more broken up tread pattern, I think its those solid bands of rubber down the center of the tread that make it not a desirable snow tire.
i have (5) (one brand new) bridgestone potenza RE 950's 195-65-15 i used them for about a year roughly and then i bought some 17's i now have snow tires for the winter and have no use for these... i live NW of chicago and are willing to part these off... send me out an email if your still looking around
Darkstars.. besides that pretty link..... do you have any experience with those??
I'm not sure about in indiana... but up here in canada in the winter all-seasons are pretty much useless in the winter... you can manage with all-seasons but for snow/ice I would highly recommend a winter tread since all-seasons are not meant for snow/ice... personally I run bf-goodrich traction t/a's during the summer and hankook icebear w300's for winter...
Yokohoma AVID TRZs are great tires i had some on last winter and they are great tires
in a slight bit of a pickle.....
i cant make a decision!
i know and understand that you want a tread pattern thats broken up (as little straight tread lines/grooves as possible). if you look at winter specific tires, you see that in practially all of them. but i dont want to get a winter tire and use that during the summer and wave bye-bye to the tread ( i also dont want to have to switch the rubber back and forth; so two sets of tires is out)
when looking at the test results at tirerack, ive been looking at two categories: the High performance all season and the Standard touring all season... the issue im running into is that most of them have those straight line grooves in them. the pole positions, as previously suggested, dont as much but they're alittle higher than what i want to spend on each tire.
focusing on these two charts
Standard touring AS
High performance AS
im between getting the Yokohama AVID TRZ as previously stated (results on standard chart) or the Bridgestone Potenza G 009 (results on High performance chart). their about the same price. here are some specs comparing the two:
Comparison
what do you think?
its frustrating cuz theres really no "right answer" but there is definately a wrong answer (which you dont find out the results until its usually too late)..
McManus wrote:I'm not sure about in indiana... but up here in canada in the winter all-seasons are pretty much useless in the winter... you can manage with all-seasons but for snow/ice I would highly recommend a winter tread since all-seasons are not meant for snow/ice.
Indiana winters should be fairly close to KC winters which means we have snow on the actual ground only about 15% of the winter. 3-5 snowstorms per season, the rest of the time is driving around on dry or wet roads. I previously had true snow/ice tires when I lived in downtown KC (they don't know how to clear roads at all) and they were great when it was actually ice/snow, but crazy dangerous when the roads were clear.
Most "touring" tires will probably be better than the "performance" in the snow. I doubt there is going to be "that" much difference between most of the non-high performance all-season tires.
And wow...never really rated my RS-A's to be that bad in the winter. If they rate that low against any of those other tires, then I don't think you will go wrong with anything you have listed. I usually got around just fine with my RS-A's. Far from the best, but usually worked good enough.
accoding to those charts the "high performance tires" rated better than the standard touring tires did....
your rs-a's.... are those eagles? or what brand?
I worked at Discount tire for a good while, and really I would say go with some Yoko 520's. They are very good in the rain, and dry. Also they are a little bit open to help with moving snow out of the way. Here is a pic of them. I put them on my girls Jetta GLI in 18's and she loves them. Plus if you get them soon at Discount you save $100 for buying 4 tires right now. So at 100 times 4 is 400, and take the 100 off that is 300. Also like always you get free balancing always.
thanks trey, i'll look into those!
i also want to throw in some Tiger Paw AS6000's... anyone ever have these? good / bad? thinking about these because i found a set of for with only 1k miles on em for just over 100 bucks (WITH steelies) great deal, if they're decent may just jump on that and save some dough...
thanks for all you help!!!!
yeah they rock, buy them, great deal.... lol just seen u posted and have to have some fun. i dont know if ull get many responses on these lot of discount tire associates in here and these are sold from NTB(tirekingdom). just like the yoko trz sold through the rack and ntb (tire kngdom) that did get very many reviews. i liked them when they were on my car just scraping the old z. and the new z had newer goodyear assurance tripletread tires(80k) so i dont need them. also will probly getting rims in the begining of summer.
JRTHOMPSON wrote: just like the yoko trz sold through the rack and ntb (tire kngdom) that did get very many reviews. i liked them when they were on my car just scraping the old z.
that is a wrong statement. our company is pushing us to sell them (high profit margin same with the 520's and as430 by yoko and uni. as6000's) they are sold by other companys.
man i feel like a retard tonight.
Godspeed wrote:accoding to those charts the "high performance tires" rated better than the standard touring tires did....
your rs-a's.... are those eagles? or what brand?
The RS-A is a Goodyear Eagle. It is the factory tires on the Z-24. Also remember that those charts are made purely by opinion of those who happened to fill out the ratings. They are a good resource, just don't take everything on there as an exact.
ok, i just got some yoko 520's on the car..... and i driven 10 mins (back to wor).....
so far, i HATE them!!! they feel sooo squishy i wobble all over the place. doesnt feel like i have any strut braces on at all!!!
do they need to "break in" at all? im going to call them after work and discuss different tires.
any help!!
I just sent you a PM after you sent me one. I think your air pressure is off
Well if you are comparing how all-season tires feel on 15" rims versus your Toyo tires on the 17" wheels, then yes it without a doubt feel all squishy. Not much can be done about that.
Also, do you have a rear sway bar? That is the #1 improvement I made to my Z in getting rid of the "wobble" effect on the highway. Strut braces are mostly worthless (IMO) unless you are seriously flogging the car hard. Shocks/struts, springs, and sway-bar have much more impact in daily driving.
no, previously i had my 15" steelies with some old Toyo Spectrums. I have yet to check the pressure, i had to leave in such a hurry i couldnt look at them and check them. the driver side looked okay as i got in... idk.
but it feelies like im back at stock height and no strut bars.
im going to check the pressure and then call them and see what they say...
thanks for telling me you didnt want my tires well great im just about to give these damn tires away any ways with the taller tire its gonna feel like your all over the road unless you max your pressure then there goes your suspension glad you didnt buy mine if u dont like that feeling. for the side wall size u will have to go w/ a higher speed rated tire meaning stiff side wall to make the car seem like its not swaying all over the road.
