I’ve got 40K miles on my 2008 Ford Escape that I purchased new. I’ve had the tires rotated every 5-6,000 miles and nobody has ever noticed any uneven wear. In fact, the last mechanic who did it said I could skip it, but I didn’t. I have noticed a lot more tire noise over the last couple of months and am wondering if it’s time to replace the original Continental tires. The thing is, the tread is fine, showing limited wear. I’ve read a lot about how awful Continental tires are and am thinking about Michelins…any suggestions or advice?
Michelins are good, as are other good choices. I personally have had problems with Continentals so my opinion is biased. I’ve been really happy with the Hankooks I currently have. Smooth, quiet, really good performers that seem to be providing good wear.
When tires wear down they get noisier. How fast and how much varies by tire. At 40,000 miles a new set is a good bet.
Be sure to get an alignment when you get new tires. There seems to be a quirk in the Escape that causes irregular tire wear and at least part of it can be fixed by carefully setting the alignment.
Continental tires are decent tires the only problem is they don’t last long and tend to make lots of road noise toward the end of their life. If I were you I would go with Michelin Latitude Tour or Michelin LTX M/S ( X-Radial) depending on where you go. The Latitude tour ride better and you’ll get a 65k warranty, the LTX M/S no millage warranty but could get 80-100k from these tires depending on use and care. Contitental tires usually go to about 35-40k.