Tires any suggestions?

[ReMiXeDg]

Hi all, I took my LS to Pep-boys they wanted $800 for tires installed with a wheel alignment. its a lot of money but i don't want to buy crap tires from them their trying to sell me Falken Azenis PT-722 A-S tires

i want to get good tires that perform good all around in all weather conditions especially rain

Anyways I have a 2002 LS v6 with 2006 chrome sport pkg LS rims I believe. The size on the tire says ,
235/50 r19 95v

dose the 95v need to be in there when I'm looking for another set of tires?

I looked all over ebay i see so many tires new and used great prices but don't know which one i should head for owning a ls that is rear wheel drive.. i would like a tire that will be great in all situations like rain , snow and dry weather. no matter what i'd be willing to pay more than $800 for good tires if i get honest review from you guys and lots of the same recommendations if there is so. safety is priceless and I'm willing to pay anything to always be in the zone.

so please suggest me any tires that i should be looking at that you have used and that are very good in all weather conditions.

 

[Kumba]

That tire size is wrong. The stock '06 rims is R235/50r17.

I have two opinions on tires.

1) If you are just looking for something round that generally works, your car is not high performance or has any other special considerations, and you drive normally then about anything will do. There's only a handful of tire manufacturer's and they're all just rebranded. PrimeWell sold my TiresPlus is just a rebranded Firestone for example. Most of what you are giving up for the 'cheap' tires is the warranty. They all have to meet a certain safety and performance criteria to be legally sold as new tires in the US anyways. Just like all gas sold at the pump has a certain spec it must meet.

2) If you drive hard, have a card that can be driven hard, or any special considerations like a truck or large SUV, then I'd recommend getting something that is name brand and purpose designed for the car. In your case with the LS you are going to want at least a Grand Touring All-Season tire that is 'V' speed rated or higher. You'll probably want to stick with a name-brand tire like Michelin, Good Year, Continental, Nitto, etc, as they will use better compounds in the tire in order to offer their mileage warrantys. Beyond that, it still depends on how you plan to drive the car. If you like to drive aggressively then you'll want a Performance All-Season. If you like to drive like you are running from the cops, have 5 kilos of coccaine and a dead hooker in the trunk, and are on your second strike then you'll want Ultra High Performance Summer Tires.

As a reference, the 2006 LS came with Michelin Pilot MXM4 Grand Touring All-Season tires which sucked. Their is easily more car then tire and they were quite scary in the rain. I'd recommend you look at a more Performance oriented All-Season tire for the LS just so you don't have traction issues.

 

[LS4me]

I just installed a set of Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 (255/40/18) and like them very much. They are quiet and handle well. I never drive in snow so don't care about snow ratings but, IIRC, they were rated decently for snow. Costco has $70 off for a set, so my size was ~$986 out the door. I already had to use the road hazard warranty and got a brand new $210+ tire for the $1 disposal fee. I would NEVER buy tires from eBay....... To me the warranty is very important.

I just checked. COSTCO has your set (235/50/17) for $728.96 +tax.

 

[StarPower]

The Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3's tend to be one of the more expensive high performance all season tires, but everyone I know who's used them (I never have) has spoken very highly of them.

I've used the Bridgestone Potenza RE970AS Pole Position on my CL55 (much higher performance car than the LS). They were great on dry pavement, rain and cold, and pretty quiet. They're also significantly less expensive than the A/S 3's on TireRack ($528 vs $696 for a set of 4, not including shipping and mounting/balancing). TireRack's a great site to compare tire prices and reviews, even if you'd prefer to buy them somewhere else.

 

[1LoudLS]

I've used pilots before, damn good tire.

the best wet tire I've ever had was goodyear eagle F1 all seasons (not the asymmetric version) man there were times when i thought i had MORE traction when the road was wet!

 

[ReMiXeDg]

I'm going to look at costco def.

I'm considering going to with continental extreme contact dws 235/50 r17. I've read good reviews about them and can get a set for $650 shipped to my house


Thanks yea that was a typo above.

 

[jjcool00]

the best wet tire I've ever had was goodyear eagle F1 all seasons (not the asymmetric version) man there were times when i thought i had MORE traction when the road was wet!

The F1's were by far my fav tire as well... Loved the fact that they also come with the rim guard, but they are sooooo expensive!

 

[ReMiXeDg]

I was checking out the good year f1s I might just go with them they do seem expensive but from what I've read a lot of people like them. I will prob give them a try but most likely I'll wait good two weeks to see what cones up

 

[Deaconblue]

The Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3's tend to be one of the more expensive high performance all season tires, but everyone I know who's used them (I never have) has spoken very highly of them.

