Buying a budget tire, anyone tried these? (I picked/purchased already, thanks guys)

[suprabad]

I have those same Federal's up front, 225's, and some 245 Falken Ziex out rear..I used to have 245 Kuhmo Ecstas all around, but they don't really grip all that well to be honest..

I'm happy with my current combo..

Discounttiredirect has a ebay store, and I got my tires at a nice little discount...

You are saying that your federal's/falkens grip beter than the Ecsta's?

Which Ecsta were they? Not ASX's, cause there's no comparison.

 

[Poodles]

Betcha they where old Supra's...

The ASX's or SPT's will kick their ass. Also, Kumho's racing tires are supposed to be GREAT as well...

If you want the BEST TIRE OUT THERE....Michelin. I know I'm going to get flamed, but they grip, they're quiet, and they wear forever. Bad side, they're expensive as fuck...

 

[Clip]

the spt's are awesome, i've got asx's on the protege and will soon put asx's on the impreza (as soon as the yokohama trz's wear down)

my g'f has yokohama avs es100s on her mr2. a little less than double the price of the kumhos for about the same performance (for the driving we do), and a buddy of mine has yokohama s-drives on his impreza. he seems to like them, and i'd be comfy going with either the spts, es100s or sdrives on my car (although i do need a set of all-seasons, so maybe asx's in the future)

 

[Poodles]

SPT's aren't the quietest tires out there (the three central ribs are more than likely the cause), but they're pretty damn good.

The ASX's usually go on sale at DiscountTire right after I buy some SPT's...

 

[RazoE]

I forgot what kind of Ecstas they are, but I'll check it out later, I have a spare in the garage in case I pop one...

 

[Angry7M]

I didnt know they sold Federal tires here in the U.S.. Where i live Federal brand tires can only be found in Mexico, some guy was trying to sell me some but ehh i didn't like them.

 

[black89t]

i didn't feel like reading this whole thread, but i love these kumho's. i had set of bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Position and these kumho's seem better and half the price. i go through tires way to fast. :aigo:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...speed_rating=W&speed_rating=Y&speed_rating=(Y)

 

[MKIIINA]

i have a set of khumo ASX's on my supra and my IS and couldnt be happier. I have had them on my supra for over 2 years now and they still looks great. The grip is very predictable in all conditions and when its lost it breaks gradually. My brother has a set of Hankooks on his Supra and they haven't worn nearly as well and howl under cornering. I had a set of Goodyear eagles on my old NA and they seemed to work fairly well.

Really for your money its hard to turn down the ASX's... I got my most recent set installed w/ roadside assistance and disposal for around $450 from Discount Tire. Also check out Car and Driver from a few issues ago. They did a tire test and the Khumo's rated pretty well iirc...

 

[Keros]

A few important things to think about when selecting a tire:

Tread wear rating (UTQG): the higher the number the longer the tire will last, 100 is the standard, a 200 rating will last twice as long as a 100, ect. Typically, higher UTQG ratings are harder tires and will be less dependable in low tempratures, slippery surfaces, and may have non-uniform traction changes during tread wear (tires get less grippy as they wear out).

Traction: Government stuff, pretty broad; AA is best, A is good, B is decent, ect. Has to do with breaking distance only.

Heat rating: A is good, B is decent, ect... if you like to cruise at high speed for prolonged periods of time, get A and be done with it. Tire failure ain't cool yo!

Tire Weight: Tire rack is one of the few places that actually list tire weights, remember that rotational mass is muiltiplied the further away from the center of rotation you get... so having a heavy tire will suck away horsepower, torque, and gas milage. If you save 2lbs by getting a particular tire, you save 8lbs of rotating mass all over.

The tires you buy should match your driving style at its maximum... if you like to push the car, get the best tires. If you just doddle around town and get your foot into it only when there's plenty of room for error, then by all means get a decent tire. For the amount of times my Michelins have saved my ass, they were worth every penny. I recommend looking for tires that gradually lose traction at their limits, rather than ones that just suddenly let go.

 

[Clip]

A few important things to think about when selecting a tire:

Tread wear rating (UTQG): the higher the number the longer the tire will last, 100 is the standard, a 200 rating will last twice as long as a 100, ect. Typically, higher UTQG ratings are harder tires and will be less dependable in low tempratures, slippery surfaces, and may have non-uniform traction changes during tread wear (tires get less grippy as they wear out).

Traction: Government stuff, pretty broad; AA is best, A is good, B is decent, ect. Has to do with breaking distance only.

Heat rating: A is good, B is decent, ect... if you like to cruise at high speed for prolonged periods of time, get A and be done with it. Tire failure ain't cool yo!

Tire Weight: Tire rack is one of the few places that actually list tire weights, remember that rotational mass is muiltiplied the further away from the center of rotation you get... so having a heavy tire will suck away horsepower, torque, and gas milage. If you save 2lbs by getting a particular tire, you save 8lbs of rotating mass all over.

The tires you buy should match your driving style at its maximum... if you like to push the car, get the best tires. If you just doddle around town and get your foot into it only when there's plenty of room for error, then by all means get a decent tire. For the amount of times my Michelins have saved my ass, they were worth every penny. I recommend looking for tires that gradually lose traction at their limits, rather than ones that just suddenly let go.

i've read several places that these ratings differ between manufacturers, and should only be used within the same brand name to compare tires. if they are used between brands, they should only be used as a rough estimate.

is there truth to this?

