Choosing a Tire

[oil pan 4]

How many miles do you put on your car each year?
Tread life may not be a big consern to you.
If you are like me and don't put a lot of miles on your car every year I got a set of non-tred life rated yokohama S4 tires (W speed rated, ultra high performance all season) they lasted 50,000 miles on my friends camaro and she drives it hard. For me 50,000 miles would be 6 to 8 years, about the time they start to dry rot and crack.

The last set of 31 inch tires on my truck dry rotted to death and they had a big tread wear number.

Yes load rating is very important. Don't sell your self short in that department.
I made that mistake with my truck when I first got it by keeping the tires it had not putting the proper tires on it. P-metrics and trucks don't mix.

[HighMPG]

You are correct but I will soon =D

For the Kumho Solus K21 155/80/13 **OEM SIZE*
Max Load 959 lbs

Michelin Harmony 175/70/13
Max Load 1036@44

Michelin Radial X ** What is on my car right now**
Max Load: 1,036@44

So do you think a 60-80 pound Load rating will make a big difference?
Do you think the wider Higher load resistance tire would perform that much better then the skinnier larger tire? It will probably not even make a noticeable difference except in braking and handling? What are your ideas and thanks for the input.

[HighMPG]

Also how much does un-sprung weight and heavier tires/wheels affect mpg?
Maybe I am just the type of guy who likes to prove himself wrong or see it for my own eyes, guess I like the experience of learning and seeing for myself.
I drive about 5500-8000 miles a year right now. but soon will be more.

BTW I just finished reading both links and it was very informative, thanks.

[California98Civic]

Oh no, you are right. That's how I would basically define "eco" too, so I was confused because on sites like tire-rack you never see the Harmonys listed as LRR. Get this: I have a set of quite clean, near new but wonderfully broken-in, Michelin Harmonys for the 13" Civic VX wheels I bought in order to further reduce my weights. The wheels are about 60% the weight of my current wheels. The Michelin tires on them are mounted and balanced. The cost? For tires and wheels: $300! Eight dollars cheaper than the tires alone. But until now I have been planning to trade the tires for LRR tires. I have only been delayed by my desire to run my current tires on my 14" wheeels to their pitiful end and keep researching the next set of tires, letting the best choice slowly emerge as I become familiar. You just settled it. Until middle last year the Harmonys would have rated near the top on an objective LRR test? I'm done. I have my tires already. How simple. So thanks. Pays to be patient!

BTW, the Michelin Harmonys get great consumer reviews too.

Originally Posted by HighMPG

Maybe I didn't mention low rolling resistance, but I just figured tires with low rolling resistance are eco tires since they save gas but is there a difference in a eco tire? Is it made organically or from renewable/recycled materials or am I missing something here? Or I think it;s just a combination of everything making it "greener" right?
Well rated as a low rolling resistance tire but I just found it on consumer reports and here it is: and since low rolling resistance is also contributes to less rubber on the road I would be looking for the stiffest skinniest contact patch i guess. None of the tires below were made in the OEM 155/80/13 size which sucks.

Also**
A tire Labled "ECO" was just one that passed tests with the "Green Seal", a non-profit, third-party certifier and standards development body in the United States.[1] Since 1989 it has provided independent, objective, science-based guidance to the marketplace and to consumers. Green Seal is the largest[citation needed] US-based ecolabeling organization and meets the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Criteria for Third Party Certifiers, the requirements of ISO 14020 and 14024, and the standards of the Global Ecolabelling Network. Green Seal is the U.S. member of GEN which consists of 26 of the world's leading ecolabeling programs, including Germany's Blue Angel (certification) and the Nordic swan.

Maybe they did not test all the tires out there. but just tires in a certain general size.
"
Here is a list of Consumer Report's tires that achieved their best rolling resistance rating. The tires at the top of the list are rated higher overall.

