help me decide

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marine65

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This choice for tires is getting tough and it should not be.I just want to get the best value.

I can buy tires next week at Walmart at 25% off.I still do have a budget to stay in.
I have a 06 Sentra so performance rubber not needed,but snow and ice are a concern.
Here are my choices

General Altimax
Kumho Solus K21
Kelly Explorer Plus
Nexen CP641
Nexen N5000
Hankook H724
Goodyear Integrity

The standard size for my car is 195-60-15 but Discount Tire says a 185-65-15 will work and that size is a little cheaper.Any down side to the optional size?
Thanks,
 
A lot of places won't mount different size tires so be aware of that. From the list you created the General Altimax RT43 would be my choice. Coopers CS5 is also a good option.
 
Originally Posted By: marine65
This choice for tires is getting tough and it should not be.I just want to get the best value.

I can buy tires next week at Walmart at 25% off.I still do have a budget to stay in.
I have a 06 Sentra so performance rubber not needed,but snow and ice are a concern.
Here are my choices

General Altimax hp
Kumho Solus K21
Kelly Explorer Plus
Nexen CP641
Nexen N5000
Hankook H724
Goodyear Integrity

The standard size for my car is 195-60-15 but Discount Tire says a 185-65-15 will work and that size is a little cheaper.Any down side to the optional size?
Thanks,
 
Originally Posted By: volk06
A lot of places won't mount different size tires so be aware of that. From the list you created the General Altimax RT43 would be my choice. Coopers CS5 is also a good option.


I can only get the ones on the list.
There are a lot of small shops that will mount anything here in Denver.
It would be the Altimax HP not RT43.
 
Out of the tires you listed, I'd take the RT43.

The good news is that 195/60-15 has plenty of options, like these:
Kumho Ecsta LX Platinum
Dunlop Signature II
Goodyear Fuel Max ($40 rebate on a set of 4)

Goodyear's Integrity is being replaced with their new Assurance All-Season. They also come with a $40 rebate on a set of four.
 
Originally Posted By: marine65
This choice for tires is getting tough and it should not be.I just want to get the best value.

I can buy tires next week at Walmart at 25% off.I still do have a budget to stay in.
I have a 06 Sentra so performance rubber not needed,but snow and ice are a concern.
Here are my choices

General Altimax
Kumho Solus K21
Kelly Explorer Plus
Nexen CP641
Nexen N5000
Hankook H724
Goodyear Integrity

The standard size for my car is 195-60-15 but Discount Tire says a 185-65-15 will work and that size is a little cheaper.Any down side to the optional size?
Thanks,

185 size would mean narrower tire (more weight on contact patch) so in theory better traction and the 65 aspect would mean slightly taller sidewalls.. you might not notice but should be a bit softer of a ride (more cushioning). Personally, I would go for the Altimax's.
 
I run 185/65R15 winter tires on the focus, instead of the 195/60R15. No downsides for me and I would go narrower if there were tires available. They are something like 1-2% bigger in circumference, but probably that would make your speedometer more accurate as they all err on showing a higher than actual speed.
 
Originally Posted By: IndyIan
I run 185/65R15 winter tires on the focus, instead of the 195/60R15. No downsides for me and I would go narrower if there were tires available. They are something like 1-2% bigger in circumference, but probably that would make your speedometer more accurate as they all err on showing a higher than actual speed.


+1, Within 3% is perfectly safe per those tire sizing charts. 185-65-15 is more common too.. so Id assume it would not only work as good but save you some money.

My Corolla came with 195-65-15, but OE specs 185-65-15. I have also used 215-45-17 and most recently 225-45-17 on my summer set of rims.
 
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Originally Posted By: tommygunn
Out of the tires you listed, I'd take the RT43.

The good news is that 195/60-15 has plenty of options, like these:
Kumho Ecsta LX Platinum
Dunlop Signature II
Goodyear Fuel Max ($40 rebate on a set of 4)

Goodyear's Integrity is being replaced with their new Assurance All-Season. They also come with a $40 rebate on a set of four.


I can only buy tires sold by Walmart to get the 25% discount.
And I need to stay around $200
 
For the money I really like the Kumho Solus KL21's I have on my car. Decent traction in all conditions and excellent treadwear so far.
 
