Jump to content
Brian Enos's Forums... Maku mozo!

General car tire question


Recommended Posts

Need some new tires for the Honda. We do lots of miles but almost always on highway. Live in the south, so not much snow though a little rain. Local options seem to be:

Falcon 40,000 miles @$140 and buy 3 get one free.

Eagle GT 50,000 @ $150 (on sale)

Michelin or Good Year 60,000 @ $175

If money were no object it'd be the good ones and all 4. Money is an object, as is safety. From one end to another I can put 4 Falcons on for just $100 less than 2 Michelins.

Thoughts?

Leam

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I worked for Discount Tire for 10 years and have the following to say....

Michelin is in business to build the best tire available (Period), for the most reasonable cost. If you plan on having the car for a while they are well worth the investment most of the time.

As the tires are the only thing on the car that are suppose to touch the ground I always put the best tire on my vehicles that I believe balance with the cost/life I plan to keep the car. While that is Michelin most of the time I will not just say buy the best without knowing what size you are talking about (some higher performance Michelin do not last long enough to justify the cost) and how long you plan to keep the car as well as how many miles per year you drive.

Lee

Link to comment
Share on other sites

\There are a couple of consumable things on cars that I have never gone the inexpensive route....tires, brakes and batteries. If you consider that each of those is generally going to last 5 years or so (obviously this varies) and you look at the total difference in price between the cheap stuff and the good stuff, it's simply not worth it. I can see someone going with the generic air filter, or something along those line, but not those three things.

It's hard to go wrong with Michelin. I've had excellent luck with Pirelli as well, but that's a different style tire from what you're looking for. R,

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Michelin, by far the best non specialty tire in the business.

Falcon or Falken ?? If money is really tight, generaly decent tires but are hard

and can wear in strange ways causeing balance issues and/or excessive

tire noise. These wear issues also speed up the wear process ..

Michelin also has the latest all around technology when it comes to weather handling, snow/rain ..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another vote for the Michelins and one for the Tirerack. I have 2 buds in the tire business and they both say that the Michelins are worth the extra money. The tirerack has about the best prices, even with the shipping costs. PS2's on my car and Pilot Exaltos AS on my wife's Acura.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

+1 on the Michelin here as well. Had them and other brands on a 85 mazda 626, 92 chevy 1500 and a 99 chevy 2500 now and the Michelins grip in almost any weather, last longer, and are all around a better tire than any of the non-racing Perelli,goodyear,Firestone,Toyo's I have had on any of them.

I cheaped out and got some OEM goodyears for my 3/4 ton this last time and if I had not gotten them for a really great deal (~300 for all 4 mounted and balanced) I would be mad at how long they have not lasted. Going on a 1.5 years and about 25k miles and they are 3/4 worn down and they are starting to not grip well in the rain.

My next set of tires for it will be back to my standard Michelin's even if they are around $200.00 each...they are worth it in the long haul since they last as long as 2.5 sets of the ones I have on there now....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And 1 more positive vote for Tire Rack and Michelin.

It's hard to beat Tire Rack prices and they can ship to a

tire shop in your area for installation. They have a network of installers

that would be happy to do the job. My experiences have been positive on both accounts.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I worked in the tire business back in the 80s. Michelin was the best passenger/light truck tire then and I have used Michelins on my trucks since with excellent results. Living in south Alabama, where we have huge amounts of rain, tires that tread water are a must as well as tires that can handle heat. Michelins have always stood up to these elements. I have sold tires of lesser quality(and price) that didn't fare as well.

Hurley

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Goodyears don't last.

Tires on my old truck are Uniroyals. Performance was never less than needed. Can't really compare them to others as they lasted over 100 thousand miles, and I never drove the truck with any other tire. I will be looking to buy them for my new ride when the OEM Bridgestones wear out. Don't think I will get 35 thousand from them.

Uniroyal is owned by Michelin, if that means anything.

Edited by wide45
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I will give another +1 for the Michelin tires. My wife and I have a '99 Accord and a '06 Odyssey that are on Michelins, the BMW is on the factory tires. I tried some other tires on the Accord and the car felt and drove a whole lot different, and not for the good. The ride was not as comfortable and as mentioned above, the tires did not wear evenly over their life. I went back to Michelin real quick.

