Looking for decent all season

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Alright, tire shopping for my 2011 Camry. I4/manual transmission, traction control, and typical NH conditions. Car gets 20-25kmiles/year; it was 25k but I think it is dropping closer to 22k now.

My notes indicate it had MXV4's--but not Primacy--initially. They wore out after 30k. I had Primacy MXV4's put on. They are at 4 and 5/32's after 30kmiles (4 on outer edge and center, and 5 on inside--rotations every 5k). I have a tough time believing the vendor will "go to bat" for me on this one*, so am in the market. The issue: Wife was happy with the snow performance of the first set, or at least accepted them: and unhappy with the second set. Since they are shot, I need tires. And soon.

[*Dealer does a "free" set of tires on purchase of new vehicle. Ok, so this set was "free". Sorta. I did have my rotations done there, but when I asked, they said I needed to wear the tire down further before they could do anything. If I toss on snows at a different place then it starts getting dicey as to how many miles etc--hence, I just want to view it as, I got 60k out of the "first" set of tires and call it a day. Dealer charges $25 just to rotate, so, I don't think I want to buy snow tires there to just eek out some money on this old set of tires...]

Here's the thing: I'm finding that when it snows, we tend to be more home bound. School gets canceled so she has little need to venture out. Slush and snow when school is running late, sure; but not 3' deep. Her car has traction control, and a clutch, and she was content with the original tires. So why mess with snows? Why not just a decent all season?

I used to be a Nokian guy, but none of the sets I had made it past 40k (Hakka 2, Nordman 2, i3, WRG2, and now enTyre) on the Jetta. Heck this Camry has yet to exceed 30k. So I'm feeling a bit burned. Looking at Tirerack isn't helping so far... What is weird, when I look up Michelin Energy MXV4 (what I suspect it was originally) they have very bad ratings compared to Primacy, yet the wife is admant: no more Primacy's! At least not for winter.

Suggestions for what all season to look at next?
 
i've had good luck with /read good reviews for Pirelli P4 four seasons.
the review that sold me (on discount tire's site i think) was from another neon owner, in MI, never felt the need to switch to snows with them installed.
 
Michelin Defender. It simply is the best all season tire you can buy for snow traction and Tirerack surveys confirm it. Each tread block has 2 interlocking full depth sipes with deep slits between each tread block.
 
Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
Michelin Defender. It simply is the best all season tire you can buy for snow traction and Tirerack surveys confirm it. Each tread block has 2 interlocking full depth sipes with deep slits between each tread block.

nothing wrong with that tread pattern @ all.. nice..
mi_defender_ci2_l.jpg
 
+1 on the P4s, I have them on out Saturn, pretty good in the snow. My brother has defenders on his van, no complaints from him, actually if I can get a deal on the defenders I want to try them next on the Saturn or Cruze.

Add: Also I saw these looking though snow reviews. No idea if they do as well as the surveys say though.

Cinturato P7 All Season Plus
 
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I wouldnt recommend the P7 all season plus in snow..im running them year around except for having dedicated winters..go with defenders or the P4's.
 
I got good life from my GoodYear Ultragrip tyres in 205/55/16 on the V50.

Don't know the US market name for the tyre but they are closely related to the Dunlop winter tyres.

With 10k rotations got 40k out of them at least and they still had more than 4mm on three but one needed replacing due to uneven wear pattern.

Nokian have an excellent reputation in Europe.
 
Consider the Hankook H727. Rated higher than the Defender in snow by Consumers reports tests.....and in my experience sharply better.

I have cars here with genuine winter tires (Michelin Xi-3) and the Hankook comes stunningly close to matching their snow traction. Our Sienna came with Michelin Green X's (Not good in snow) I switched to Michelin Hydroedges (Some snow traction but still basically hard long life rubber with all the compromises that entails) now to the Hankooks.

Bingo, stunning snow traction!

Good enough to head for the mountains!! (Snow skiing season is here)
 
I haven't used the Defender, but my set of Hankook H727 have preformed amazingly well in the snow. I was blasting by people who were stuck or couldn't move last winter during two major storms.

They definitely perform the best in snow of any all season tire I've ever had. If snow traction is a major concern, I'd recommend the H727.
 
Hmm, alternating between 727 and Defenders. I'm thinking 727; the Defenders look better but not that much $$$ better. Tirerack seems to indicate slightly better ice traction, which is what I'm wondering if the wife is complaining most about--she dislikes how the car will kick to the side on one of the local hills.

Might wind up tossing these onto the Jetta while I'm at it!
 
Originally Posted By: fsskier
Consider the Hankook H727. Rated higher than the Defender in snow by Consumers reports tests.....and in my experience sharply better.



I can't find the test now, but I was under the assumption the Defender wasn't out during hat test.

However, the H727 is very highly rated for snow traction on Tirerack.

Another tire to consider is the new General Altimax RT43; it rated higher than the H727 in Tirerack testing and is marketed as an all season tire specifically designed with snow traction in mind. Much cheaper than the Defender and H727, although the 727 are usually on sale since they are an old design and will be replaced soon.

http://www.moderntiredealer.com/news/sto...px?prestitial=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUwoSCVlleQ
 
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Hmm...

Talked one tire shop; made an oops and didn't realize they carried Hankook. I usually buy Nokians there; at one time they did carry Hankook's also. They don't carry Michelin either but they pointed out that Defender is only in T rating, while my Camry "requires" V rating.

A quick look shows Hankook H727 is T rated, so that is a win, but, really? I understand speed rating is more than just max speed on a tire; but... Really? The guy on the phone said I'd notice the tire roll more on the Camry. Really?

Did get a quote from where I'm going to get the truck tires; a bit more than Town Fair and they don't show the $40 mail in rebate either.
 
Doah! Botched that one. H727 is T rated; Camry needs V rated. Supposedly. Entering in the car on Tirerack shows what works.

Back to the begining...
 
Fwiw, the speed rating for the 2012 Camry has been dropped all the way down to a "S" rating which is a notch below the "T" rating. My dads 07 Camry had T rated tires installed and they were fine. The tire shop put them with no discussion on the rating.
 
Interesting. Honestly, I doubt we'll notice. Well, I might, but only because I drive like an ___ at times, and drive the Jetta more often. My wife, not so much.

It's a Camry, isn't body roll a design "feature"?

Odd that Toyota dropped V for 2012. 2012 was a generation change, so who knows what got tweaked. I strongly suspect that I'd be fine, but it is the mommy-mobile.
 
Best to stay with the OEM equipment, to include the speed rating. Stuff like this is highly unlikely, but suppose she were in an accident and some hot-shot lawyer from "the other side" looks at the car and points to 'deficient' tires that don't meet the original equipment requirements... There's just no reason to open ANY liability door like that in my opinion.

Have you said before that your Camry already has Primacy MXV4s on it? And you're wearing through them pretty quickly?
 
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