Tire Selection Process

[jjjxlr8]

Originally Posted by RayCJ
Originally Posted by jjjxlr8
How often do you rotate your tires? This is critical in preventing the noise and vibration that you describe. Some tread patterns and vehicles are more forgiving than others, but most treaded tires benefit from heal-toe wear reduction by cross-rotation.

Front to back rotation once a year. I know there are cross-rotation patterns but it greatly complicates the process when working with floor jacks.

Ray

To prevent worn noise issues, I try to cross-rotate my tires every 6000 miles. If I wait until 10,000 miles, it's usually too late and I have developed enough heal-toe wear to cause increased tire noise.

Going from front to back on the same side of the vehicle helps reduce irregular wear a little bit, but since the tires are still rolling in the same direction, the heal-toe wear will continue to increase. The tires have to roll in the opposite direction to mitigate the 'saw tooth' like heal-toe wear that will develop even when your vehicle is perfectly aligned. Heal-toe wear is caused by the way the tread blocks exit the footprint.

 

[RayCJ]

Originally Posted by jjjxlr8
To prevent worn noise issues, I try to cross-rotate my tires every 6000 miles. If I wait until 10,000 miles, it's usually too late and I have developed enough heal-toe wear to cause increased tire noise.

Going from front to back on the same side of the vehicle helps reduce irregular wear a little bit, but since the tires are still rolling in the same direction, the heal-toe wear will continue to increase. The tires have to roll in the opposite direction to mitigate the 'saw tooth' like heal-toe wear that will develop even when your vehicle is perfectly aligned. Heal-toe wear is caused by the way the tread blocks exit the footprint.

I'll take heed and give this a shot. I have a new car now that came with Dunlop Sport 5000 tires. I'm looking around to see what kind of rotation they feel is best. The Dunlop site is not showing much detailed information at all.

Ray

EDITED to correct tire type.

 

[RayCJ]

Originally Posted by CapriRacer
It appears your problem is that some of your tires developed some irregular wear - the rumbling and vibration (Same problem, just different frequencies)

First, irregular wear is driven by misalignment. All tires have some degree of sensitivity to this - high or low. But a consumer can't tell which by looking at the tire or anything that is published. So what's a consumer to do?

1) Stick to name brands. They are more likely to have done the research needed to find out what it takes to dial out sensitivity to irregular wear.

2) May sure the alignment is really close to perfect. My experience says that the published alignment tolerances (not the specs, but the allowable deviation from spec) are too wide by half. Tell the tech before he starts you want the values as close to the center as possible and want to verify it by the printout - and ask for the print out!!


Exception: You want to dial out ANY camber more than 1 degree. Yes, that is NOT what the specs may call for, but camber tends to aggravate irregular wear. This might require a camber plate or an eccentric bolt (additional cost). This may also result in a worse handling feel, but that is the price to pay for good tire wear.

3) Drive gently. Hard cornering causes rapid wear - and that tends to drive any irregular wear tendencies.

Hope this helps.



I'm a really easy-going driver. No hard cornering etc. I also check the inflation regularly. Many, many years ago (42 to be precise) is when I last aligned a car. I was in high-school and worked at a local Texaco station. I don't have the means to do alignments now but I sure wish I did! There is a local garage that does good work and after my next set of tires, I'll take it to them to check/adjust alignment.


Thanks

Ray

 

[k1xv]

I tend to avoid run flat tires because they are expensive, heavy (resulting in higher unsprung weight and rotational mass) and give a rough ride.

There are brands I would not consider. Nothing Chinese, no Firestone (I am an old timer and still remember the Firestone 500 disaster), and usually no Bridgestone, except maybe for Blizzak snows, because I consider them overpriced for what you get.

I usually want a tread wear number of 400 minimum, and 600 maximum, with AA A or A A traction/temperature ratings. I usually go for at least an H speed rating. Not because I drive around at 130, but usually the higher the speed rating, the better the car handles.

