I need tires for my 1998 Lexus ES300 (205/65R15) that I likely won't own more than 3 more years/30k mi. It's driven grandma-style (short trips, not at high speed and not agressively) in dry, mild southern California climate. I'm looking for value over performance.

I'm getting some quotes from some local shops, but 3 quick quotes, I found:

(Place, tire, rating, price per tire installed)
Costco: Michelin Primacy 94V for $155
Discount Tire: Kumho Solus 92T for $110
PepBoys: Definity HP800 91H for $92

Obviously the Costco tire is rated the highest and is probably a good, fair value if I were to drive the car for another 60k+ miles. Do I really want to pay for a V rated tire (up to 149 mph when I'm not going to be going faster than 75)? I'm guessing Definity is PepBoys generic, which makes me skeptical, but I'm surprised by the H rating.

How do I judge if I don't really care (can't tell) performance differences and they all have similar warranties? My instinct tells me that a higher rated tire is better, but I'm admittedly naive about tires. Is there another way to shop that I'm missing?

Any help appreciated.

I'm susprised Costco doesn't have a value priced tire.

I tend to go for warranty and ease of service... If they cover road hazard (nails and whatnot), and rotate 'em for you. Keep in mind that if you're planning on selling the car in a few years, having 'like new' tires helps a bit. And don't forget the possible weather extremes.. if you ever get one of those desert thunderstorms, having a rain capable tire is helpful.

After 3 years/30k miles no tire is "like new."

TireRack has General Altimax HP (Grand Touring All-Season) for $74ea. They're H rated - 130MPH. Totally fine. They're also 440 A A which are a bit more important. You just don't want to go more than 130. I do know someone who did drive his tires over the speed rating and one did shred itself.

If I had to choose from your list, I'd go with Discount Tire.

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Thanks so much for the input. I doubt I'd ever go faster than 80 in this car, so your General Altimax tires would be more than enough. I just saw that Costco has a coupon for 4 Bridgestones for $80/tire installed. It may be worth it to find a store that has some that'll fit.

Do you select tires based on rating? Reputation? Reviews?

Thanks again for the great advice.

Edit: fixed pricing mistake



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/23/2012 11:44AM by Wailer.

If you can wait a while, pick up the Michelin X-Radials from Costco when they do their semi-regular 'buy four Michelins and save $75' promotion. Good tires that will last... looked online and see that the one you have listed is the only option - I'd guess that in-store they may have a greater selection.

I use Coker when I'm looking for tires for older vehicles...

I'd strongly suggest that you use the TireRack site and check out both their road tests and user ratings for the tire you're interested in. Avoid "house brand" tires.

Also, since you're not going to be driving in the snow, avoid "all-season" tires and stick to a decent "summer" tire. "Summer" is a bit of a misnomer, since many of those are much better in rain than "all season" tires, which are designed to have sufficient void space to allow mild snow use, and are generally poor compromises for most other uses.

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Costco is not that inexpensive, it's just that they are cheaper for the model of tire you can buy elsewhere. plus, their long term service warranty is *very* good and no hassles.

Also, Costco only carries two brands, Michelin and Bridgestone and, occasionally, some of their sub-brands.

However, after factoring in paying for shipping and mounting, you will probably be at par with a place like TireRack, and even if you save a few bucks using the latter, I'd take the Costco warranty any day.

That said, you could probably find something local that may match your price point but you won't be able to select much of any characteristics. I'd say go for MAVIC's suggestion or take advantage of the $70off/$30off deal on the Bridgestones at the moment at Costco and buy their least expensive model. BIG hint: look online at Costco.com to have them shipped to your local store, no charge and much better selection. Also, check local stock just to be sure.

edit: for the record, if you want to spend, the Bridgestone RE-970 or equivalent is a much better tire than the Michelin Primacy. I've used both extensively.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/23/2012 12:26PM by mrbigstuff.

It's a royal pain to get in for a tire rotation at Costco. I like Discount Tire.

