Precise1 Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 Say, does anyone have any suggestions for small passenger car tires? I haven't bought any for 20 years or so so I'm not really up on them. Yes, I'm reading reviews and such, but some first hand info would be great too. The tire size is 205/55/16 and it's going on a FWD 126hp Toyota Matrix driven by a little asian chick that doesn't go off road, drive in the snow or see any track time, so MT or racing slicks suggestions can be forgotten. We are replacing some Kumho Solus kh16 tires with about 45K on them. It seems to be a perfectly adequate tire and they still have about .1" tread depth but one has a puncture too big to be patched and rather than running mismatched or new/old tire combo, I'm just going to replace all 4. Besides, good tires for the wife's safely, etc... Thanks in advance. B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nismothunder Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 Cooper Lifeliners, BFG T/A's (white letters only) or Dougles Touring should all last 50k. Unless she scrubs curbs alot then I would recommend the Lifeliners. Plus the lifeliners are good on wet sandy gravel and shallow mud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowTied Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 If you want good value look at Hankooks - I undertand theyhave invested in some development as of late and are better than their price point. Similarly, I bought General Gmax AS-03 for my car this fall but have not got them on the car yet. Initial reviews seem great in that this is about as much as a preformance tire as you might want but not in the price point. I expect the price of this tire to go up. Built in tire tread monitor is neat too. http://www.roadandtrack.com/special-report/tire-review-general-tire-g-max-as-03/gallery http://www.drivingthenation.com/?p=3165 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyButTrusty Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 Michelin Hydro edge tires if they make them in the size you need. They are pretty pricey, but they last forever and perform very well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1994SEV6 Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 I don't know much about small car tires, but I know Michelins will probably last 100K. If Michenlins can go 110k in a S10 Xtreme with a blown 5.7l doing burn outs ERRYDAY then they will do well on your Toyota Matrix. On top of longevity, they are pretty good quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5523Pathfinder Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 Like I stated in the PoHo..... Hey B, how about the Hankook Ventus? I have put them on our cars at work and see seem to do really well. Quiet, wear nicely and I dont think I have heard of one complaint about them. Price is usually right also. I just looked on our dealer tire network and price under $100 each. There are several different versions as well. I dont know if the link will work, but here is one option.... http://www.tirerackw...cleSearch=false Is there a specific brand you would be interested in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 Yokohama AVID TRZ. Great tire for 3 seasons on my folks 2002 Buick Regal. (They have dedicated winter tires) with excellent treadwear. A colleague of mine has them on a 2004 Jetta 1.8T with excellent results as well. Tirerack has them at $108 per tire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alkorahil Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 (edited) I would go with the Kumhos that were on it or the Yokohamas that Simon pointed out above. Both are exceptional passenger car tires. Edited December 12, 2011 by Alkorahil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 I find Michelin tires start cracking on the sidewall really soon. My mom has 2 year old michelins on her maxima and they're already getting small sidewall cracks. The ones Simon pointed out are the same kind my friend has on his jetta and he loves them. They are nice and quiet (at least it seems so far, they're brand new). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted December 13, 2011 Author Share Posted December 13, 2011 Cool, thanks for the input all!! So far I'm leaning towards the Hancook Ventus as a budget tire ($89), the same Kumhos (no price yet), or Yokohama YK580 as a high end option ($118). I think so highly of the Yokohama Geolander ATs that I'm leaning towards that brand. Most of the Bridgestone, BGF and the like either are quite pricey or don't get good reviews... I have a little more research to do but I'll need to make a decision tonight. Thanks again. B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Ventus, put a lot of them on customer's cars with good results and satisfaction for the price. Surprisingly few warranty claims being they are Korean made. I was going to go with the V12s on my Z before I sold it. I never liked how my Kumhos performed. They just weren't good enough, but then again with your wife I doubt she'll really test any tire... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted December 15, 2011 Author Share Posted December 15, 2011 Well, I didn't go with the Kumho Solus KH16s because they weren't immediately available at Discount Tire, the Yokohama AVID TRZ are quite snow oriented and not exceptional in the rain with a B temp rating, same reason I didn't get the Hancook Ventus; it gets hot here. So this is what is being put on the wife's car on Saturday, Yokohama YK580. http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/tires/yokohama/product/submitProductSize.do?r=CEBINT|pc|95403&pc=43287 Apparently these are made specifically for Discount Tire, a place I've had good luck with. Thanks for all the input again, it gave me a good starting place and something to compare/rate against. B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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