Need tire help!

[Ski4Ever]

OK, really...I'm not dumb, and I have seen the other posts about people wanting tire recommendations. However, my situation is a little specific, so that's why I didn't just post this as a reply to someone else's post (that, and I didn't want to attempt to hijack the post and get away from whatever was asked in the first place). So, here goes...

As you may or may not have read in my other post on this board about having tire rubbing issues when I upsized to 16" wheels/tires, I still am having these rubbing issues. It's not nearly as bad as it used to be when I had my first set of 16" wheels, but with 5 people in my OBS, going down the highway, if I hit a bump, it rubs. So, long story short, I went back to Discount Tire again, and the assistant manager has done some more research and he figures the cause of my rubbing must be that my tires are wider than some other 205/55/16s. He says that all tires that size are not really the same width, and showed me two tires side by side to prove it to me. Some sit more square on the wheel (no, I'm not saying the tires are square...hehe) than others, which causes them to be skinnier. So, the tires that I have must be wider than some others.

A couple of the tires he recommended were the Yokohama YK420, and the Michelin Destiny. I know nothing about either tire (other than the Yoko's are $99 each and have a 50,000 mile warranty while the Michelin's are $113 each and have an 80,000 mile warranty), but here's what I can tell you. They are going to allow me to "trade in" my tires that I have right now and cover the cost of any tires that I buy up to $95 each, even though the tires I have right now didn't cost me that much.

I want a tire that is a good all-season tire. I live in Colorado, and go skiing quite often (hence the nickname), so I need a tire that will do good in the snow, but at the same time, I don't want to have to buy a snow tire specifically for the snow just so that I can have a high-performance tire. I also don't want a cheap-o tire that's going to have lots of sidewall roll and squeal around corners, etc. While I don't race my OBS or anything, I still like to go out and have fun taking corners at high speeds, etc. Any suggestions?

If it helps you (it would definitely help me), you could look at the disount tire webpage (www.discounttire.com) to see what they have available. Click "Tires", choose Denver, Colorado as your city, and then click on the link allowing you to search by tire size, and look for tires of size 205/55/16. It's possible they might have other tires available that aren't listed, but I'm not sure. If you have a suggestion, let me know, and I can always ask and see if they can get it.

Thanks, and sorry for the long post,
Matt

[bheinz57]

Matt, get the Continental ContiExtreme Contact. Bar none. All the reviews I have looked at are great. An excellent performer in wet and snowy conditions. I would definitely put that tire on your 'to buy' list. Check them out. Your tire boys there have that tire in your size so I would suggest you highly consider them. I looked up the listed price at $101 which is a tad high, but then again they don't have to ship them to you like the Tire Rack.
You are lucky to have a company like your local Discount Tire to look after you for such a long time after your purchase.

Get 'em and let us know how they are from your perspective. Brian

[Ski4Ever]

I had heard you guys mention them before, but I thought there was a difference between what Discount Tire lists as "Continental Extreme Contacts", and what you mention as the "Continental ContiExtreme Contacts". Wasn't sure if it was a different model or anything.

Anyway, what are the advantages/disadvantages of having a directional tire? Of course that means that tire rotations should only be done front to back, not criss-cross or anything, but I think I read somewhere that AWD cars should only have tires rotated front to back anyway, so I guess that's not an issue. The only thing I can remember reading is that directional tires don't provide as much traction in reverse...but, considering how often one drives in reverse, I don't see that as a problem either.

So, what are the pros/cons since I can't seem to come up with any? I've never had directional tires before.

Thanks,
Matt

[Ignatius]

Sorry Brian I'll have to disagree with you on this one, Matt said he needed a somewhat skinny tire and I've known Conti's to be a little chubby around the edges.

Once again I'll have to recommend Nokian, which are know to be very skinny with hardly anything sticking out beyond the rim. Matt go ahead and read some of my posts about them in the other threads if you'd like, I looked over at eTires.com for you and they have Nokian NRW's for $117 or Nokian WR's for $138. Read some of our opinions in other threads and hopefully you can get a good set of tires for yourself

[Ski4Ever]

Yeah, I was afraid of that. I was going to call my tire guy today and ask him about the Conti width and see what he thought.

As for getting Nokians, are they truly a good "all season" tire? I really would rather not spend that much on tires (Nokian is phasing out the NRW, in favor of the more advanced, and more expensive WR).

Does anyone have any experience or knowledge about the 2 tires that were recommended to me by the tire guy (the Yoko YK420 and the Michelin Destiny)?

Matt

[bheinz57]

ContiExtremes-

89V load
24.9 tire diameter
8.4 overall section width (on a 6.5" rim)
5.5-7.5 rim width

205/55/16

Oh, Matt aren't you running a 7" wide rim?
Brian

[Ski4Ever]

Yes, it's a 16X7 with a 47mm offset.

[Ski4Ever]

OK, I just talked to the tire guy...he said that the ContiExtremeContacts don't have any sort of mileage warranty, unlike the other tires he listed which have warranties that range between 50000 and 70000 miles. He said the Contis are definitely a great tire, but wear pretty fast and estimated that I would get about 20K-25K miles on them. That right there is enough to make me not want to buy them.

Bah...why is nothing ever easy.

Matt

[bheinz57]

Matt, and everyone reading this...When was the last time you used a tire treadlife 'warranty' Anyone? I have never, and I don't recall anyone I know either. Remember, treadlife warranty, not road hazard or manufacturer defect. The Conti's still have other warranties, just not treadlife. I have heard 98% good/great on those tires. The price is cheap also. I have not heard or read any reviews that say they wear fast like your tire dude told you.
It's never easy, Matt. I just know that my OBS will be sitting on the Conti's by this year's end. Brian

[Ski4Ever]

Yeah, my main concern wasn't that there wasn't a treadlife warranty because I planned on using the warranty, but rather that because there isn't a treadlife warranty, they probably won't last as long as other tires. Like you said, I've never used a treadlife warranty either, and don't know anyone that has. But, it would be nice to hear Continental say "Yeah, you should expect to get 50000 miles out of these tires, so we'll warranty them for that".

Heck...I just don't know what to do.