I have about 37k on my cavalier, never rotated the tires, so the front ones are getting shot from doing all the going and stopping (Goodyear conquests). My friend wore down his fronts on the same car and got Dunlop SP 40 A/S tires on the fronts, $60 each at Sams. I have some BFG Touring TA's on a Malibu that seem to grip the road pretty well, even in the rain. I hear BFG traction TA's are pretty good. I drive in warm weather year round. Will replace the fronts soon then run all 4 into the ground in 40-50k miles and get 4 new ones. What tires do you recommend?
2005 cavalier front tires (P195/70R14)
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For the money, the BFG Traction TA's are tough to beat.
If you have a real spare tire, you might put the spare on a front wheel, buy one new Conquest for the other front and use one of the worn fronts for a spare.
Saves the price of one tire and you have a matched set of tires.
Saves the price of one tire and you have a matched set of tires.
Originally Posted By: XS650
If you have a real spare tire, you might put the spare on a front wheel, buy one new Conquest for the other front and use one of the worn fronts for a spare.
Saves the price of one tire and you have a matched set of tires.
Donut spare. Would really rather have some better tires up front anyway.
If you have a real spare tire, you might put the spare on a front wheel, buy one new Conquest for the other front and use one of the worn fronts for a spare.
Saves the price of one tire and you have a matched set of tires.
Donut spare. Would really rather have some better tires up front anyway.
I have traction T/A H-rated tires on my cavalier and liked them alot, espically for the price.
Hot tip: A full size spare will fit in the donut spare hole. However the cover will be raised an inch above the rest of the floor. When I changed tires I saved the best one, bought a rim from a salvage yard, painted it and had the tire mounted on it.
Hot tip: A full size spare will fit in the donut spare hole. However the cover will be raised an inch above the rest of the floor. When I changed tires I saved the best one, bought a rim from a salvage yard, painted it and had the tire mounted on it.
I ended up getting 2 traction TA's on the front. Ive driven about 300 miles so far and they are fine. The back two are goodyear conquest and have never been rotated but somehow are scalloped? The front of each tread block is higher than the back. How would that happen? My friends 2005 cavalier has the exact same wear pattern.
My gf has a decent amount of miles on her Traction TAs on her 01 cavalier. Nice tire for the car.
Originally Posted By: FL-400S
I ended up getting 2 traction TA's on the front. Ive driven about 300 miles so far and they are fine. The back two are goodyear conquest and have never been rotated but somehow are scalloped? The front of each tread block is higher than the back. How would that happen? My friends 2005 cavalier has the exact same wear pattern.
2 thoughts:
1) The scalloped wear is the result misalignment and aggravated by insufficient inflation pressure and insufficient rotation practices. (OK we know one of those is definitely true!) The degree of severity will depend on the amount of misalignment, the amount of underinflation, and the amount of time in that position on the vehicle. In your case, I'd say the misalignment is very slight.
But this situation will not get better, so I'd suggest you take the rear tires and put them on the front and wear them out quicker. They will probably vibrate anfd make some noise, but at least you'll get some use out of them - which brings me to the second thought.
2) I hope you are aware of the threads here on BITOG about where to put new tires. If not, do a search. But I'm surprised the tire shop put the new tires on the front.
I ended up getting 2 traction TA's on the front. Ive driven about 300 miles so far and they are fine. The back two are goodyear conquest and have never been rotated but somehow are scalloped? The front of each tread block is higher than the back. How would that happen? My friends 2005 cavalier has the exact same wear pattern.
2 thoughts:
1) The scalloped wear is the result misalignment and aggravated by insufficient inflation pressure and insufficient rotation practices. (OK we know one of those is definitely true!) The degree of severity will depend on the amount of misalignment, the amount of underinflation, and the amount of time in that position on the vehicle. In your case, I'd say the misalignment is very slight.
But this situation will not get better, so I'd suggest you take the rear tires and put them on the front and wear them out quicker. They will probably vibrate anfd make some noise, but at least you'll get some use out of them - which brings me to the second thought.
2) I hope you are aware of the threads here on BITOG about where to put new tires. If not, do a search. But I'm surprised the tire shop put the new tires on the front.
My gf's 02 Cavalier ate up the Goodyear Conquest's in less than 30k. She now has Uniroyal's on their and they ride much better. I believe she has the Tiger Paw series but I could be mistaken.