I do have favorite brands. Continental, especially the DWS 06 model, Nokian, and NItto.

Nokian is making some rather interesting All Seasons, the Zline A/S. You can find some good prices on line on these tires. Recently put a set on a BMW X5 for an internet price about half of what a Michelin or Continental cost. Had them on now for about 6000 miles and they are great.

Tires can be made anywhere these days. Nitto, for example, is a subsidiary company of Toyo. I bought a set for a Corvette, and they were made in the USA. Many, if not most, Yokohamas are also made in the USA. The Nokians described above are made in a Nokian factory in Russia. A lot of name brand tires are sourced from southeast Asia. But I cannot bring myself to consider buying a Chinese tire.

 

[NewEnglander]

I love my Nokians. Just ordered WRG4s for my wife's car and I have WRG3s on mine. The all-weathers are just fantastic, what all-seasons should be in my opinion. I drive these through New England blizzards without a second thought and never had any issues. Not just snow but good in rain and all kinds of inclement weather year round.

Recommend to anyone that lives in areas that see enough snow and ice to make it worthwhile.

 

[CincyDavid]

Originally Posted by Danno
New tires almost makes a car feel new again - with the right choice.

How true! Even the most decrepit old car feels SO much nicer with 4 new, matching tires.

I have been putting Sumitomo HTR A/S P02 tires on my kids' cars...cheap-ish, stay round, relatively quiet on the highway, good wet weather traction and good enough in the snow that they can get around. Good compromise for me.

I can't justify spending the money for Michelin, but I see why some people like their tires. I have been happier with BFG and Uniroyal...nice "Michelin" tires without spending too much.

 

[ZebRuaj]

Being the family grease monkey, I've noticed a few school of thoughts, but they all reflect you and your vehicle purchase/maintenance
- want the cheapest/easiest. as long as it works.
- way over research
- purchase based on biases
- wait til you're SOL, then get stuck buying what's available (Hello MN drivers who get stuck on hills when it snows)

Best all season tire I've experienced is the Continental DWS when I had my Civic Si.

Currently my bias is towards Cooper (gasp, all the hate!). Have them on a truck, 2 suv's, and a sedan. All are quiet, wearing evenly and fairly, and are decently priced. Not to mention rebates if you search for them.

A lot of the tire complaints on cars I've serviced are due to bad alignments, worn out suspension, or neglected rotations.

 

[FordBroncoVWJeta]

Originally Posted by ZebRuaj
Currently my bias is towards Cooper (gasp, all the hate!)..

There is no hate. The CS5 is a BITOG favorite. I put some Cooper Discover SRX on my step fathers trailblazer, they seem to be very good tires.

 

[supton]

Seen too many things that were great go to meh. I think that is the way it goes.

For now I slap RT43's onto whatever I can. Not the best but if I get them on sale it seems a decent deal. When new they seem adequate in snow.

Now if I could find a similar snow tire. I have iPikes that seem to be fine but a number of reviews have them low ranked.

 

[DONWATERS]

My daily driven car goes 35 to 40k miles a year. I am disgusted with brand name tires, and get the absolute cheapest china made tire and put it on there. I have 4 different brands on my car now at the same time. I have a nitrogen tank and an accurate gauge, and keep a close eye on the pressures. I get 40k miles out of the china tires at least, city only driving pot holes and rough roads. I have 8 wheels total for the car, and usually buy tires in pairs or sets of 4 and have them mounted off the car because its cheaper and so I can install with a torque wrench. (Bring them in to the tire store in my truck bed)

 

[DONWATERS]

My daily driven car goes 35 to 40k miles a year. I am disgusted with brand name tires, and get the absolute cheapest china made tire and put it on there. I have 4 different brands on my car now at the same time. I have a nitrogen tank and an accurate gauge, and keep a close eye on the pressures. I get 40k miles out of the china tires at least, city only driving pot holes and rough roads. I have 8 wheels total for the car, and usually buy tires in pairs or sets of 4 and have them mounted off the car because its cheaper and so I can install with a torque wrench. (Bring them in to the tire store in my truck bed)

 

[Darris]

I WISH I could do more research on tires and make purchases to suit my own tire priorities based on actual information.

