Hi all.
Quick question for all the car enthusiasts on our Community!
What are the best tires you’ve ever owned on your make/model and why?
We would love to know the brands and types that people love, and their reasons.
Also, what are the worst??
That was just discussed:
Favorite tire brand? - General Discussion - Car Talk Community
What make model year car do you have?
You’ll get a far greater number of respondents and more specificity on a variety of criteria at the tirerack.com website. Their info includes reports from purchasers of the tires, as well as their own test results and comments.
I always look there before buying new tires. Sometimes buy from them, but more often locally.
Question was for our users, our Car Talk Community, of what specific tires they like, or hate, for their make/model.
Not asking what TireRack says or about favorite brands in general.
We just wanted to know specifics on what exact tires people in our Car Talk Community like, for their specific make and model of vehicle.
I want all-season tires that are rated well in every category in Tire Rack’s survey results, especially light snow traction, as long as the cost isn’t outrageous. I currently have Michelin CrossClimate2 tires for that reason, which have been great so far.
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Well I’ll say it again since someone brought up tire rack. I have read the driver reviews and find them less than useful due to driving styles, climate, type of vehicle, etc. best advice is eyeball to eyeball at a tire shop.
I guess my best was 110,000 on Goodyear on an olds 88. No failures. Worst were Goodrich, or farm store whatever they were.
I liked General Altimax RT43 well enough on our Chrysler minivan to buy two sets of them.
The Honda Civic has had Michelins ever since the OEMs were off: a unidirectional allseason tire whose name I can’t recall right now, and X-Ice winter tires. They have been very satisfactory and long lasting. If I keep that car much longer I will probably replace both with a present model of allseason tire that has excellent snow and ice test ratings. I will check tirerack and Consumer Reports for information on what’s on the market these days.
I like hearing from the other folks here but I do realize we are a very slim sample of the driving public.
+1
As I said when we discussed this before, people compare the new tires to the old ones. Of course they like the new ones better. Less wear and age make the new tires obviously better than the old ones. I read the tests on Tire Rack to see how different tires compare in the same circumstances and on the same car.
My favorite tire of all the tires I’ve used in 60+ years of driving is no longer available, but I think it was called the “XA” , made by Michelin. Their “Defender” tire (which is currently available I believe) is almost as good as the XA. I’d put the Defender at number 2. Years ago I used to use Uniroyal “Tiger Paws”. I’d put them as number 3 on my all-time list.
As to “why”, a good tire holds the road well in turns, mitigates hydroplaning well, tracks straight, yet still provides a cushioned ride quality, and provides a lot of wear miles.
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I have been very happy with michelen ltx, m/s. Happy with michelein defender m/s. Goodrich long trail ta were also good.
Firestone Destination LE2 on 2002 Ford Explorer. Smooth quiet ride, handles well, and good tread life.
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Kumho Solus KR21’s on a Ford Escort wagon. They were something close to half / 2/3rds the price of Michelins (which I’ve also had, including now on a '03 Prius), but were just as quiet, sure-footed, and long-wearing.
Best all season symmetrical touring car tire, Bridgestone Insignia SE200 hands down…
Best all season asymmetrical touring tire. Bridgestone Turanza Serenity Plus hands down… currently on 2 cars…
Bought many, many sets of both until both discontinued… Sold hundreds of sets of both…
Best light Truck and SUV highway tire. Firestone Destination LE, LE2 and LE3 hands down… currently LE2 on my RR and LE3 on my Truck… Sold thousand of the LE lines…
GoodYear Wranglers on my F150 being in the south what little bit of snow and ice we get and being retired I don’t have to drive in it…
This is like asking about oil brands.
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I liked the Goodyear Polyglas tires on my 69 Torino Cobra Jet.
And the successor to those, Goodyear Custom Polysteel. Drove and handled beautifully, virtually silent. Too bad they didn’t last but 20,000 miles.
Best all-season tires : Michelin Pilot Sport A/S3+ : Have had 5 sets of these on 3 cars over the years. Good grip for an all season tire, ages gracefully, reasonable snow traction for what it is. The only downside is that 36k-40k seems to be about what you can expect out of a set. I have a set of it’s succesor , The Pilot Sport A/S 4 on my Mustang currently. Very similar experience but with less road noise. Have not tried it out in snowy conditions though.
Honorable mention : BFG G-Force Comp A/S : Good tire for the money, usually significantly cheaper than the Michelins. But good tires. If you need tires to put on a used car to sell that don’t scream “cheap”, these are good for that.
Best all-terrain tires : BFG All Terrain KO/KO2/KO3 : My go-to truck tire. I’ve had about 4 sets of these over the years. Nothing wrong with them, good on-road manners, good for light/moderate off-roading, good in the snow, and wears like iron.
Honorable mention : Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revo : Less aggressive than the BFGs, more of an on road/off road tire. But surprisingly capable in off-road/muddy conditions despite it’s outward appearance. If you have a truck/SUV that like most people sees 95% pavement duty, it’s a great tire for that
I’ve seen TireRack reviews change for the same tire. Seemed to be dependent on what tire they were pushing to sell at the time.
Anybody here have an opinion on which tire manufacturers produce the best weight-balanced and perfectly round tires? I was looking at a neighbor’s new tire the other day, and noticed the yellow and red dots.
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