Best tires to buy?

Question

I need to buy new tires and have no clue as to which ones (if any) are better than the others. My choices seem to be between Yokohama, Bridgestone, Pirelli, Dunlop, Goodyear and Michelin. I drive a Pontiac G6 GT. Any opinions??

Answer 1

You don't say how you use the car or even what size tire it is which makes specific recommendations difficult. One has to know the question before giving an answer after all. But I can give some general guidelines, based on a few assumptions and 5 years experience working in tire industry.

A G6 GT must mean you have the P225/50R17 93V tire. There really are no bad tires but some are certainly better than others. If you need an all-season tire then the ultimate tire on the market in this size, without any question, is the Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Position. Dry weather handling, rain, snow - these are far and away better than anything else in the market, including the more expensive Michelin Pilot Sport A/S. The Bridgestone is about as close to the perfect tire as anyone has ever come. I've driven it against the competition and it is far and away the best game in town. But they are spendy. If your on a tight budget then the Kuhmo Ecsta ASX is the only game in town and they are perfectly decent tires - you get a lot for the money.

If you need something in between then the Avon 500 A/S gets very high marks but is only available on-line through the Tire Rack.

The Yokohama V4s is perfectly decent and a nice price so long as you don't drive in snow, in which they are not quite useless, but close. I get a lot of customer complaints on Pirelli and Dunlop so rarely recommend those. The new Goodyear ResponseEdge has not been around long enough for me to form an opinion, but like other recent Goodyear products it looks like they are serious about building real tires again. I suspect its dry and wet weather performance should be quite good but have reservations about how it might do in snow if that is a concern for you.

If you want something aimed more at a smooth and quiet ride over grip and handling and don't need them tomorrow then wait until March when the Bridgestone Turanza Serenity arrives. Think of this tire as the touring version of the 960AS. Full of the same advanced technology but longer wear, smoother ride, quieter and a little bit less expensive.

***EDIT***

Paul below spends a lot of time in his post dealing with tires that, while technically street legal, are designed primary for dry-weather track use (Kuhmo V710 - essentialy a racing slick, and RE-01R) and also have the problem of not fitting your car. The tires I mention are all practical daily drivers that actually fit your car.

Answer 2

An easy 10 for me. Everyone has their own idea of what is the best tires. Tires like Pirelli are expensive because of their heat ratings. A tire with an A rating is meant for cars driven like in Germany where the speed limit is as fast as you can go. Tires overheat and you need a heat resistant tire. Now if you are like me you find that One, I never go over 70 mph and rarely. Two. I buy my tires from Discount Tires. They will match any tire price in the paper and the warranty is also kept in their computer. Some places if you lost the paperwork you are out of luck.

Here is the $$$$ Catch with Discount Tires. I buy high mileage tires not name brand. The reason is cuz if you have a flat and the tire is non-repairable, then I just pay 12.50 for the warranty and get a new tire again. The other places they PRO RATE your tire. So my tire replacement of yesterday might have ran about $60 extra plus pay the $12 warranty or whatever they charge.

So there was a thorn on the side and they replaced the tire and I just paid $12.50 for the warranty. I have the free tire rotation, which I did yesterday. Lifetime alignment, which I made them do on all 4 tires while I was there. And i got a free stem replacement. Now there is NTW here that is like Discount but I am not really sure.

I have two Ford Explorers a 92 and 93. On the older one, I had the cheaper higher mileage tires replaced on them. But between the 93 with the supposedly Eagle tires and the cheapies on the others I do not really notice any difference, except in the pocket book. So with the 93 going on 9 years, I have yet to buy another new tire. Yea, I get them replaced at least once every two years for $12. Only in America.

Answer 3

"Best" can wind up gtiving up many different answers. Depending on you're what you are looking for, there are very different choices! Is your priority outright performance, ability to work in all weather conditions, to drive off-road, to last a long time, to be the least expensive, or to have the most comfortable ride? You first need to decide what you are looking for.

Be it Yokohama, Bridgestone, Michelin, Goodyear, BFG, etc - most companies will have competitive offerings in most catagories. Most tires will aim to strike a balance with a slight favor towards one trait... if you start looking at tires that more towards one function more than others, you will find bigger differences between the different offerings.

My personal experience tends to run along the lines of performance tires. And in this area you will not really consider cost or longevity, as these are generally given up for grip. My current favorites:

Max Performance: Hoosier R6 (or the A6 if you can use rubber that soft); The Kuhmo V710 gets a nod as a low cost alernative that doesn't sacrafice much performance (but is about 1lb /tire heaveier than the Hooiser). None of these tires are appropriate for anything other than dry use. I list these as you asked "best," but these are really only something to consider if you keep multiple sets of tires on hand for your car.

Best Performance For Most Street Use: The Toyo Proxes RA1 and the Bridgestone RE01R are both excellent, and should work fine in the wet when at full tread depth. The RA1 in particular is good for all around use, and will last a long time (for a tire like this). The RE01R is a little newer and I am generally impressed by a set I am currently using.

Good Performance With A Little More Balance: The new Bridgestone Pole Position RE050 offers performance that is very much in line with the old S03, is very good in the wet, and is relatively quiet and comfortable for a performance tire. I expect that the new compound they are using will give this longer life than the S03, but that's just a suspicion at this point. The Michelin PS2 is also a good option in this range.

Answer 4

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Best tires to buy?
I need to buy new tires and have no clue as to which ones (if any) are better than the others. My choices seem to be between Yokohama, Bridgestone, Pirelli, Dunlop, Goodyear and Michelin. I drive a Pontiac G6 GT. Any opinions??

Answer 5

For many years I have purchased tires for a very large fleet of vehicles. I have tried every brand you named and then some. The detailed studies I have conducted have been extensive. The actual tire cost per mile have consistantly been lower with the Michelin tire. Tire rotation plays a major part in tire longivity. Keeping your front end in line and the tires ballanced and at the proper inflation levels also are a must. I average over a 100,000 on the tires I run on my Ford F 150.

Answer 6

Pontiac G6 Tires

Answer 7

Go here.....

www.tirerack.com

And read the reviews on the tires you like. Each tire company makes really good tires and poor ones, as in traction and wear.... I personally like Firestone, Bridgestone and Michelin. Stay away from Goodyear...just read the reviews, you will see.

Answer 8

I would have to say the yoks for your car I have a 2001 grand prix gtp i ran a set on it. Cost me a 1000 bucks but it was worth it. Runnin sumto's now.

Answer 9

Good Year Eagle GT 2

Answer 10

Whatever brand you buy make sure they are all season tires...