Tires for cobalt 195/65x15's whats the best LRR for the buck?
 

I haven't seen a review of tires recently but am looking to replace (2) of the Oem Cobalt XFE energy savers on the rear then swap to the front since they are worn down quite nicely. I am told the 40+k I put on them is quite unusual, most folks only could muster 20k before worn, hmm maybe 50psi is good for something.

Anyway I am looking for a tire that saves money both up front and in the long run, AKA the best lifetime cost. Not sure what that would be, Ecotopias seem to be moderately expensive as tires go around here, not sure what other decent alternatives there would be.

In any event the tires that came on my cobalt when new looked like they had half tread and from what I hear where not as good as ones that come off the shelf in a store. I am tempted to replace them with the same Goodyears but am not sure.

Also is there any such thing as an all-weather LRR? :)

And lastly I have been looking for the largest (read diameter) space saver spares (for a MPG & coastdown test) that would fit the cobalts 4x100 lug pattern, best example appears to be the 125/80r15's that came in certain focus's sadly these are too new to pop out of the pull and tug place for $5

Thanx for any suggestions.

TireRack.com Tire Reviews

This are the tires I have. I like them alot, but I only have about 400 miles on them.

if I was only replacing 2, I would look around for a good used pair. Regular tires with the PSI pumped up are almost just as effective as LRR tires, so keep your eyes open on craigslist.

For the 3 seasons of nice weather spend a few $$ and get a good tire! The cheapest tire on the shelf will dissapoint you, AKA you get what you pay for. Got to TireRack and browse... but stay away from Goodyear...

Ditch those LRR in winter. Your fuel savings will be irrelevant if you slide off the road or into the back of someone! There are some good quality winter tires that give decent mileage out there.

The best tires I ever had were $38 desert dogs 13yr and 100+k miles later the tread slopped off them.

Also I ran the same cheapy stock LRRs two winter seasons without any real issue on the cobalt. If I can tolerate half bald OEMs I have no doubt I can tolerate decent LRRs winter season.

Wisconsin winters aren't exactly extreme like they were in the 70s or 80s

I have almost 38k on my cobalt originals been at 50 psi for last 11,000, wet traction bad otherwise OK, no winter driving yet, tread looks like I have another 20,000. Planning on driving the Stratus to work when weather looks iffy this winter (depending on gas prices).

Nokian WR G2, expensive, but I'm happy with the set I got used for the Stratus when I was really just looking for some 15" rims. They are LRR and winter rated with 50,000 tread life rating. $122 each is the only local price I could find and they are more expensive online. Was going to put those on the Impala 2 at a time, but had a failure on a Sunday so got 2 walmart douglas xtrac II which I've had OK experience with.

I'd put them on the Malibu that's due except initial cost is too high when needing 4, going with some Xice2 $86 instead but in Cobalt, Stratus and coming Altima size.(4 car's 1 tire size)

How much tread do you actually have above the wear tabs?

My rears are on the wear tabs, the fronts have roughly the same amount of tread as when I bought the car.

I tend to prefer to replace tires in (2)'s on FWD mainly to save cash, oddly enough its seemed to work thus far.

Then I just flip my summer winter tires in a tire rotation when the season changes. Winter tires usually last forever on the rear and have much less of an impact on my FE in that spot.

Cheers
Ryan

Haven't look real close just look good still on OEM tires, they very well could fool me and be gone sooner than I expect. I'm trying to do better rotating as I've decided it does help.

I almost always buy 2 at a time as well, just this one time, and the fact the tirerack won't sell winters in pairs and the price is right. Just giving myself alittle extra sense of security since my daugher's driving that car.

Hands down the the tire with the highest fuel economy in that size is the Mchelin Energy Saver A/S. We (the Prius community) have tried every other tire out there and the a energy Saver A/S beats them all by at least 2mpg. The Ecopia EP100 was very close but it is a summer tire and is discontinued. If you get the $70 rebate from Mchelin then the price is comparable to other premium tires and offers the lowest cost per mile to run. The ride is fantastic and they are very quiet. The only argument against them is lackluster handling but you have to trade something for extreme fuel efficiency. They offer a 65,000 mile tread warranty in that size too. Seriously, this tire can't be beat for fuel efficiency.

So did you buy some, just check my front's are at 4/32 tread (quarter test) rear's 6-7/32.

Nokian WR G2 and Energy Savers are within acouple dollars of each other, both LRR, both expensive at over $120 each, I thought I read that the Nokians have 50,000 warranty but can't verify it today, the ES have big edge that being rated for 65,000. I think the Nokian's have big edge in traction, cost per mile ES hands down.

2 of the WR's on the front of stratus are to the wear bars, 20,000 miles of my driving, the looked almost brand new when I got them used so 20-30,000 might be all they last.

I have 4 Nitto Sn2's (winters) coming for the Malibu at $76 each. I'm going to wait till I get those mounted and drive it alittle before I decide what's going on the Cobalt for this winter, 4 Nitto's isn't much more than 2 G2's. Wear out the other during the summer.

Michelin offers a $70 rebate so the price is lower on the Energy Saver A/S. They also sport much lower rolling resistance than the Nokian. I would agree the Nokian offers better traction and likely handling. If you want the best fuel economy, however, you're not going to beat the Energy Saver A/S. :)