I'm at about 18 months of car ownership (VW Golf Alltrack - AWD) and have about six months of life left on the stock tires - falken sinceras. We're doing about 12k/year on the car. Yeah, the tires are wearing quickly.

I've never bought car tires before. What am I getting into?

Random thoughts -

- I'm curious about a grippier tire...but also curious if I'd actually notice a difference. Firestone Indy 500s are well priced and have a good reputation.
- Also curious about running snow tires in the winter. I'd have two sets of wheels. Years ago this would have been an easy call but even Wisconsin is getting less snow than it used to. for the most part we only drive on plowed city streets and highways.
- Maybe I should consider all seasons, or something that works well in a wider range of conditions. Unsure if this would mean one or two sets of tires.
- It would be a hell of a lot easier if i could take tires for a test drive.
- Car nerd sources tend to like very grippy tires but once you get past that people like a wide variety of tires which makes making up my mind that much harder.
- My car is tuned and can move fast but realistically this means I accelerate hard a handful of times a month.
- If you know anything about bike tires I'm a dedicated fan of conti gp4000s2's. Mostly because I've gotten burned when I've tried to go to racier tires. What does this have to do with this thread? probably nothing.

Open the opinion floodgates!

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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/16/2018 08:23PM by mattkime.

1) Just read reviews at Tirerack.com and maybe a couple other sites.

2) Decide what you want (the only potentially difficult part of the process).

3) Buy them (from where ever gives you the best deal).

I would suggest that the ultra high-performance models are a waste of money for the driving you (and the majority of people) do. Get something with a relatively high mileage warranty, though (mileage, not performance).

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A good set of all season tires that rate good in the snow and rain.

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Bryan
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I really liked the Pirelli P4 4 seasons I put on my Forester. They did 80% of what a dedicated snow tire did in the winter and still had a 90k mile warranty.

[www.pirelli.com]

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C(-)ris
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What's the tire size?

Much like all things you are paying for marketing. I will not buy Pirelli or Michelin. I like Cooper and General. Tirerack.com & discounttire.com are good resources and sources.cent

I recently put Cooper Tires for my Audi A8L They were 50% the cost of the OEM installed Continental and I actually like them more.

JPK

Yeah, the factory-installed tires that come with the car are usually not difficult to beat.

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Quote
mattkime
I'm at about 18 months of car ownership (VW Golf Alltrack - AWD) and have about six months of life left on the stock tires - falken sinceras.

I've never bought car tires before. What am I getting into?

Random thoughts -

- I'm curious about a grippier tire...but also curious if I'd actually notice a difference. Firestone Indy 500s are well priced and have a good reputation.
- Also curious about running snow tires in the winter. I'd have two sets of wheels. Years ago this would have been an easy call but even Wisconsin is getting less snow than it used to. for the most part we only drive on plowed city streets and highways.
- Maybe I should consider all seasons, or something that works well in a wider range of conditions. Unsure if this would mean one or two sets of tires.
- It would be a hell of a lot easier if i could take tires for a test drive.
- Car nerd sources tend to like very grippy tires but once you get past that people like a wide variety of tires which makes making up my mind that much harder.
- My car is tuned and can move fast but realistically this means I accelerate hard a handful of times a month.
- If you know anything about bike tires I'm a dedicated fan of conti gp4000s2's. Mostly because I've gotten burned when I've tried to go to racier tires. What does this have to do with this thread? probably nothing.

Open the opinion floodgates!

The general consensus I’ve seen on the VV Vortex and GolfMk7 forums is that Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ and Conti ExtremeContact DWS 06 are the two best high performance all season tires for the Golf. I’ll be getting a set of one of those when the time comes.

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I gather you're not a CostCo'er? That's been pretty good in my experience.
I had to buy Conti to match my lease, CostoCo didn't carry. Those I got thru Bezos/4Wheel Online, somewhere in the midwest I think. They were about $5 cheaper per with shipping.
Otherwise any decent all-weather.
Reads like you do a lot of miles. I'd plan on $100-$125 per mid range AW.

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!#$@@$#!

For many years I'd see what was available in the size I wanted, and glean insights from reviews and a few specs. But I've always been brand-agnostic. I stick to the big names. In the last few years I've come to consider Michelin's targeting of the upper end of the market to be legit.

I have them on my Tacoma and they perform great. I have them on my Accord and they are magic: tons of grip, quiet. They aren't sport tires, but in a sporting sedan (which my Accord is) they rock.

One other thing is that many manufacturers change models and names frequently, so it's didifficult to comparison shop (although not nearly as bad as home appliances, for example).

I loved (like the best tire I've ever driven on), but then had the subsequent model be a total dud.

)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/16/2018 08:51PM by mrbigstuff.

I've like Cooper, but it does depend on your vehicle. I'm also not afraid of used tires with good tread depth (at least 9mm).

I generally buy online and dropship to my mechanic, he'll put them on for $40. Discounttiresdirect.com, ebay dealers, and bestusedtires.com are good to check (but take a look at Sam's Club & Costco if your a member)

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Staunton, Virginia

Michelin all the way-I've gotten a LOT of use out of them-80,000 on the Chevy I just traded in and there was still tread, 90,000 on my 1989 Dodge before I replaced them (admittedly-that was carrying things a bit too far...)

I used to read up on Consumer Reports tire testing, but they got to where the testing personnel didn't know anything about tires beyond just their data.

It's so subjective, plus full of compromises. Grippy might mean a softer compound which could be faster wearing. Longer tread life is often gotten with a harder compound, which is less grippy and possibly noisier. Then there's tracking - some are better than others. All-season often have more agressive tread patterns with more noise, with softer compounds for better grip and more cold-weather flexibility. Seems to be no end to it. Then each brand could have a variety of models adding to the mix. These days, I just go middle of the road (no pun intended) on price and tread life.

