What would be a good/reasonable tire for 215/55/17 for a hybrid?
I didn’t find a lot of choices - America’s Tire has their own brand now, Sentury!
Name brands are twice as expensive! Believe all made in China!
Any experience with GT RadialChampiro Touring A/S?
Many, many choices listed on Tirerack. “Reasonable” really, IMHO, should be based on driving conditions and needs. Not on saving $10 or $15/tire.
From itstillruns.com. “Some companies make thousands of different tires, so sorting out who made what and where can be confusing. The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers maintains a list of codes for unionized tire manufacturers on its website. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration also maintains a searchable database to locate the manufacturer and its location.”
Though manufacturers are multi-National, they still have plants in America.
From tiredeets.com:
“ One of the most popular Chinese brands in the US is definitely Sentury. The company is one of the largest tiremakers in its country”
As far as your question, No, I don’t have any experience with that tire.
In my area America’s Tire stores are Discount Tire stores. They might be one of the few retailers selling Sentury.
You didn’t find a lot of choices? Tire Rack lists 102 different choices in that size.
For a hybrid, you want a tire with what Tire Rack labels Eco Focus. Sometimes the term “LRR” is used to indicate the same thing. Both those terms mean better rolling resistance than comparable tires with similar wear and grip. Unfortunately Discount Tire doesn’t call those out on its web site.
Yes, those are more expensive, but you save at the gas pump.
The 4 little rubber patches are the only things that keep you on the road, stop you before a big accident or allow you to swerve around that accident.
Cheaping out on tires is never a good idea. Especially with a hybrid or EV, your MPGs can and will be affected by a cheap tire. It will on any car but you paid extra for the hybrid, why throw it all away on a cheap tire?
+1
I used to know a guy who complained that $40 was too much to pay for a tire because, “It’s just a hunk of rubber”.
Rather than giving him a technical explanation of why he was wrong, I simply said, “Okay… If I give you $40, can you manufacture a tire for me? No? How about if I give you $100?”. That silenced his complaining.
This guy had Delta tires on his car, but he always bought them one at a time and they were all different tire models, plus there were at least 2 different sizes mixed up among the 4 tires. Riding in his car was… an adventure…
Even Walmart has a lot of choices for that size tire .
If the ones on the vehicle are fine maybe just put the same on a again .
As posted the purpose of the tires is more inportant that trying to save a few dollars.
It is reccomended that tires be replaced after 5 to 8 years depending on where a person is located . Hot climates will cause tire dry rot and side wall cracks in as little as 5 years. And that applies to all brands .
Why would you be afraid of a brand name tire from Walmart ?
Yes, correct. Rubber aging starts the moment it leaves the mold and continues until it is recycled. When it ages, it hardens and weakens and becomes unsafe. I just replaced a set of 7 year old tires with OK tread depth and rubber harder than asphalt!
Now I always research tires at tirerack.com and Consumer Reports. Sometimes I buy from tr, usually locally. My friendly neighborhood garage recommended General Altimax RT43. (tr and CR rated them highly, too.) They charged nothing to mount and balance and the net price was about the same as buying from tr.
The tires have been excellent on my van and I may well buy the same for my Civic.
I put Altimax RT43s on my wife’s Silhouette. They rode well, we’re quiet, and had decent life until we sold the van. I do not know if they have a LRR version, but I would buy them again, or the most recent incarnation from General.