How to pick best set of free tires for VX rims?

[War_Wagon]

I have wound up with 2 sets of 175/70/13s, and want to mount one set on my Civic VX rims. I would rather some 155s, but like the title states these were free so they will do for now. One set are Kuhmos, and the other are Michelins. They both have about 70% tread left on them, so I figured I would try to decide based on the Treadwear/Traction/Temperature ratings on the sidewall. From what I understand, the higher the Treadwear rating, the longer the tire will last, so therefore it should be the hardest rubber compound and lowest rolling resistance? Would the tire with the lower Traction rating also be the better choice for LLR, as worse traction would mean lower resistance? Can anyone shed some light on which rating will affect rolling resistance the most? Thanks.

[JMac]

From what I understand, the higher the Treadwear rating, the longer the tire will last, so therefore it should be the hardest rubber compound and lowest rolling resistance?

This is not necessarily true, as I have heard that different companies have different ways to rate tread wear. Couldn't hurt to pick the highest one though. Also, there is more that factors into rolling resistance than just tread wear rating, however that is one factor.

Would the tire with the lower Traction rating also be the better choice for LLR, as worse traction would mean lower resistance?

Again, not necessarily. You can be sure, though, that the tire with the lowest traction rating is less safe than the tire with higher traction rating. And again, less traction doesn't always mean less rolling resistance.

All in all, if neither of the tires are advertised as being a "low-rolling-resistance tire," then just go for whichever one you think would be the safest or last the longest. As a side note, you'd probably get better gas mileage with a tire rated at a high max sidewall air pressure (psi). So, if one is 44 and the other is 36, I would pick the 44.

Hope this helps,
JMac

[CapriRacer]

The first thing to do is elimnate any tire with a puncture or a repair. Those would be suspect.

Then look at the date codes. If you want to know how to read a date code:

Barry's Tire Tech

Completely elimnate any tire older than 6 years.

Then look at what you have left. It would be best to have 4 tires that are the same make and model regardless of the rolling resistance. Safety should come first.

[War_Wagon]

Thanks for the info on the date codes Capri, I didn't know that was there. I guess I'll just stick with the highest sidewall psi like JMac suggested. Though I'll probably go with the Michelins anyway, I used those Kuhmos a few years ago with 44 psi in them and they were pretty scary in the rain, so I'll try out the other ones.

[Frank Lee]

If I had to replace all my tires that are over 6 years old I'd have to buy about 100 of 'em.

[foxhound]

go with the kumhos. ive run those for years on all my honda except for track cars. they last awhile. as long as you dont have alignment problems. michelins are over priced and rated. but u did say they were free.