Highly rated:
All Season
Michelin X Radial
Michelin Agility Touring
Michelin Harmony
Toyo 800 Ultra
Sumitomo HTR T4
Middle rank
Performance All Season
Michelin Energy MXV4 Plus
Continental ContiPremierContact H

Least benefit
All Season Ultra High Performance
General Exclaim UHP
Continental ContiExtremeContact
Below are the light duty tires (as reported by Consumer reports) achieving their best rolling resistance rating. Again, higher overall rated tires are closer to the top of the list.

All-season
Bridgestone Dueler H/T D684
Michelin Cross Terrain
Continental ContiTrac SUV
BFGoodrich Radial Long Trail T/A
Followed by:

All-terrain
Continental ContiTrac TR
New models by 2009:

Michelin Energy Saver
Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max"

[Sven7]

I've got 155/80/13's on my Rabbit. First I had Dean Alpha 365's but can't tell you about treadwear because I beat the living **** out of them. Nearly bald within about 9 months, but that was including a lot of, um. Let's call it autocross.

Now I have some General brand ones and they seem to be a better tire.

I suggest going to a tire store and asking what they have. You'll probably save on shipping

[HighMPG]

True Seve7,
Why would I care about so much performance out of a 155/80/13 tire! lol But, it i notice a reduction in MPG I will go back to 175/70/13 since from what people are saying, is the better RR tire. We'll see.

[Sven7]

Oh, and the Dean Alphas were $40 per tire at Fleet Farm.

Check CL and local car forums because some people get rid of good stuff. I got all four great condition Generals on good condition steel wheels for $80 total.

Don't remember where you are but you could always roll in style with these. Gotta pay to play though :ballerstatusacheived:

13'' CANDY BLUE SPOKES/ DISH

[Thymeclock]

Originally Posted by CapriRacer

OK, let's start with the basics. Read this:

Barry's Tire Tech

and this:

Barry's Tire Tech

What you should get out is that there is a compromise involving Treadwear, Rolling Resistance, and Tracuion. You'll want to choose a tire that gives you the compromise you can be comfortable with.

Second is that larger tires give better RR - all other things being equal. That should open up a few more options for you - but sadly your speedo will be off.

All true. Heed this good advice.

Kumho makes some tires that are good and some that are crap. That's the case with virtually any tire manufacturer.

Go to Tire Rack and read the reviews. Then judge for yourself on what tire is best for you.

[SentraSE-R]

Taller is better. Tall tire test.

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by SentraSE-R

Taller is better. Tall tire test.

On the overall, I agree your data showed that. But there are more lessons in it. Under P&G and highway conditions the lighter/oem-sized wheels performed about as well as the tall and lightweight tires. It seemed the taller/lighter combo had the biggest advantage under cruise control. Here's your summary of the results again:

Originally Posted by SentraSE-R

Test results
A = Goodyear NCT-5 (V), 205/50-17, 47 lbs, 5.31% taller
B = Trazano H550-A, 185/60-15, 35 lbs, OEM
C = Continental ContiproContact, 195/65-15, 36 lbs, 4.97% taller

A1(cc) 49.3 mpg
A1(P&G) 69.9 mpg
A1(hwy) 39.4 mpg
B(cc) 50.6 mpg
B(P&G) 71.1 mpg
B(hwy) 41.5 mpg
C(cc) 53.0 mpg
C(P&G) 71.8 mpg
C(hwy) 41.8 mpg
A2(cc) 50.3
A2(P&G) 68.6 mpg
A2(hwy) 40.0

By test, green=best, red=worst
tire set A1....B.....C......A2
cc.....49.3-50.6-53.0-50.3
P&G..69.9-71.1-71.8-68.6
hwy..39.4-41.5-41.8-40.0

Seems fair to say that if the tires are reasonably close in size, even a 5% smaller tire will be of benefit if its weight reduction is really significant, like 40-50%.

Your data, Darrell, helped me decide to buy the VX wheels I have yet to install because I'm running my old tires to the rims. Thanks for that. Eventually, I might be able to test the VXs versus my current alloys, since I have both wheel sets. Do you think I made a reasonable read on your results?