TireRack's a great site to compare tire prices and reviews, even if you'd prefer to buy them somewhere else.

"Yes sir you are correct..." and I absolutely love the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 tires on my LS - stock size on factory 17" rims. Bought them at BJ's during one of those $70 off deals. Total price was less than the TireRack or any number of other sources.

 

[Telco]

I'm running Continental PureContacts on mine. So far they're handling wet and dry driving pretty well and are quieter and more comfortable than the Hankooks that were on it ever were. Ran me right around 800 bucks mounted and balanced with a 4 wheel alignment. They are also highly rated at Tire Rack, and are supposed to handle ice and snow very well too.

 

[ReMiXeDg]

Too many tire choices. I have a little more time left until I come up with my decision. As of right now price don't matter for me. Thanks for all the info about your experiences. I want a good tire for snow even though I won't be driving to much in the snow only just in case if I get cought up out in a storm.

Last year I was driving a 01 ford tarus work car and the tires were bald I got cought in a snow storm on the way home and ended up sliding into two parked cars luckly no insurance clam on both car . We made a police report only one owner from a car came out and we worked things out off insurance $1000 a couple weeks later my boss paid I didn't pay a cent other than buying a new light for my work car . The other parked car I guess the owner never notice his car was hit it was a 04 explorer the rear passanger flare had came off nothing to big as the other car was badly damaged all on passanger side. I was going about 10mph not even but those tires were done bald I told my boss I wasn't working after that he made me use my insurance but he pays it for my work/personal car now

We are in the repo industry so I have a nice work truck ford escape now it's a bueaty . Anyways I want decent tires all around.



Telco where do you live?

 

[Telco]

Hmm, I don't know if I want to be telling a repo guy where I live...

Naw I own my car... heh heh... I live in the Tulsa OK area. We don't get snow often but we do get as much as 2-3 feet occasionally. Usually it's no more than 6 inches. I used to live in Frederick MD, and I'd say the winter weather we get here is comparable to Maryland's winter weather except we get more sunshine as well as a periodic break in the cold. I've not used these tires in snow yet as I've had them about a month now, but we have had some pretty hard rain and they handled it OK. I do have a set of Continentals on my truck (not PureContacts) and they worked pretty well in the snow last year before the engine blew.

 

[238LS]

I have a set of 245/45/18 Continental Extreme Contact DWS tires on my LS and they are probaby the best all season tires I've ever had. Two thumbs up from me.

 

[FDR]

If you want to increase rain and snow performance and find yourself sliding a lot, consider a skinnier tire. Bald tires hydroplane because the contact patch is a flat surface distributing the weight more. Having treads reduces the surface area and increases pressure, better allowing treads to "puncture" water or snow and contacting the ground under it. Skinnier tires have the same effect by further reducing surface area of the contact patch

 

[LS4me]

If you want to increase rain and snow performance and find yourself sliding a lot, consider a skinnier tire. Bald tires hydroplane because the contact patch is a flat surface distributing the weight more. Having treads reduces the surface area and increases pressure, better allowing treads to "puncture" water or snow and contacting the ground under it. Skinnier tires have the same effect by further reducing surface area of the contact patch

I believe the void between the tread is what evacuates the water away from the tire; you're basically talking about hydroplaning.....

From How Stuff Works.....

Hydroplaning
Hydroplaning can occur when the car drives through puddles of standing water. If the water cannot squirt out from under the tire quickly enough, the tire will lift off the ground and be supported by only the water. Because the affected tire will have almost no traction, cars can easily go out of control when hydroplaning.

Some tires are designed to help reduce the possibility of hydroplaning. These tires have deep grooves running in the same direction as the tread, giving the water an extra channel to escape from under the tire.

 

[Deaconblue]

Skinner tires inflated to the same PSI as wider tires change the shape of the contact area, not the total surface area. The shape become longer front to back and narrower side to side. But if the PSI in both tires (with the same load rating) are the same and the vehicle weight is the same, the surface area must be the same. Illustrations here;

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=10

 

[Kumba]

But if the PSI in both tires (with the same load rating) are the same and the vehicle weight is the same, the surface area must be the same.[/url]

I believe that part is wrong but in general a higher profile narrower tire is going to ride smoother and deal with rain/water/snow better then a lower profile wider tire. It's also going to feel sloppier handling wise. But then again, most cars aren't really designed to carve corners. They're mostly designed for going straight at high speeds as economically as possible.