Tires: Do you trust CR and TireRack?

[Thymeclock]

Originally Posted by Kodak

Thanks for the tips everyone. I'm probably going to wait until Consumer Reports reviews new All Seasons (I heard they may post an update in September). They've never reviewed the BFG Long trail T/A Tour (read: not the radial) and that's up there is my options list with the Continental CrossContact LX (LRR).

I'll read reviews with some skepticism.

That's always a good idea. Here's my experience with reviews. IMHO, Consumer Reports is worthless - it's an outdated publication with a limited scope of models of merchandise with opinions provided by professional reviewers.

OTOH, I've bought all my tires in the past 25 years from Tire Rack. Their website is an excellent resource for making comparisons of tires. The cumulative user reviews are accurate, if you take everything that is said about a particular model into account and weigh it for yourself. I've not been the least bit disappointed in the tires I've bought. They have all been entirely accurate as evaluated, both in their positive and marginally negative attributes.

[topcat]

Simplifying things a bit:
You can have a tyre which is fantastic but lasts 6 months (e.g. Toyo)
A tyre which is OK which lasts 2 years (Uniroyal, Continental, etc)
Or a tyre which is crap for ever (Falken).

Most people will want the middle of the pack. Personally, I have found Uniroyal to be a good compromise between price, lifetime, and grip, prioritising wet grip.
Uniroyal have just come out with a new tyre, RainExpert, which lists fuel economy as one of its features. I have just purchased these, but not yet fitted them, so I cannot pass judgement yet.

[HighMPG]

I been getting my tires from TireRack for the last 10 years and have been satisfied with every tire I have gotten from them. I mainly base my judgement on my favorite brands and buy the top or second tier sets for Max summer performance. I don't think sacrificing tire performance is on my list for MPG mods due to safety issues when hard braking or evasive maneuvers comes into play.
I may just tone down on the tire compounds and use something harder.
These are my favorite brands for them but I have yet to buy a ECO tire from any of them.
Yokohama
Bridgestone Potenza
Dunlops
Kumho

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by HighMPG

I don't think sacrificing tire performance is on my list for MPG mods due to safety issues when hard braking or evasive maneuvers comes into play.

I've had that dilemma as well, but it's been a non-issue.

I used to run tires that would be fine for something with twice or more the HP - Michelin's Pilot series, Conti SportContact3 - for the same reason : superior braking and handling.

Changing to the Michelin Energy Saver sure felt like going backwards.
But if you change your attitude towards driving as well, good eco tires will be OK, and you'll find you don't really need the superior handling and braking power.

Quite often, I still find myself gaining on lots of people in the corners, despite the eco-tires.

If the worst comes to the worst, I know the eco-tires won't stop me as fast.
But then, you can carry this into the absurd, as there's always a better tire, as any tire is a compromise / sacrifice.

I may just tone down on the tire compounds and use something harder.
These are my favorite brands for them but I have yet to buy a ECO tire from any of them.

Is the '90 Corolla SR5 Coupé anything fancy, performance wise ?

Our 1987 1.6L Corolla (105 HP ?) would overpower Michelin's MXT - an eco tyre of the early 90s. But today's Michelin Energy Savers would have no trouble at all with the old Corolla.

[HighMPG]

Originally Posted by euromodder

I've had that dilemma as well, but it's been a non-issue.

I used to run tires that would be fine for something with twice or more the HP - Michelin's Pilot series, Conti SportContact3 - for the same reason : superior braking and handling.

Changing to the Michelin Energy Saver sure felt like going backwards.
But if you change your attitude towards driving as well, good eco tires will be OK, and you'll find you don't really need the superior handling and braking power.

Quite often, I still find myself gaining on lots of people in the corners, despite the eco-tires.

If the worst comes to the worst, I know the eco-tires won't stop me as fast.
But then, you can carry this into the absurd, as there's always a better tire, as any tire is a compromise / sacrifice.


Is the '90 Corolla SR5 Coupé anything fancy, performance wise ?

Our 1987 1.6L Corolla (105 HP ?) would overpower Michelin's MXT - an eco tyre of the early 90s. But today's Michelin Energy Savers would have no trouble at all with the old Corolla.

You do have a lot of good "MPG" points and yes, I am so used to buying performance tires and I do love hugging the turns but I may have to convert completely. I used to race and was going over 100mph everyday in my rotary so when I am in the corolla it feels, well you know, so slow but it's actually a great handler.Now I have changed my driving attitude from "Speed Racer" to Eco Mode" I may have to try out those Energy Saver tires, I know I have some Michelin's on there right now from costco. I just checked and they are 175/70/14 Michilen "Radial X" I guess they are pretty skinny shall I go skinnier? haha I know on dry pavement if I throttle hard I can chirp the tires a little & my car is automatic 4Speed. lol
btw these tires came with the car.