tired.
July 12, 2011 2:09 PM Subscribe
i need advice on choosing tires for my 2006 XC70.
last time i went in to get my oil changed, i was advised to get new tires sometime in the next several months. when i took a look at the tires, they were looking pretty thin on the treads on all four tires so i tend to agree. i think they're the factory issue pirelli scorpions. my car has about 39K miles on it—mainly because i spent the entire time i've had it working from home and only driving it about town, with a few roadtrips a year (mainly down to CA). in the winter, i go up to the mountains, thru snow. i've recently started a contract job requiring me to drive about 25-30 miles a day to and from the company for which i contract—and the contract will most likely go for another 4 months, if not longer (and may even go full-time). anywho. my knowledge about cars is pretty minimal to nil.
car experts, which tires do i need to be asking for when i go to get my tires replaced?
last time i went in to get my oil changed, i was advised to get new tires sometime in the next several months. when i took a look at the tires, they were looking pretty thin on the treads on all four tires so i tend to agree. i think they're the factory issue pirelli scorpions. my car has about 39K miles on it—mainly because i spent the entire time i've had it working from home and only driving it about town, with a few roadtrips a year (mainly down to CA). in the winter, i go up to the mountains, thru snow. i've recently started a contract job requiring me to drive about 25-30 miles a day to and from the company for which i contract—and the contract will most likely go for another 4 months, if not longer (and may even go full-time). anywho. my knowledge about cars is pretty minimal to nil.
car experts, which tires do i need to be asking for when i go to get my tires replaced?
Look at reviews on Tire Rack. The climate where you live is an important consideration. If you live in a very wet climate, good rain tires are a must. If you live where it snows a lot, tires that do well in the snow are obviously a good idea, but getting true winter tires isn't really a great idea for most people. If you need better traction in the snow, it's better to have chains anyway. A decent enough set of chains for occasional use will cost you no more than $200.
Personally, I've always liked the BFGoodrich Traction T/A series for their good rain performance, half-decent snow performance, and excellent dry performance, but it doesn't appear that those are available for your particular vehicle, although they will go on some small SUVs.
If you mainly drive in dry weather and rain and only occasionally hit snow, I'd go with something with a fairly directional tread like the Goodyear TripleTred series and pair it with chains for driving in the mountain snow. The problem with designs like that is that their winter performance is (usually..I'm looking at the survey results on TireRack and the TripleTred is rated fairly well for snow driving) crappy compared to something like what you have now.
I've been pretty happy with the Goodyear ComforTreds that the dealer threw on the (used) RAV4 my SO has, both in rain and light snow. They even worked half decently in deep snow. I've had worse, but I've had better in that respect.
posted by wierdo at 2:45 PM on July 12, 2011
Personally, I've always liked the BFGoodrich Traction T/A series for their good rain performance, half-decent snow performance, and excellent dry performance, but it doesn't appear that those are available for your particular vehicle, although they will go on some small SUVs.
If you mainly drive in dry weather and rain and only occasionally hit snow, I'd go with something with a fairly directional tread like the Goodyear TripleTred series and pair it with chains for driving in the mountain snow. The problem with designs like that is that their winter performance is (usually..I'm looking at the survey results on TireRack and the TripleTred is rated fairly well for snow driving) crappy compared to something like what you have now.
I've been pretty happy with the Goodyear ComforTreds that the dealer threw on the (used) RAV4 my SO has, both in rain and light snow. They even worked half decently in deep snow. I've had worse, but I've had better in that respect.
posted by wierdo at 2:45 PM on July 12, 2011
Response by poster: i live in portland, or. we are overcast/misty/light rain pretty much 9 months of the year, and usually warm and sunny in the summer. yes, we get rain, but not nearly as much as most ppl who aren't from the NW think, and less than seattle. i love my car (i just paid it off!), and plan to keep it as long as it works (and i would like to do things to ensure that it works for a long time). i've driven up mt hood regularly in the winter and have never had to chain my tires. i don't want to go the cheapo tire route but i can't do super spendy either. maybe in the $500-600 range for all four?
i've tried reading up on recommendations on the web, but they've not done much more than to confuse me a bit more. i'd really love it if some of you can just come on here and say: "here are a few options you should consider…", and then i can go from there.
posted by violetk at 2:59 PM on July 12, 2011
i've tried reading up on recommendations on the web, but they've not done much more than to confuse me a bit more. i'd really love it if some of you can just come on here and say: "here are a few options you should consider…", and then i can go from there.
posted by violetk at 2:59 PM on July 12, 2011
I am on my second set of these Kumhos on my Subaru. Best tires I've ever had.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 3:35 PM on July 12, 2011
posted by Benny Andajetz at 3:35 PM on July 12, 2011
I put Michelins in our Saab 9-3. They work pretty well, and generally get good reviews from different sources.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 4:01 PM on July 12, 2011
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 4:01 PM on July 12, 2011
Most rims will accommodate a wider tire than what the car came with. The difference in traction is stunning, and they tend to be better tires all-around. See what's available.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 4:27 PM on July 12, 2011
posted by Mr. Yuck at 4:27 PM on July 12, 2011
Seconding Tire Rack's ratings and reviews. They (used to?) have pretty good detail about each tire's performance in different weather conditions. From my memory, there are a number of tires that have good performance in all weather, except snow.
