CHEAP tires for my 98 Corolla

[98Corolla]

Hi Everyone,

I'm not that experienced at buying tires, mainly purchased in the past based on what my dad suggested.

Just wanted your opinions on what I am considering as I need to purchase a set(4) of tires for my Corolla within the next month or so before the snow flies anyway.

My size is p185/65r14, I guess I'm looking at a passenger "touring T" tire because they have a longer treadwear warranty even though you cant collect on it, from what I have heard.

Price
I am looking to spend $60 to $80/tire. I'm looking at 4 currently.

Uniroyal Tiger paw T rated, this is my current tire and I have 65k on it, can get for $60/tire when they have a sale, mounting included.

Cooper CS4 touring T rated (widely liked here I think) $72/tire, mounting included. $50 rebate.

Hankook H727 $80 from Discount tire (widely liked there I think and LOTS of online reviews that like them also a $50 rebate, I would have to pay to get them installed.

Michelin's X Radial $76 from Sams club, but I cant find it on their website anymore, no rebate. I would have to pay to get them installed.

My priorities are longevity of the tire, winter handling and price. I drive mainly in the city but my tachometer rarely goes above 3k, I drive pretty conservatively.


Thanks for your input!

Mark

 

[Oregoonian]

Mark.....Check out www.tirerack.com

I ordered my last set of tires from TireRack....and was very pleased with their service and the tires I purchased.

Their website is excellent... with many reviews by purchasers of the particular tires they bought. They have all the rebates that are available...and I found that their prices were substantially less....even after shipping...than I could find locally.

The tires I ordered took only two days from the time I ordered them online.

 

[SrDriver]

My vote goes for the Cooper CS4 Touring.

 

[stephen9666]

If you can get the Coopers for that cheap locally, I would do that.

I have the H727 and I really like them, but if I could get the Coopers even cheaper, I'd go that route.

 

[Errtt]

I like the "Surveys" Tire Racks provides and well as some others.

 

[HTSS_TR]

I have Hankook H727 185/65-14 on my Tracer for more than a year. It's good on dry road, not much experience with wet or snow since we don't have snow in So Cal and not much rain last year.

Tread wear warranty for 100k miles, but I think it may not lasted much more than 50k miles even with rotation every 5k miles.

I think Cooper CS4 at $72, mounting included, is a better buy.

 

[eljefino]

You probably won't find michelin x radial on their website if it's a sams exclusive.

Also consider yokohoma avid tourings.

 

[MONKEYMAN]

Originally Posted By: SrDriver
My vote goes for the Cooper CS4 Touring.


Mine also. I am on my second set on a Saturn SL2.

Performance was great throught the life of the tire.

 

[salv]

the Hankooks.

 

[NHGUY]

I'm finding Sumitomos are a good tire.And good price too.

 

[jsnyder49090]

+ 1 my last set i bought at sears for right under 300 and got 75,000 + out of them and free rotate and balance for life

 

[Drew99GT]

I'd go with the Hankook's; they are one of the highest rated all season tires for winter traction. In fact, if winter traction is a priority, I wouldn't even consider any of the others.

 

[jsnyder49090]

I got 90,000 miles out of the Sumitomos and i could go thru anything in the snow

 

[JHZR2]

id get the coopers in an instant. I have a set sitting in my garage just waiting to be mounted.

 

[motts]

+1 for Sumitomo

 

[sciphi]

Coopers.

 

[freezing1]

I'm two years and 25K into a set of Cooper Lifeliner GLS on our '99 Prizm (same car / wheel size). These are cheaper yet than the CS4 and are easily the best set of tires I've put on this car.

Previously I had the OEMs and two different models of more expensive Goodyear tires to compare to the Coopers.

I would do the Coopers again without hesitation.

 

[earlyre]

if you want cheap, i have 2 words: JUNK YARD

never hurts to check your locals,you can get good deals, or cruddy deals.
I know the Pick n' pull nearest me, lists $14-$16 for 14" tires, buy 3, get 1 free...

 

[weebl]

You also may not be able to find the Michelin X Radial DT because it was discontinued in April. It's been replaced by Defender XT. The other "sisters" to Michelin X Radial DT, identical except for cosmetic tread pattern differences (Harmony, Destiny and WeatherWise II) have been replaced by Defender.

For a budget tire, I think your best bet would be the Cooper CS4 or Hankook H727. My reservation of the Hankook H727 is that some are made in China, however from what I've heard, they are all great tires, even the Chinese made ones. Coopers are made in the USA.

 

[stephen9666]

Originally Posted By: weebl
You also may not be able to find the Michelin X Radial DT because it was discontinued in April. It's been replaced by Defender XT. The other "sisters" to Michelin X Radial DT, identical except for cosmetic tread pattern differences (Harmony, Destiny and WeatherWise II) have been replaced by Defender.

For a budget tire, I think your best bet would be the Cooper CS4 or Hankook H727. My reservation of the Hankook H727 is that some are made in China, however from what I've heard, they are all great tires, even the Chinese made ones. Coopers are made in the USA.


I emailed Hankook and they said all H727 tires for the US market are made in Korea, not China. I wanted to clarify since Tire Rack says they come from China and Korea, but that's either outdated or a mistake.

When I ordered mine they were made in Korea, just like Hankook said they would be.

So far I've got about 15k miles on the H727s and they've been performing very well. I might even go back on my previous recommendation, since the OP mentioned snow and I missed that fact. I think the H727 may have a slightly better snow rating.