New tires

Smash, I have a 99 RAV4. The first set of tires I got 89,600 miles out of and only replaced them because winter had arrived. Could have gotten 5,000 more out of them if it was still summer. They were Goodyears.

I replaced them with Uniroyal Tiger Paws. Got 102,000 miles out of that set and again replaced them last November because winter was approaching. Replaced them with the same.

Rotate those babies every 15,000 miles or so. You should be getting more than 42,000 out of a good set of tires. Or maybe my RAV4 is a real rarity.

 

Sorry, but I live in Canada--it snows a lot here.

And tread design does play a factor in traction, not to mention braking.

One of the car writers at Wheels, the Toronto Star car section kinda agrees with me.

http://www.wheels.ca/article/20197

In a recent demonstration on ice with identical cars, Michelin showed the huge difference in the traction available between these two classes of tires.

In stopping from a leisurely pace of 23 km/h, the X-Ice- equipped car stopped 1.5 metres shorter than the identical car running on all-season tires.

Quadruple the crawling pace to the 100 km/h typical of our highways and the stopping-distance difference translates to many car lengths.

In summary, winter tires can deliver about 25 per cent more traction on winter roads than all-season tires.

Our old Camry had all seasons --they basically sucked in a major snowfall.

And when it gets really, really cold--like -15C --all seasons have, as Mahler says in his article, "the traction of a hockey puck"

 

Maybe you're right. Just don't move to Quebec. Snow tires are mandatory there.

 

I can't remember the last time I bought tires from somewhere other than Tire Rack. Price and service are both great, and their testing is pretty informative.

As far as snow tires are concerned, the biggest difference between them and summer or all-season tires is compound. Snow tires are made to work in very cold conditions; all-seasons and summer tires (especially) don't do a whole lot when it's below freezing.

Snow tires do cause a slight drop in mileage, but being heavier and causing more engine wear? Huh? My snow tires are actually lighter than the three-seasons tires.

All-season tires are a compromise. If you live somewhere where it snows rarely, they're perfectly fine. But if you live in an area where snow is a winter reality it makes sense to get snow tires.

 

Snow tires do not that much unsprung weight, certainly not enough to damage the spindles, suspension or cause excessive engine wear - unless you're crazy enough to mess with different wheels and try a different offset.

I mean, do you try to clip the apex, travel at excessive speed and go for maximum skidpad numbers shod with snow tires?

Other points are fairly valid, but just not buying this part.

 

Most people up here buy a set of steel rims for their snowtires. The salt and sand can wreck the alloy rims (from what I understand) plus you don't degredate your regular tires by putting them on and off the rims.

 

Regarding Costco, I was told a few years ago that even if you do not want to shop at Costco, it was worth the membership fee if you only bought a set of tires.
Lately, however, I think their prices are going up up up.
I have Michelins on my Explorer, cost about $125 each maybe 3 years ago. Got Michelins for my wife's Nissan, slightly less.
Two weeks ago, I went in for tires for my kid's Beetle. I was stunned that they wanted more than $650 for the set, AFTER the $70 coupon. I told the guy that sounded high. He said Michelins are the best. I said that it's just a Beetle, a small car. He said they take the same tires as a Mercedes sedan. I told him I didn't give a shit about a Mercedes sedan, those tires were too expensive.
I was going to buy them anyway, but he said there was going to be a 4-1/2-hour wait, so we bailed and I went to Pep Boys. Got a set of Cooper tires, 80,000-mile warranty for about $500.
You know, 80,000 is 80,000 regardless of the name on the side.

 

I'm not sure I buy that tires and just tires, but I can tell you that BFGoodrich made some outstanding tires for a '90s-era Nissan Maxima that skillfully blended performance and a durability.

My current car came equipped with Michelin Pilots that were both overpriced and felt rougher and tougher than concrete. Went with a similar BFGoodrich model as a replacement on my current vehicle. They weren't cheap, but cost less than the Michelin Pilots and have been much, much better tires.

Will look at BFGoodrich and probably Bridgestone come time for a new set, which is approaching faster than I'd like. Still don't trust some of the knockoffs, no matter what many say.

 

I've had hankooks before and they did me quite well on my old Grand Prix.

 

That's better than the Hankooks I experienced while working for a penny-wise and pound-foolish automotive rental company. More cupped tires than I can count during my time there ... and worse, management was both cheap and ignorant, telling me to rent the vehicles even though they weren't very safe or ideal to drive.

 

BFGoodrich and Bridgestone, in my experience anyway, both make a good product at a pretty reasonable price. I've also had good experience with Yokohamas and Dunlops. I've had a couple sets of Michelins and, while they're typically terrific tires, you pay for it. Brands I avoid: Pirelli and Kumho.

Regarding Costco, whenever I've shopped for tires there I've found limited selection and high prices. I just plugged one of our cars into the tire finder at Costco.com; they have three tires available. Tire Rack has 64. And Costco's prices are a fair amount higher.