 

[Figit090]

A few important things to think about when selecting a tire:

Tread wear rating (UTQG): higher UTQG ratings are harder tires and will be less dependable in low tempratures, slippery surfaces, and may have non-uniform traction changes during tread wear (tires get less grippy as they wear out).


The tires you buy should match your driving style at its maximum... if you like to push the car, get the best tires. If you just doddle around town and get your foot into it only when there's plenty of room for error, then by all means get a decent tire. For the amount of times my Michelins have saved my ass, they were worth every penny. I recommend looking for tires that gradually lose traction at their limits, rather than ones that just suddenly let go.

I'm not sure what would be good for me, since its hotter weather sometimes but during the winter we've seen 35-45 degrees F and it rains, so I suppose that higher tread rating might actually be a bad thing, since most driving i do is to school which puts me on the highway in under 2 minutes...no sufficient time for any heat buildup. so if the tires are harder this might be bad.


I just added one i'm looking at, it's the Hankook K106.

Compared to the Federal's lower 260/A/A rating, it has a 340/A/A.

If that is in fact a uniform test rating and has low variation these should last 76 percent longer...i think.

So I'm ordering them this evening. Les Schwab quoted me;

Federals: $454.17
Hankook: $486.26

So it's 30 dollars more but not a big deal. If they have either model in ANY size there I will check them out.

I'm going to call one more place...but I think it's down to the federals or hankook. closest shop and seems like a decent price.

I was thinking about looking online but when I mentioned it my dad got upset that I was taking so long and then went on about how I'd have to pay for mounting and balancing and wait longer so whatever. I'm not buying online this time.

 

[Figit090]

OK called around, now there's one I hadn't heard of, Riken Raptor ZR tires for 468 with everything. they have a 300/AA/A rating and look pretty good... and i've been reading they are a subset of michelin.

[thumb]http://static.summitracing.com/global/images/prod/large/bfg-20507_w.jpg[/thumb]


the other is a set of BF Goodrich G-Force sports for 438 out the door.

[thumb]http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/images/ts-dl/tires/large/g-force-sport.jpg[/thumb]

 

[black89t]

kumho. kumho. kumho.

you won't be dissapointed.

 

[Figit090]

the cheapest around here that i could find is 598...i dont want to spend that much. i want to check those out but yeah...sorry!

if you have a tire dealer around here you'd recommend lemmie know.

 

[black89t]

are you talking about if you buy them local?

if you are don't do that. there isn't anywhere around here that has good tires at a decent price. i bought mine from tirerack. they came in like two days. then paid to have them mounted and balence. it was well under $500 total, but that was on some stock sawblades.

edit: i just read that your getting the stock tire size. that would be $288 from tire rack at $72 a piece. it should be under 400 bucks said and done. how can you go wrong?

 

[Figit090]

yes, local.

what about balancing and rotations and road hazard though? tire rack doesn't cover that do they? i'd imagine that would make a difference no?

let me know cause you seem like you have a better idea than i do.

EDIT #2-----

Ok i found where I can get them mounted and balanced for 20 dollars a tire... so total shipped with road insurance is 445.64.....
same as if I locally buy some the Firestone's...and its a bit more of a hassle. not much, but a bit.

thanks for your opinions. i'm still open to them if you have any.

decisions decisions...

 

[black89t]

go to TP tire in arcata. its in vally west. its good local shop. nice people that do good work. (as far as with tires. i would have them rebuild my motor or anything. lol. wait i wouldn't let anyone rebuild my motor. lol.)

why do you get insurance?

 

[csr ma71]

I get uni-directional Hankook tires from Turbo Tires in Oakland for $85 a wheel mounted. 225/50/16.

 

[Figit090]

the per-tire insurance is about 38 dollars at tire-rack and covers flats and repairs as well as tire replacement in the first 12 months. Tire rack will reimburse up to 25 dollars per tire, and TP repairs start at 15 dollars.

So I talked to my dad and once I explained tire-rack's service he's fine with my getting online.

OK Here are my final choices;

Buy the Kumho's online, get them mounted locally, totals at $445.64
420/AA/A rubber (woop! that kicks Federal's ASS!!)
Info
[thumb]http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires/kumho/ku_ecsta_asx_ci2_l.jpg[/thumb]

Buy the Firestone Firehawk GT's locally totals, oddly enough: $445.72
460/A/A rubber
Info
[thumb]http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires/firestone/fs_firehawk_gt_ci2_l.jpg[/thumb]

So i'm leaning strongly toward all your recommendations of Kumho, given the higher-level tire and all of your reccomendations here, and the vitually identical price! Unless I hear any possible objections, that's the one I'm going with.

If anyone has any opinions on this final choice by all means lemmie know. I really am JUST learning about how to choose good tires and i sincerely appreciate all your help everyone...
Seriously, I now know how bad the Federals are in comparison and I'd be depressed to have them again knowing what i know now!

 

[black89t]

"420" treadware :rofl:.

better traction and practically same treadware.


what a tire.