But lets face it, most consumers are not very discriminating to begin with, and they are pro to buy based on hype, branding and ambiguous ratings derived from esoteric lab testing that has little to do with real world conditions or performance.

There are extremely few tire reviews that provide actual test results of things which can be measured - stopping distance, wheelspin & stability on quick launches, tracking ect - and even then it's for a very small sample of tires in optimal, just-broken-in condition, not what they'll feel like once they have a few thousand miles on them.

And what can tire dealers really tell you aside from rewording the manufacturers performance claims? What can the typical tire tech from a typical tire retailer tell you about the product they install for customers based on a 3 or 4 minute test drive usually during business hours on busy streets when it's pretty tough to sustain a speed over 35mph for more than a couple of seconds much less attempt a few hard stops?

So we are left with reviews of people who might have had the tire on a completely different kind of vehicle, or with completely different driving styles and expectations from your own and from that you have to estimate what the tire would feel like to YOU knowing once you buy it you;re prpbably stuck with it.

So yeah if you can only afford to take one shot at it at a time, it sucks.

 

[grampi]

I've been buying cheap tires for years. I don't usually buy the least expensive, but I usually get tires that are among the bottom 4-6 tires price wise. I've had extremely good results. I think I've had one set of tires that didn't quite last the mileage rating, I've had one blowout, and I've had to replace 2 or 3 tires (from different sets) because the tire developed a "thumping" sound. Most of the tires have lasted the mileage rating or better, and most have performed well in all weather conditions. To me, name brand tires are overpriced (because of the name) for what they do, and I don't necessarily think they're any better than the no name brand tires...

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted by DONWATERS
My daily driven car goes 35 to 40k miles a year. I am disgusted with brand name tires, and get the absolute cheapest china made tire and put it on there. I have 4 different brands on my car now at the same time. I have a nitrogen tank and an accurate gauge, and keep a close eye on the pressures. I get 40k miles out of the china tires at least, city only driving pot holes and rough roads. I have 8 wheels total for the car, and usually buy tires in pairs or sets of 4 and have them mounted off the car because its cheaper and so I can install with a torque wrench. (Bring them in to the tire store in my truck bed)


I'm with you on this one. I don't necessarily think brand name tires are disgusting, except for price. I just don't think they do anything better than the no name brand tires to justify the price...just because a tire says "Michelin" on it doesn't make it worth twice as much...

 

[CKN]

Originally Posted by k1xv
I tend to avoid run flat tires because they are expensive, heavy (resulting in higher unsprung weight and rotational mass) and give a rough ride.

There are brands I would not consider. Nothing Chinese, no Firestone (I am an old timer and still remember the Firestone 500 disaster), and usually no Bridgestone, except maybe for Blizzak snows, because I consider them overpriced for what you get.

I usually want a tread wear number of 400 minimum, and 600 maximum, with AA A or A A traction/temperature ratings. I usually go for at least an H speed rating. Not because I drive around at 130, but usually the higher the speed rating, the better the car handles.

I do have favorite brands. Continental, especially the DWS 06 model, Nokian, and NItto.

Nokian is making some rather interesting All Seasons, the Zline A/S. You can find some good prices on line on these tires. Recently put a set on a BMW X5 for an internet price about half of what a Michelin or Continental cost. Had them on now for about 6000 miles and they are great.

Tires can be made anywhere these days. Nitto, for example, is a subsidiary company of Toyo. I bought a set for a Corvette, and they were made in the USA. Many, if not most, Yokohamas are also made in the USA. The Nokians described above are made in a Nokian factory in Russia. A lot of name brand tires are sourced from southeast Asia. But I cannot bring myself to consider buying a Chinese tire.