I know money can be tight, but this is not where you want to skimp.

Trey

Edited by Treym7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Goodyears don't last.

Tires on my old truck are Uniroyals. Performance was never less than needed. Can't really compare them to others as they lasted over 100 thousand miles, and I never drove the truck with any other tire. I will be looking to buy them for my new ride when the OEM Bridgestones wear out. Don't think I will get 35 thousand from them.

Uniroyal is owned by Michelin, if that means anything.

One brand of tire lasting longer then another brand is misleading. I work for a certaim highline brand

of vehicle and some of our cars eat up "MICHELINS" at 15-20K where the same tire will last 60K on say

a Toyota. Infact the harder, cheaper tires last longer on these cars but with poor performance and noise.

Alot of the time it's in the designed geometry of the vehicle or just the alinement. Judging tires by how long

they should last or are rated for is a poor way to choose a new set. Compatability, safety, and performance

with your vehicle should be how you make your choice.

Example, you know those brake pads that you get from the chain auto parts stores that come with a "lifetime"

warranty, well they are basically solid metal and dont stop for crap, squeek all to hell, and destroy your rotors

and /or wheel bearings, but they last the longest !!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Need some new tires for the Honda. We do lots of miles but almost always on highway. Live in the south, so not much snow though a little rain. Local options seem to be:

Falcon 40,000 miles @$140 and buy 3 get one free.

Eagle GT 50,000 @ $150 (on sale)

Michelin or Good Year 60,000 @ $175

If money were no object it'd be the good ones and all 4. Money is an object, as is safety. From one end to another I can put 4 Falcons on for just $100 less than 2 Michelins.

Thoughts?

Leam

You didn't say what kind of Honda but if it's a car, you will have a multitude of choices.

Most Hondas are very good regarding tire wear if you keep them rotated and the car aligned.

The Falkens are decent tires that will usually exceed the 40k mark. They tend to balance well and run pretty true. I would not recommend the Eagle GT's, they will not likely make the 50k mark. They will ride ok and give you superb traction.

The Goodyear Assurance's are decent tires but again will not likely make the advertised mileage.

Your best ride quality and also the best chance of getting the advertised mileage will be the Michelins.

I am in the automotive business and these are the results we have seen.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree with P.prez. Don't buy into the mileage warranties on tires because they are useless. You will never see one honored. Same goes for tread wear ratings because they are only set by the manufacture,so you can not compare a Michelin to a Goodyear. I also agree with others this is not the place to go cheap it will effect ride,handling,braking and noise. I'm a master tech for a large dealership and I've seen too many customers go to the discount tire store and ruin the ride on a 40,000 dollar vehicle because they were cheap. Stay with the same size and speed rating that the vehicle originally had on it that is what the engineers designed it to have. In other words don't put a performance tire on if its not a performance vehicle. Go to www.tirerack.com and do your homework.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All, thanks for the replies.

If the same Honda didn't need new rotors for the front brakes it seems like Michelin would be the way to go. As is the tires will cut into food money for the month. I'm especially happy to see responses from people in the business.

Hopefully by the time the cheap tires need replacing I can afford better.

Thanks!

Leam

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Michelin are very good tires but I would really suggest buying them locally. The local tire dealer will be the one that you go to if you have a problem and if he sold you the tire he is much more likely to help you out. If you buy on the internet, like tire rack.com, you will not get the same assistance. Not to mention that if you want the local service business to stay in business they have to be able to make a profit, not just on the mounting and balancing but the sale as well. People forget that the local economy is largely supported off the sales tax revenues from business. Send your dollars out of your community and you end up with higher income taxes. Pay me now or pay me later!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For passenger cars I like Michelin or Kumho. Best value for money over the long term.

They work the best for me and my style of driving (moderately quick and hard). My work car has Dunlop (not my choice), not flash but they grip well in all conditions, quiet and have lasted a reasonable time, new ones went on last month, and I can't complain, I just can thrash them like I do on my own car.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you have to choose between tires and food, get the cheap tires. They may not last as long, but hopefully they will last long enough. Personally, I can't stand Michelins- but I am more worried about grip than mileage. Falkens are a decent brand and the savings sound pretty significant. I recently put a set of BF Goodrich on my Accord and I am thrilled.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...