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Wailer
Do you select tires based on rating? Reputation? Reviews?

All of the above. I put MUCH more weight on Tire Rack's own reviews, than customer reviews though.

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davester
I'd strongly suggest that you use the TireRack site and check out both their road tests and user ratings for the tire you're interested in. Avoid "house brand" tires.

Also, since you're not going to be driving in the snow, avoid "all-season" tires and stick to a decent "summer" tire. "Summer" is a bit of a misnomer, since many of those are much better in rain than "all season" tires, which are designed to have sufficient void space to allow mild snow use, and are generally poor compromises for most other uses.

All probably good advice. Only thing is, "summer" tires often have softer compounds than all seasons, and thus wear faster. I can't imagine not taking a car in the dirt and summer tires don't fair so well there either. But if you know it wont be dirt, and you don't see the wear rating under 300, you should be fine going with summers.

Quote
mrbigstuff
Costco is not that inexpensive, it's just that they are cheaper for the model of tire you can buy elsewhere. plus, their long term service warranty is *very* good and no hassles.

The OP won't run into this, but Costco's warranty is worthless for me. They require you to replace all four if you want to exercise the warranty on one tire, for AWD cars. That's even if the wear on the other three would still be within tolerance of the remaining tires.

Quote

However, after factoring in paying for shipping and mounting, you will probably be at par with a place like TireRack, and even if you save a few bucks using the latter, I'd take the Costco warranty any day.

Good point. Make sure you price mounting and balancing locally before ordering from TR. I lucked out and got my latest set of tires mounted and balanced for free

Quote

edit: for the record, if you want to spend, the Bridgestone RE-970 or equivalent is a much better tire than the Michelin Primacy. I've used both extensively.

I've heard good and bad things about the Bridgestone RE-970's. Some have said they're the worst tires they've ever owned. But I think they may be fine for the OP. Also, I had a set of Michelins and they're the worst tires I've ever had. I think you really have to spend a lot with Michelins to get ones that are decent.

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Quote
Buck
It's a royal pain to get in for a tire rotation at Costco. I like Discount Tire.

I really like Discount Tire. They have a good selection, good prices, and good specials. You can get an appointment for installation and rotations. Every worker I have talked to seems to know his stuff. They hustle and really try to keep the customer happy.

OP here...First. Thanks all for the awesome advice. I read and pondered it all.

I just got new tires from Costco. I wound up getting Bridgestone Potenza RE960 AS PP (94H 400 AA A), which sounds like way more performance than I need. Total cost for 4 tires was $362 installed with all fees (Tirerack sells them for $407 shipped). I'm happy considering the amount of time and effort I put forth thanks to all of you. I also get Costco's warranty (whatever that is worth). Of course, I spent any savings at Costco.

Truth be told, I'm not good at rotating tires and maintaining this car because I keep waiting for it to give me problems so I can sell it; used Camrys and Lexuses tend to fetch a premium around here.

Since these seem like decent tires, I may actually try to take better care of this 13-year old car and try stretch it 5 more years barring any major repair. I haven't changed the oil in at least 6 months (5000 miles) and it's needed new brake rotors for about 5 years now but I just kept putting it off.

Thanks again for all the knowledge and wisdom. I definitely learned a lot from you.

I've heard from some people that didn't like the RE970's that they liked the RE960's. $90ea installed sounds pretty good. Might be tough to warranty one down the road. But overall, and especially for your use, sounds like a great deal.

How's it drive with the new tires?

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It's my wife's car, so I don't drive it much. It definitely felt a bit better especially over poorly paved streets but not "a whole new ride". Maybe after the wheels alignment is done I'll change my opinion. Knowing my luck, after I sink $400 into new tires, the car will need a repair that exceeds its value! Thanks again for your input.

the 960s are actually what I have on my car, GREAT tire. unbelievable grip in the rain and smooth as silk on the highway. my car's interior noise dropped a few db after installing them.

the 970s are the replacement that have been out a year or more now so I'm surprised you got the 960s but glad for you.

glad you bought those, you will not regret it.

those cars have an catalytic converter that should be checked around 100k miles, so make sure you do that. if you do have to replace that piece, it will cost you so be prepared. you can go aftermarket but be sure to go to a good shop. my CC dying brought about a premature end to my Camry

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Wailer
I haven't changed the oil in at least 6 months (5000 miles) and it's needed new brake rotors for about 5 years now but I just kept putting it off.

