Need advice on new tires

[mvrjta]

Hello Everyone,

This is my first post and I'm looking for advice on a new set of tires. I have a 2005 Outback Wagon 3.0R VDC LTD and have the tires that originally came with the car. I'm looking for an all season tire, as I live in NYC, and do take a few trips skiing to Vermont and New Hampshire in the winter. Also, my driving habits are split between city driving on weekdays/highway driving on weekends, especially in the summer. I'm not sure what size rims or tires I currently have; whatever came with the car. Also, when I called a tire place to ask about replacing my tires, they said I could probably replace with an H speed rated tire, as opposed to a V, based on my driving habits. I have 2 kids, so rarely am I driving above 75mph! As I looked through all of the previous threads, following are the tires that I saw recommended the most.

1. Bridgestone Turanza Serenity
2. Yokama Avid TRZ or Geolanders A/T
3. General Altimax HP or Grabbers
4. Michelin HydroEdge
5. Goodyear TripleTred
6. BF Goodrich Traction T/A
7. Nokian WRG2 All Season

I would appreciate any recommendations on narrowing the above list down, based on my specific information. Also, can anyone recommend the correct size? I also saw several posts about buying the tires at online retailers. Pardon my ignorance, but how does that work? Do you buy & install the tires yourselves? Don't you have to go somewhere and have a wheel alignment done??

Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance.

[Blacky]

H speed rated will be fine and will last longer than V.
I've had the TripleTreds on mine for 4 years all year round and 2 summers and they will still be OK for this summer. They were excellent in the snow for the first 4 years but now Quebec law requires true snow tires for winter. Very good in the rain also.
The Yokohama TRZ is also excellent. There is also a new tire from Pirelli which looks like an good choice Pirelli Cinturato P5.
The Nokian is a very good tire but is expensive and tends to wear out quickly on dry roads or in summer.

[nipper]

I'm on my second set of Bridgestone T/A's. I like them alot, as they are a great value for the buck.


nipper

[cptnjosh]

Ok,
You need to visit www.tirerack.com . You just enter make/model/year in an it gives a full list of tire that fit your stock wheel size. They ship them to you via fedex, and the you take them to your local tire shop and get them mounted and balance for maybe $80. No alignment needed unless the car has not had one in a while or is showing symptoms of being out of alignment. 225/55/17 is the right size for your car.
I have had my General Altimax HP tires on for about 8000miles so far and love them. Very responsive tire for a the grand touring category. Have not ever broken traction with these tire and I drive enthusiastically. Wet performance is as good as the Goodyear Tripletreads (cost $50more/tire), and would bet they outperform them in dry conditions. Noise is low and the treadware rating is decent. I used them during our 2 weeks of snow in December in hilly Seattle and never had problem. Of course they stop like any other A/S on the snow and ice. Check out the reviews on tirerack and you will see that they are very positive. It is high performance grand touring all season with a value price.

On the other tires you list:
1. Bridgestone Turanza serenity- sound quiet, good performance in most conditions, but very poor in snow and ice
2. yoko TRZ- good well rounded tire
3. yoko Geolander- this is and All Terrain tire with aggressive tread. Don't bother
4. Michilin Hydroedge- very comparable to the Tripletread and Altimax. Edged out tripletread in dry perfomance. premium price
5. Goodyear Tripletread- great all season traction. excelling in wet and snowy conditions. although snow traction is compromised after a few years. excellent treadware. your mileage will go down 2m/gal.
6. B/F Goodrich Traction T/A-great all around tire, but a bit noisy.
7. Nokian WrG2- specialized tire for folks that spend a alot of time in snowy conditions. way too expensive for a tire.
8. General Grabbers are also All Terrain tires- great tires for trails but not practical for your application

Check out tirerack and read the reviews, then you decide.

[sleepguy]

I'll be taking off my winter tires soon and need some new tires. Since I have winter tires should I still go with the recommended all seasons? Also, does anyone have any experience with a "rain tire"? I guess their special tread design extracts water at a faster pace and you tend to have less hydroplaning. I'm in New England, not Seattle Washington, but I thought they might keep you in control more?
The local tire shop didn't recommend them, something about wear and not having a practical design for every day use. Anyone?

[Blacky]

You don't need a rain tire in Mass., they are soft and wear quicker. If you're worried about hydroplaning, TripleTred is an excellent choice. Good in the snow too.
There aren't really many choices in summer tires other than low profile, high and ultra high performance.

[Button]

To All,

I've read that people claim to loose MPG's when switching to GYTTT. Has anybody kept mileage records for before/after TTT's?

Regards,
~Button

[Entropy]

Originally posted by Blacky
You don't need a rain tire in Mass., they are soft and wear quicker. If you're worried about hydroplaning, TripleTred is an excellent choice. Good in the snow too.
There aren't really many choices in summer tires other than low profile, high and ultra high performance.

I think the TT has basically replaced all of GY's previous rain tires, and has the key features (tread that channels to the sides) of a rain tire.

Whenever I wear out my RE92s I'll be putting GYTTs on the vehicle.

[sleepguy]

I ended up purchasing the GY TTT's. Nice looking tires! So far they seem to perform well. Haven't driven in the rain yet. I did my routine 40 mile trip, average speed in the 40's and I did notice some improved mpg's. Although I went from winter tires to these.

[BrianM]

Originally posted by Button
To All,

I've read that people claim to loose MPG's when switching to GYTTT. Has anybody kept mileage records for before/after TTT's?

Regards,
~Button

I have not kept detailed fuel records but can say for certain that I have noticed no change in mileage with the TTs when spot checking mileage. I went from RE92s to worn RE92s to TTs to very worn TTs to now my second brand new set of TTs. Mileage has been very consistent. Just took about a 400 mile road trip on my new set of TTs and averaged 30.4mpg.