So I passed on the 25% discount at Walmart.
Discount tires has a black Friday special of $40 off 4 tires.
I got OHTSU FP6000 195-60-15 for $40 each.$240 out the door.
Too good to pass up.I checked the online reviews and as all cheap tires there were some good and some bad.Mostly good.
Drove home from the tire store on I-70 and got up to 75 mph and they were very quiet.
Flipped the car gently from side to side and they seemed very stable.
The next test will be ice and snow.
Thanks to all that responded to my thread.
 
Keep in mind, when using the brand name of General AltiMAX, it's too, well, "general!"

There are still available(stock is getting low), the AltiMAX RT, AltiMAX HP. Along with the AltiMAX ARCTIC winter tires. And now of course, the brand new, AltiMAX RT43's!

If we only drove in good weather, any of the tires mentioned would be fine. Because foul weather is upon us, I will comment here:

Of the tires that the OP mentioned, I would use the AltiMAX RT43's!

And remove from the list, the Hankook Optimo H724's and Integrity's as these 2 tires are poor foul weather tire for Denver winters.

The Kumho Solus KR-21's do OK in the foul weather and can be had cheap. But, don't last anywhere near their 80K mile warranty. Maybe half of that!

The General AltiMAX HP are a nice tire too but, not great in the snow from family members that are using them on small cars like Sentra's and Elantra's.

Kelley Explorer's(OLD) are and OK tire from lots of reviews but, those I know didn't like'em much!

I can't speak for NEXEN Tires at all as I have no experience nor know anyone who has them either!
 
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To the OP, keep with your original equipment(OE) size and expand your search a bit further for a more suitable tire for your driving style and climate. This will make foul weather driving go almost unnoticed!
smile.gif
 
Originally Posted By: Char Baby
Keep in mind, when using the brand name of General AltiMAX, it's too, well, "general!"

There are still available(stock is getting low), the AltiMAX RT, AltiMAX HP. Along with the AltiMAX ARCTIC winter tires. And now of course, the brand new, AltiMAX RT43's!

If we only drove in good weather, any of the tires mentioned would be fine. Because foul weather is upon us, I will comment here:

Of the tires that the OP mentioned, I would use the AltiMAX RT43's!

And remove from the list, the Hankook Optimo H724's and Integrity's as these 2 tires are poor foul weather tire for Denver winters.

The Kumho Solus KR-21's do OK in the foul weather and can be had cheap. But, don't last anywhere near their 80K mile warranty. Maybe half of that!

The General AltiMAX HP are a nice tire too but, not great in the snow from family members that are using them on small cars like Sentra's and Elantra's.
Kelley Explorer's(OLD) are and OK tire from lots of reviews but, those I know didn't like'em much!

I can't speak for NEXEN Tires at all as I have no experience nor know anyone who has them either!


do you know about these OHTSU FP6000 AKA Falken Ziex 512.
these are the ones I got.
 
IMHO Generals are an all around good tire for the money.

For what it's worth I have the older generation Altimax RT tires as my all-seasons. I have 30k miles on them and just took them off for my snow tires. I measured the tread and they have about 5/32" on them. They did way better than the OEM Michelin Energy tires that came with the car which were completely shot at 28k miles. I have also been happy with the performance of the Generals as they wore. The rain performance is still good on them. I drove them in the snow a week ago and they did OK considering they only have 5/32 left on them. (The fronts may even have 4/32")

I'm not saying they are the best by any means but I am overall satisfied with them and I would probably buy them again. My one disappointment with them is at just 2 years old they are already getting some dry cracks in the grooves which for me is not a huge deal as I will probably run them again in the spring until next fall at which time I will be replacing them as they will be due for replacement.
 
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I think that General has come a long way in the past several years with the introduction of their AltiMAX line and the Grabber HTS line.

The AltiMAX RT & HP did them well and they went ahead to improve on them(or at least, try) with the RT43's in several speed ratings. Along with the Arctic winter tires.

These newer tires are getting good reviews from customers and positive testing from the pros!

Years ago, I wouldn't touch General(or Cooper) tires but now, I have them on several cars(along with other brands as well).
 
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