My experience: I like Goodyear Triple Treads, but they are VERY sensitive to balance and rotation. If you don't keep up on that, they will get noisy. But they perform excellently in all weather.
I have a set of whatever the cheapest Kumhos were when I bought them on another car. $190 for a set of four. They have lasted 80,000+ miles. And that's never rotating them. The smoothest ride I've ever seen on a tire. HOWEVER- they are AWFUL in the rain. Somehow worse in the rain than in the snow, and that seems impossible.
posted by gjc at 6:54 PM on July 12, 2011
My experience: I like Goodyear Triple Treads, but they are VERY sensitive to balance and rotation. If you don't keep up on that, they will get noisy. But they perform excellently in all weather.
I have a set of whatever the cheapest Kumhos were when I bought them on another car. $190 for a set of four. They have lasted 80,000+ miles. And that's never rotating them. The smoothest ride I've ever seen on a tire. HOWEVER- they are AWFUL in the rain. Somehow worse in the rain than in the snow, and that seems impossible.
posted by gjc at 6:54 PM on July 12, 2011
Where do you normally drive? All pavement? Ever go off-road, such as driving to a trail-head to do some hiking?
For only pavement, I'd look at some good all-season touring tires, or possibly light-truck highway all-season tires.
Not sure what to get for some off-road tires. Maybe all-terrain? Those could be a bad fit for your car, however.
Have you talked to any tire shops?
Les Schwab is usually fairly good and can show you some options. Several years ago my wife had them put a set of the Toyo Eclipse put on her Subaru. They were great paved road--excellent traction wet and dry--tires, but not so great for dirt roads.
posted by nickthetourist at 9:49 PM on July 12, 2011
For only pavement, I'd look at some good all-season touring tires, or possibly light-truck highway all-season tires.
Not sure what to get for some off-road tires. Maybe all-terrain? Those could be a bad fit for your car, however.
Have you talked to any tire shops?
Les Schwab is usually fairly good and can show you some options. Several years ago my wife had them put a set of the Toyo Eclipse put on her Subaru. They were great paved road--excellent traction wet and dry--tires, but not so great for dirt roads.
posted by nickthetourist at 9:49 PM on July 12, 2011
TireRack's website has a nice decision guide to help you. In the tabs at the top of the page, go to Products > Tires > Shop by vehicle, enter the relevant info about the make and model of your car, and then choose "tire decision guide" when you have the opportunity. You'll be asked a few simple questions about your preferences, and then given a list of tire models that fit your criteria. You can read both professional and customer reviews, and decide from there.
posted by jon1270 at 3:55 AM on July 13, 2011
posted by jon1270 at 3:55 AM on July 13, 2011
More of a meta answer: For daily driving, the tires that were on the car are often a good answer when you're dealing with the better car brands. Volvos, in particular, almost always optimize their shipped tires for all weather traction. This annoys car reviewers, because while things like BMWs and Audis tend to have tires that are optimized for dry traction (and thus, let you sling the car through corners on a nice day,) Volvo makes sure you have at least some grip when the weather isn't ideal.*
So, this is a case where reading the tirewall and getting those again isn't a bad idea. 40K miles is pretty good tire life, so they don't wear out too quickly, and I didn't hear you complaining about sliding around in your various situations, so they grip enough.
*Having driven an 2008 S60 with good dry pavement tires on it, it becomes a vastly different, and better car, whenever it wasn't raining. I didn't drive it in the wet, so I don't know how it would run then, compared to the stock M+S tires. If you live in a world where snow is a prominent thing, the correct answer is not M+S tires, it's good wet performance tires, four steel rims, and four snow tires on those rims.
The stock M+S tires on my 2011 C70 coped very well with the 2011 Blizzard, once the snow was stomped down enough that I had ground clearance. Good enough, in fact, to get out the alley after the Jeep Cherokee driver failed. :-)
posted by eriko at 7:38 AM on July 13, 2011
So, this is a case where reading the tirewall and getting those again isn't a bad idea. 40K miles is pretty good tire life, so they don't wear out too quickly, and I didn't hear you complaining about sliding around in your various situations, so they grip enough.
*Having driven an 2008 S60 with good dry pavement tires on it, it becomes a vastly different, and better car, whenever it wasn't raining. I didn't drive it in the wet, so I don't know how it would run then, compared to the stock M+S tires. If you live in a world where snow is a prominent thing, the correct answer is not M+S tires, it's good wet performance tires, four steel rims, and four snow tires on those rims.
The stock M+S tires on my 2011 C70 coped very well with the 2011 Blizzard, once the snow was stomped down enough that I had ground clearance. Good enough, in fact, to get out the alley after the Jeep Cherokee driver failed. :-)
posted by eriko at 7:38 AM on July 13, 2011
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The other end of the spectrum is you can go online, read a bunch of tire reviews, shop for the best price on the tire strategy you want to pursue, have them delivered to a local shop.
Where do you live? What are the weather conditions you experience, and how much? What kind of roads and weather conditions are between you and your new job? Are you a member of a warehouse club? Do you have space to store a second set of tires/wheels? What is your goal? To have long lasting tires? To have the cheapest tires? To have the best inclement weather tires? To have the most comfortable tires? The rabbit hole gets deep, quickly, if you care at all.
Here's a guide from Consumer Reports that's pretty friendly. They also have ratings and reviews behind a subscription wall.
posted by danny the boy at 2:37 PM on July 12, 2011