Unbelievable.............. A company made bad product 40 years ago, so I want nothing to do them. Makes tremendous sense. Do you drive a Ford? Remember the exploding gas tanks in the Pinto? How about GMs ignition switch disaster OR-how about VW/Audi and their diesel scandal?

 

[NGRhodes]

Originally Posted by k1xv
I usually go for at least an H speed rating. Not because I drive around at 130, but usually the higher the speed rating, the better the car handles.


Speed rating is not just for maximum speed, but also cornering and braking ability too ( heat situations that could cause tread to rapidly degrade in some way), never go below the speed rating designed for you car.

 

[NGRhodes]

Most big brands have done poor model tyres through the ages OR not suited to certain cars.
I've only had one set of big or mid brand tyres that were sub standard, I've had numerous budget tyres that have been ditch finders.

 

[ryster]

I just went through the tire selection process for my vehicle. It started out fun, gradually became overwhelming, and then entered a ridiculous phase. Ultimately way too much time was spent looking at way too many tires, tire reviews, and online forums.

I basically got my prospect list down to three options. A budget option, a middle of the road option, and a premium option.

Budget - Lexani LXHT-206
Middle - Cooper Evolution Tour
Premium - Continental Truecontact Tour

It reached a point where a decision had to be made, so the middle of the road option won because it was a new for 2018 design, offered a 65000 mile treadwear warranty, and was made in the USA.

The budget option almost made it, but it wasn't that much less than the middle option, was made in South Korea, and only had a 40000 mile warranty.

The premium option was way more than I wanted to ultimately spend. It was do-able but simply unnecessary.

The Coopers arrived yesterday. They look really nice, and will be mounted and balanced tomorrow.

There is a time and a place for tires of every tier and every driver's personal situation. Some drivers just want to get back on the road at the lowest price, or have a set budget. Some drivers don't want to invest several hundred dollars into a disposable commodity but at the same time want to feel like they didn't go too cheap. Others want the premium product and don't hesitate to purchase it.

 

[RayCJ]

Originally Posted by ryster
I just went through the tire selection process for my vehicle. It started out fun, gradually became overwhelming, and then entered a ridiculous phase. Ultimately way too much time was spent looking at way too many tires, tire reviews, and online forums.

I basically got my prospect list down to three options. A budget option, a middle of the road option, and a premium option.

Budget - Lexani LXHT-206
Middle - Cooper Evolution Tour
Premium - Continental Truecontact Tour

It reached a point where a decision had to be made, so the middle of the road option won because it was a new for 2018 design, offered a 65000 mile treadwear warranty, and was made in the USA.

The budget option almost made it, but it wasn't that much less than the middle option, was made in South Korea, and only had a 40000 mile warranty.

The premium option was way more than I wanted to ultimately spend. It was do-able but simply unnecessary.

The Coopers arrived yesterday. They look really nice, and will be mounted and balanced tomorrow.

There is a time and a place for tires of every tier and every driver's personal situation. Some drivers just want to get back on the road at the lowest price, or have a set budget. Some drivers don't want to invest several hundred dollars into a disposable commodity but at the same time want to feel like they didn't go too cheap. Others want the premium product and don't hesitate to purchase it.



Good luck -and may the Force be with you!

 

[HangFire]

I think the best tire advice comes from owners of those tires on like vehicles, best found on forums dedicated to said vehicles. When reading owner's opinions, you can view their other posts, or just ask them- do they drive like me? Similar climate? Similar expectations?

I've been stung by expensive but so-so premium tires, but never had "bad" premium tires. And I've had some fabulous premium tires. It hasn't stopped me from buying higher end tires, but I do more research on them.

Tire marketers are their own worst enemy, each generation (or tires) is (generally) better than the last, but all the superlatives to describe them have been used up a generation (of people) ago.