6 months and 5000 miles is perfectly fine for an oil change interval. There is zero reason to use a shorter change interval than that. In fact, if you use straight synthetic you could probably extend that to 10,000 miles and infinite time without any worries.

Why do you think you need new brake rotors? Are the brakes pulsating? If they were measured to be below minimum thickness by your mechanic (the only valid way to judge whether you need new rotors) then you do need to replace them since they may well fail in a panic stop.

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For the past few years, the steering wheel would shudder when braking hard at a high speed. I don't think I was losing braking power but I didn't want to brake any harder. I definitely wasn't the ABS, because I wasn't braking that hard. I didn't feel the vibration in the brake pedal. I'm assuming it was the front rotors.

However, I just got the wheels aligned because the previous tires had some pretty uneven tred wear. Per the Pep Boys mechanic, it was pretty far out of alignment. I haven't had the chance to test the braking yet, but maybe the shuddering was caused by poor alignment? I've never had the rotors replaced or machined but I think I was told they need to be machined about, oh, 50k miles ago. Am I playing with fire?

A shuddering front end without brake pedal pulsation is probably due to a worn out or damaged suspension part (tie rod end, bushing, etc), not a brake rotor problem. Irregardless, it's dangerous due to the risk of loss of control and/or sudden part failure under stress and should be looked at. Did you tell the alignment person about the shuddering problem...should be a no-brainer to get that taken care of while doing an alignment.

These days, many new car rotors are too thin to be machined safely and most car manufacturers do not recommend machining them. Rotors are so cheap that you might as well replace. Many brake shops recommend machining the rotors but usually only to garner themselves some extra profit...it usually isn't necessary. However, if your brake guy said that you need to replace the rotors because they've worn beyond wear limits then it is completely crazy not to replace them. Worn out overthinned rotors do not have sufficient capacity to shed heat, which will result in sudden fade (i.e. no brakes!!).

Yes, letting brake and suspension defects languish without fixing is playing with fire.

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Quote
davester
A shuddering front end without brake pedal pulsation is probably due to a worn out or damaged suspension part (tie rod end, bushing, etc), not a brake rotor problem. Irregardless, it's dangerous due to the risk of loss of control and/or sudden part failure under stress and should be looked at. Did you tell the alignment person about the shuddering problem...should be a no-brainer to get that taken care of while doing an alignment.

These days, many new car rotors are too thin to be machined safely and most car manufacturers do not recommend machining them. Rotors are so cheap that you might as well replace. Many brake shops recommend machining the rotors but usually only to garner themselves some extra profit...it usually isn't necessary. However, if your brake guy said that you need to replace the rotors because they've worn beyond wear limits then it is completely crazy not to replace them. Worn out overthinned rotors do not have sufficient capacity to shed heat, which will result in sudden fade (i.e. no brakes!!).

Yes, letting brake and suspension defects languish without fixing is playing with fire.

I agree.

For the rotors, replace don't machine. Especially on a car approaching 15 years. Proper measurement is the only way to truly tell, but a quick way you can judge is by running your finger along the outer edge of the rotor. If you feel a "lip" at the edge, and that lip is more than a couple of millimeters, you probably need to get it checked if not flat out replaced. Brake setups are all different and I'm not saying this is a foolproof method but it's an easy enough check to do. Make sure you don't do it right after driving.

Most of my servicing has been done by quickie-oil change and lube places and not by a mechanic.

This car (and all my cars) have been so trouble free the last 15 years that I don't know a good mechanic anymore. I'll look for one and will have him look at the rotors and suspension. I learned a lot from this thread.