Size 195-60-15
Priced at $71. each, I posted on Monday whether this was a good deal since the UTQG was only 260. Since I have read that these were made only for OE car manufacturers. For a Kumho tire rated just 360, I read that these were “standard” tires made for an OE auto. Apparently the lower UTQG means that the quality of materials is lower, and may not be worth the $10. per tire savings. Is this the case?
Signed, Lady who knows nothing about tires
UTQG does not necessarily mean that the quality is lower. It does mean that the tires will wear faster, compared to a tire with a higher UTQG within the same brand. Comparing the Kumho UTQG to the Gooyear Eagle UTQG is not a good comparison, because there is no universal standard of what any UTQG number means across brands. “Standard OEM” varies across tire makers and manufacturers, so paying attention to what is “standard” is not informative to me.
At tirerack.com use the survey feature to see where this tire ranks compared to other all season performance tires. Think you will find better choices in similar price ranges.
If you haven’t already, go the tirerack.com and read reviews about the tires you are considering. Tirerack.com can also show you a range of possibilities in your size. That info is valuable even if you don’t choose to buy from Tire Rack. Also look at Nov 09 Consumer Reports ratings for similar tires you are interested in. As I recall, biggest issue with the Goodyear Eagle is winter and possibly wet traction. It wears down faster because it is considered a performance tire, and the UTQG shows that. Depending on where you live, those qualities may be important to you.
According to the reviews, I don’t see how it’s a performance tire. Unless it’s meant to say “poor” performance
The cheapest way to get the EAGLE name on a tire.
Goodyear has completely ruined and abused their name EAGLE that it now means nothing. It began life as their performance tire name but now you must keep reading to know anything and forget the EAGLE at all.
The rs/a is at the bottom of the EAGLE heap INCLUDING the fact that Goodyear’s cheap line, Republic, has tires more expensive.
Forget the name, believe the reviews and stats, and buy tires that fit your driving needs and budget.
I would think that spending a little more and getting a good/great tire, instead of a “decent” tire would be better in the long run. Tires are the only thing connecting the car to the road, why skimp on that?
I agree. After all…the tires actually stop the vehicle…the brakes stop the wheels.
So do I.
For the purpose of ’ Lady Who Knows Nothing About Tires ’ we need to provide the education she is soliciting.
I like the suggestions about Tire Rack and Consumer reports for the novice to begin to learn about tires.
Tire rubber is produced molten and is different from tire to tire. Like a recipe for food, it is as variable as the imagination of the engineers trying to make their tire ‘better’ or purpose oriented from the others.
For the average joe ( or Jean ) to relate to how those differences translate to the road,
Think of the shoes on your feet.
You know how different shoes act on different surfaces and you remember to walk differntly from concrete to carpet to tile depending on the shoes you’re wearing.
on top of that you choose different shoes depending on the walking you’re going to do today.
Buying tires is alittle harder than that because you have little oportunity to feel out the differences before selecting which ones, and it’s a long term commitment when you do.
Here’s a really cool site that will tell you everything about the UTOG ratings as well as anything else you’d like to know about tires. I recommend a visit.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/tiretech.jsp
Tires, like everything engineered, are a composit of compromises. Soft compounds provide better traction generally, but at the expense of miles (wear life). Tread that excels on wet pavement does so at some expense to the handling on dry payement. And so on.
The important thing is to get the right tires that fit your car, your driving environment, and your style. Ideally they’ll also be acceptable to you in noise level and ride also.
Here’s another good site about tires. www.carbibles.com
Hopefully it’lll help you understand more about tires.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?width=195%2F&ratio=60&diameter=15&x=52&y=8
That’s the list TR has for the size they listed. Of those I’d recommend the Tripletread, Pilot Exalto A/S(the kind I have on my Civic currently) or hydroedge. For best comparison, look at the “survey” for each tire(some don’t have it, so I don’t even consider them).
The Rs-A is listed at $59 and the Fuzion HRi is $52, and is rated better than the RS-A in just about everything, but still not the best tire of the bunch