If your car has TPMS, you might need an extra set of sensors if you're getting winter tires with wheels. They can be spendy, or you put out $50 for every changeover for reprogramming.

We have two cars up for new tires in the next year, snows too. I am not looking forward to it.

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Narrow it down with reviews from Tirerack and discounttires and then go to a Discount Tire store and let them help you decide.

Conti ExtremeContact DWs are great tires. Highly recommended.

Bestusedtires.com has excellent prices on low mileage take-offs (not necessarily DWS's).

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The general consensus I’ve seen on the VV Vortex and GolfMk7 forums is that Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ and Conti ExtremeContact DWS 06 are the two best high performance all season tires for the Golf. I’ll be getting a set of one of those when the time comes.

Two solid choices. I have used various performance Michelins and Continental tire's over the years and never not been pleased.

Quote
Cary
Conti ExtremeContact DWs are great tires. .

this is what I had on the last car. Got 30k on them.

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!#$@@$#!

Avoid General. Known to wear unevenly and wind up getting very loud. My wife had a set on her Explorer. Never again. Worst tire we've ever had.

If you want a really good all-season tire, go with the Michelin LTX M/S. If you keep them properly inflated and rotate occasionally, you should get at least 50,000 miles out of a set. Their wet and snow traction is really good.

If you want really good snow and ice traction, look at Bridgestone Blizzak tires.

Cooper tires tend to get really good reviews. Another brand to consider is Nokian. Tough to find, but their snow tires are phenomenal.

Can’t go very wrong with Michelins - often at the top of the rankings. They usually have a ~$70 rebate on 4 tires at different times of the year.

Not much snow in Wisconsin? Srsly? In neighboring MN, driving a lightweight Prius, I decided to get winter tires after a scary (yet damage free) near death experience of spinning out on a highway entrance ramp and ending up facing oncoming traffic on the interstate. Got some cheap alloy wheels to mount the winter tires on, and I just switch em out in the late fall and spring. I used to do it myself, but it’s only ~$20 total at the local car shop. They get “rotated” at the same time, so I can tell the dealership not to bother. Having two sets means the summer tires can be high-milage ones (that would probably otherwise be too hard to grip well in winter).

I did put Firestone Indy 500’s on my summer-only Miata this year. Grippy and much quieter than the originals (which were 15 years old!). So far so good.

Matt,


Anyone who says to avoid a particular brand or stick with a particular brand is offering poor advice. Each brand has good and bad models and some models are better on some cars than in others. Check out tirerack.com for reviews. Consider the weather conditions you'll face year-round, the mileage you put on a car, type of driving, the type of vehicle, etc then look at brand and price. That's how you'll find the right tire for your car.

That's how my old crown vic ended up with Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 tires at time when Firestone was on everyone's crap list. The tires on the car were Contitech Aquqtread III tires. Worst tires I've ever had on a car. I did the research and chose the Firehawks based on price, performance and reviews. The difference was nothing short of dramatic. Fantastic performance all-season tires. Some of the best tires I ever had on a car.

I replaced the factory tires on my '09 CX-7 in 2015 with Contitech Crosscontact LX20 tires. There was still tread left but I knew the tires were aging and dry rot was starting to set in. With Little M arriving at that point, I felt it was better to replace them before I had an issue. The Contitech tires offered the best balance between price and performance based on the reviews at the time. If a different brand was a better choice, they'd be on the car even if they weren't produced by a big name..

I used the same method for my wife's '07 Yaris in 2015. I had to replace the tires on my wife's '07 Yaris in 2015 due to dry-rot despite a good amount of tread. She has Firestones on her car. I forget the model. It was a toss-up between Firestones and the same contitechs that are on my Mazda. The Firestones edged out on price.

So, do your homework. Don't go by brand. Go by what I said earlier and you'll find just the right tires.

FWIW, the tires put on the factory tend to be crappytacular. Not always but typically. No surprise that they need replacement so quickly.

Robert

Michelin tires have always been awesome for me. Dunlop Direzzas have always been terrible. I buy generic all season radials. And for winter up here in the north... snow tires are freakin amazing. Grip like a frightened cat. Got a set of Blizzaks and... woah.

Even all seasons are not as good when it gets cold because the rubber compounds are designed to grip best in warmer temps, and get harder in the cold thus reducing traction. Snow or no snow, you could do well with a second set dedicated for winter use. If you have the space for that.

Take your driving needs into account.

95% of drivers will never notice the difference between popular tire brands, with possibly tread life. Most people will never regularly drive near the edge of their performance envelope, other than snow.

Those drivers will probably exceed any envelope by a good margin through careless driving more than trying to wring the last ounce of it from a tire.

All season tires may suit your needs, or may only be good for two to three out of four seasons. I mention two out of four because most people drive too fast in the rain. They're often lucky enough never to realize it. All well and good until luck runs out.

Or you may actually need snow tires for part of the year.

On the left coast, my considerations are balancing (npi) tread life with wet handling. Fortunately (depending on the context) we don't get that much rain around here, and/or not for very long.

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PizzaGod
Michelin all the way

Ok, I need to add a story. This was a long time ago. Probably about 1990...

The tires on my car wore out and needed to be replaced. I was down to very little tread.

I went out and bought very expensive Michelins. They were fine in dry conditions and ok in the rain. But on snow, they were the worst tires with the worst traction I have ever experienced. Despite ample tread, they had close to zero grip on snow, to the point of being totally absurd. I couldn't even drive up small inclines. It was like they were coated with teflon.

So don't just look at the brand name. Read the reviews.

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