Dry rot does not pass inspection

May 14, 2008 9:32 PM

What kind of tires would you recommend for a 2001 Nissan Frontier SE RWD?

I'm in the market for some new tires so I figured some you motorhead MeFites could offer some advice. I am being careful about this because a set of tires is a pretty significant investment for someone on my budget. Tirerack.com was pretty helpful and I narrowed it down to these. Any other suggestions?

posted by Brandon1600 to Travel & Transportation (3 answers total)

The unfortunate truth about tires is that safety and performance are inversely proportional to service life. You can buy scary-ass tires that will never show a bit of treadwear for 80,000 miles (if you and the car last that long), or the other end of the extreme is you could buy DOT legal tires that SCCA Showroom Stock racers use and have the safest, best handling tires you've ever driven. The downside is they would be worn out in about 200 miles. Obviously you want something in between. For best all-around "normal" driving and tire life I've always favored BF Goodrich products (full disclosure: they used to sponsor me when I raced cars many years ago). For performance (and the consequential shorter life that goes with that choice), I've always liked Yokohoma, but Kumho has really done a nice job last I checked. All other things aside (wet, snow, dry performance) always look at the UTQG rating and make the best choice for your purposes. A lower number means better handling, stopping, cornering and shorter life. A very high number means the tire will last perhaps to the end of your life, which may be as soon as next week. Sorry, but that's the way the game is played.

Speaking of the game: I hate, hate, hate Michelin tires. I don't know if they still do this but they used to rig their tires with a very soft compound on the outside and a very hard compound at half tread depth. They did this because Consumer Reports et al would test their tires on an actual car when new, then put them on a lab machine to see how long they would last. The soft compound gave very favorable "real world" results, and the hard compound below the surface would make the tire last nearly forever without ever wearing the tread completely off. They were just ridiculously unsafe on the road after the good soft layer got used up. These statements go back to Michelin's practices of 20+ years ago, but I have yet to forgive them for it. Don't know if they still do it.
posted by Rafaelloello at 9:56 PM on May 14, 2008

Somewhat more expensive, but these are quite nice. I have the passenger car version (Goodyear Affinity Assurance Triple-Tred) on my Civic and they are fantastic. Nearly silent compared to the Falkens it had when I got it, twice the grip in all conditions, and an 80,000 mile treadlife. If you have live anywhere that it snows, I'd go with them, especially on a 2wd truck.
posted by moitz at 9:01 AM on May 15, 2008

Speaking as someone who has owned a lot of cheap Japanese pickup trucks, I would go down to Discount Tire or a similar chain, and ask them to put on their cheapo light truck house brand tire.

Pickup trucks aren't very safe handlers anyway, and no tire is going to make much of a difference. Furthermore, their crude suspensions will negate any comfort or road feel afforded by fancy Michelins or BFGs.

I currently have Pathfinder ATs on my Toyota. They were cheap, and they have a good road hazard warranty.
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 9:10 AM on May 15, 2008