Originally Posted By: eljefino
I have seen this scalloping on a 98 sunfire. Odd (nice) that they still run 14 inch tires. You could, I guess, try rotating them side-to-side amongst themselves on the rear axle.
We did the brake pads on the cav at 46k (they were still good for about 25%) and I rotated the back two from side to side.
No, I didnt rotate them for 46k, but they were always well inflated, probably a few PSI high. Theres no reason they should be scalloped unless there is something wrong with the car (design flaw). My friend has the exact same car and the exact same thing happened only with less miles. Ive never had this happen with any other car.
I have seen this scalloping on a 98 sunfire. Odd (nice) that they still run 14 inch tires. You could, I guess, try rotating them side-to-side amongst themselves on the rear axle.
We did the brake pads on the cav at 46k (they were still good for about 25%) and I rotated the back two from side to side.
No, I didnt rotate them for 46k, but they were always well inflated, probably a few PSI high. Theres no reason they should be scalloped unless there is something wrong with the car (design flaw). My friend has the exact same car and the exact same thing happened only with less miles. Ive never had this happen with any other car.
Originally Posted By: FL-400S
..........
Theres no reason they should be scalloped unless there is something wrong with the car (design flaw).
.......
Cars like a little bit of toe in for stability. Toe out is unstable.
But tires do not like toe. That causes them to wear irregularly. So regular rotation is specified to prevent the irregular wear from getting bad.
Don't rotate tires on a FWD and you'll eventually get irregular wear.
..........
Theres no reason they should be scalloped unless there is something wrong with the car (design flaw).
.......
Cars like a little bit of toe in for stability. Toe out is unstable.
But tires do not like toe. That causes them to wear irregularly. So regular rotation is specified to prevent the irregular wear from getting bad.
Don't rotate tires on a FWD and you'll eventually get irregular wear.
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My brother-in-law has been using Touring TA's on his 98 Camry since he replaced the original factory tires and keeps replacing with the TA's. He loves them! Gets em at SAM's CLUB. Great tire life, good MPG, nice ride and very good in the snow for an A/S tire.
Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
Originally Posted By: FL-400S
..........
Theres no reason they should be scalloped unless there is something wrong with the car (design flaw).
.......
Cars like a little bit of toe in for stability. Toe out is unstable.
But tires do not like toe. That causes them to wear irregularly. So regular rotation is specified to prevent the irregular wear from getting bad.
Don't rotate tires on a FWD and you'll eventually get irregular wear.
10-4. I guess by rotating them like I did, they will eventually smooth out a bit. If not, oh well, its not a caddy.
Originally Posted By: FL-400S
..........
Theres no reason they should be scalloped unless there is something wrong with the car (design flaw).
.......
Cars like a little bit of toe in for stability. Toe out is unstable.
But tires do not like toe. That causes them to wear irregularly. So regular rotation is specified to prevent the irregular wear from getting bad.
Don't rotate tires on a FWD and you'll eventually get irregular wear.
10-4. I guess by rotating them like I did, they will eventually smooth out a bit. If not, oh well, its not a caddy.
I rotated the newer Douglas' I have on my '00 cav in the X pattern like in the owners(more like suckers) manual, and they wore out of round (egg shaped). The wear was so bad I ended up replacing a wheel bearing at $85.
I am trying to save towards four new FR 380s or similar. Our '03 Impala has 2 Goodyear Viva 2's on front and 2 GY Integrety on rear, and I'll be glad to replace them with Bridgstones or Firestones. These are 1 1/2 years old, and they slide on anything. I'll never buy Goodyear again.
I am trying to save towards four new FR 380s or similar. Our '03 Impala has 2 Goodyear Viva 2's on front and 2 GY Integrety on rear, and I'll be glad to replace them with Bridgstones or Firestones. These are 1 1/2 years old, and they slide on anything. I'll never buy Goodyear again.
I need to look at when we bought my wife's tires, but I could have sworn we bought them awhile ago.
One tire I'm impressed with recently is the X-Radial from Michilen(sp). IIRC it's only available at Sams or Costco. Ended up being the sam price after instant discount than the BFGs I was going to put on the subaru. Great tire.
One tire I'm impressed with recently is the X-Radial from Michilen(sp). IIRC it's only available at Sams or Costco. Ended up being the sam price after instant discount than the BFGs I was going to put on the subaru. Great tire.
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