Somebody teach me about tires!
#1
Money is funny.
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: King of Prussia, PA
Age: 42
Posts: 4,166
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Somebody teach me about tires!
OK, I have a 2000 TL and I need new front tires. I don't want them to be too nice because I'm not looking to spend too much. I have another car too that I work on, so this will be the ride with OK tires. I don't want them to be shitty, but I just need new tires cuz my fronts are balding on the outside and rotating them won't help. So I'm looking for good treadlife. I was on tirerack.com and it had this size: Original Equipment 205/60-16 listed for our cars. I have no idea what these numbers mean, can anyone enlighten me? Also, I was hoping for a little bit wider tires for some handling...I only need the front two and I'm not looking to spend more than 125 or so. I currently have mastercraft tires, and even though there are WAY better tires out there...I was actually happy with the way this handled (prolly cuz I was coming from a 93 camry daily driver before this and that car handled pretty shitty by comparison...) So can anyone give me a quick layman's terms schooling on tire sizes and numbers and how to look? Thank you all very much for reading!!!
#3
Kenpachi Teichou
Join Date: May 2004
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 1,907
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
A good read on tires http://auto.howstuffworks.com/tire.htm
#4
woooo!!
Originally Posted by oneilc
A good read on tires http://auto.howstuffworks.com/tire.htm
#5
On the way!
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Orlando, FL
Age: 55
Posts: 3,715
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Also remember the traction, temperature, and treadwear grades.
For traction, the highest grade is now AA, then A, B, and C. You want an A or AA.
For temperature it's A, B, or C. Here you want an A as well.
On treadwear, it will depends on the type of tire you're buying (and rim size in some cases). Here's what I've seen in general terms that you should expect:
Rating
200 - sporty, sticky summer tires (higher performance)
300 - general all-season tires
400 - higher mileage touring tires
I just bought 4 Continental extreme contact tires (they are currently sitting in my garage ) that have the following ratings:
Traction AA
Temp A
Treadwear 400
They were less than $100, but I don't know if they're available in your size (I have a Type S).
If you're looking for general tires, look for A's in traction and temp and 300 or better in treadwear. I would also advise you to read the reviews of the tire on the tire rack. If the review is from a driver with less than 10,000 miles on them don't put much weight on it. You want to know how the tires last over time.
For traction, the highest grade is now AA, then A, B, and C. You want an A or AA.
For temperature it's A, B, or C. Here you want an A as well.
On treadwear, it will depends on the type of tire you're buying (and rim size in some cases). Here's what I've seen in general terms that you should expect:
Rating
200 - sporty, sticky summer tires (higher performance)
300 - general all-season tires
400 - higher mileage touring tires
I just bought 4 Continental extreme contact tires (they are currently sitting in my garage ) that have the following ratings:
Traction AA
Temp A
Treadwear 400
They were less than $100, but I don't know if they're available in your size (I have a Type S).
If you're looking for general tires, look for A's in traction and temp and 300 or better in treadwear. I would also advise you to read the reviews of the tire on the tire rack. If the review is from a driver with less than 10,000 miles on them don't put much weight on it. You want to know how the tires last over time.
#6
I need 2 more gears
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Springvale, Maine
Age: 45
Posts: 3,228
Likes: 0
Received 7 Likes
on
7 Posts
You can save a good deal of money by buying you tires online and mounting them yourself. Check out Kuhmo they pretty inexpensive and preform just as well as Toyo's. I know I will get some crap for saying that but it's true. Kuhmo's are great values and have great high preformance all season tires that fit your specs perfectly. You can get 16" Kuhmo's for close to 125.00 on-line easy.
#7
Instructor
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 136
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Also, Remebmer to look at the "DOT" number stamped on them. The DOT number is only stamped on one of the tyres sidewall so you may have to turn the tyre over to see it. After the "DOT" will be a series of numbers. THe last four (4) are when the tyre was produced. The first two are the week, and the last two are the year.
Example: DOT 9878 098 0604 The last four would indicate it was made in the sixth week of 2004. I never buy tyres that are more than 4-6 months old. Most discounted tyres have been laying around the shop for a while and are old. Thus the weather/environment has already started to degrade them.
Example: DOT 9878 098 0604 The last four would indicate it was made in the sixth week of 2004. I never buy tyres that are more than 4-6 months old. Most discounted tyres have been laying around the shop for a while and are old. Thus the weather/environment has already started to degrade them.
Trending Topics
#8
Burning Brakes
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: NNE of 716
Posts: 1,010
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Don't cheapen out on tires. It's like a bad pair of shoes you saw on sale and hated it after you bought it. Go to tirerack and input your tire size/ model. Read on the reviews about the tires and won't go wrong. If you're gonna use it all year round in PA, I suggest you get good tires with good "wet" traction, that may help you when the snow comes down.
Also, buy a set of 4 and don't buy 2 at a time, the tire wear won't be even and you're asking for trouble when the bad weather arrives.
You'll find that your ride/ cornering/ handling will all improve dramatically with better graded tires than what you got used to.
I guess with stock TL-P rims, you can go as far as 225/55/ 16. You can also use H-rated and above.
Also, buy a set of 4 and don't buy 2 at a time, the tire wear won't be even and you're asking for trouble when the bad weather arrives.
You'll find that your ride/ cornering/ handling will all improve dramatically with better graded tires than what you got used to.
I guess with stock TL-P rims, you can go as far as 225/55/ 16. You can also use H-rated and above.
#9
Racer
iTrader: (2)
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: RR, TX (used to be Seattle)
Age: 53
Posts: 326
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by sbuswell
You can save a good deal of money by buying you tires online and mounting them yourself. Check out Kuhmo they pretty inexpensive and preform just as well as Toyo's. I know I will get some crap for saying that but it's true. Kuhmo's are great values and have great high preformance all season tires that fit your specs perfectly. You can get 16" Kuhmo's for close to 125.00 on-line easy.
I second that. Just bought a set of the Kumho ASX from the local discount tires. They were around $100/each mounted and balanced. They perform very well and very quiet. check out the ratings from Tirerack.com
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....odel=Ecsta+ASX
They were rated very well as you can see.
Good luck
#10
Don't buy 2 tires especially if they're not the same as the other 2. Having mismatched tires on a car is just plain dangerous. If money is an issue, get 4 lower priced tires and you'll still have better performance than 2 new tires, and 2 half worn out tires.
#11
Money is funny.
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: King of Prussia, PA
Age: 42
Posts: 4,166
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
JetJock...I thought that too, but my mechanic said since my rears look almost like new, that gettingonly the front wouldn't be so bad. The tread on my rear is much more plentiful than the front, where they are balding. I wish I could take some pics so I can get everyone's advice...but I've heard it is an OK thing to do if you have enough tread on the other tires...
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
CostcoFanAUS
4G TL Tires, Wheels & Suspension
5
09-18-2015 06:05 AM