what's a good brand of tires for a Civic?

[Mr645]

I have gone through plenty of Potenza RE750 and Turenza LS-V tires, always with great results.

And yes, there are big differences in tires. Road noise, life span, dry and wet weather grip.

Jon

[deckeda]

[quote space-time] ... When I went to a Honda dealer to get an alignment, they asked "WHY? Does the car pull one side or the other?". When I said "No." they told me I don't need an alignment. I think they were very honest, they could have sold me a service I did not need.
You might reconsider NOT getting the alignment, because of the example you gave above. The car's either in alignment already or it's not, regardless of mileage.

Looking at your present tires should tell what's going on. However, having a shop look at your tires may not. For example, I once took a vehicle in for new tires and had been regularly rotating my tires.

Since the best ones were on the front, the rears showed more noticeable wear. The shop brought me out of the lobby to show me how worn my rear tires were as "evidence" that I needed an alignment.

The difference of course was that I knew something about the vehicle they did not, and it saved me from an unnecessary expense.

Here's what I was once told: Suspension parts will wear out, somewhat gradually, and cause misalignment over time. The only other way a car goes out of alignment (assuming it's not bad tires ...) is if you whack a curb or something.

Look at it this way. Unless you're getting a good deal on the alignment at the time you get new tires, there's nothing wrong with waiting a few weeks. Having the new tires on, and properly inflated, will tell you if you need to get an alignment.

[viaripatti]

I have tried just about every major brand out there over the years, in the $70-$80 range at CostCo or America's Tire Store. These have been on Toyota Mini-Vans and Previas used for business, sometimes loaded, sometimes not. I've been driving for 44 years in snow, ice and freeway.

I've found that Michelins "roll" and balance the best for use on light cars. My last set on my 1996 Previa got an astounding 89K miles and were still legal and in balance when I bought new ones for the upcoming rainy season in CA.

After all those other brands not being good in so many areas of noise, rolling without feeling the "break"(where tires are joined) every time or distorting and going out of balance past 70mph, Yes, I'm brand centric to the max for Michelins.-in that price range. Sure, you generally will get what you pay for if you go over $100 in ANY brand. But for bang for the buck it's Michelins all the way IMHO.

[Grateful11]

Wife's Explorer got 59K out of her Nichelin Cross Terrains with the grandma style driving that
she does. I expected more but at least the whole vehicle is gone now. I'll have to see how
the 17" Continentals on her new CR-V do.

[davester]

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