Re: look vs. performance vs. price (new tires recommendation)

[Mike Klein <klein@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1999 09:03:18 -1000
> From: Paul Cuaresma <cuaresm@domain.elided>
> Subject: look vs. performance vs. price (new tires recommendation)
> 
>  I do mostly commuting
> with the occasional spurt of spirited driving.  I need a tire that
> performs great dry and especially WET.  The car goes motstly stop and go
> through town rather than 50mph+ on the freeway.  And another thing too I
> live in hawaii.  Finally I do not expect to pay more than $110 on each
> tire or $550 altogether.  And yes I am going to replace the spare too.  

<opinion mode on>
Paul, I just got new tires this morning :-) on our nearly new 323iC.  The OEM
tires were Michelin Energy MXV4's (car had standard suspension).  After
suffering too many times through the OEM's tire choice on our cars, I decided
this time I'd sell the Michelins nearly new and get some better tires right off
the bat.  The Michelins are certainly decent tires for the intent (all season),
but personally I have never yet found a Michelin tire worth the money they
fetch.  There always seem to be superior tires at lower prices *if you do the
research*.  I think this applies, as far as I can tell, to all performance
ranges I am familiar with (performance and touring).
<opinion mode off>

OK, that said.... I replaced them with Bridgestone RE71's after nothing but
exceptionally positive responses from numerous digest/lists, newsgroups, and
Tire Rack.  With 5 miles on them so far I can tell a big difference.  The RE71s
have outstanding transient steering response, clearly better traction (too new
to test limits), very solid overall roadholding and stability, and strong
positive recommendations from others for wet conditions.

As an aside but somewhat relevant here, some listers might remember I had a
kind of big problem with steering play when the car was brand new.  That
problem has now been entirely eliminated through two things:

	- car as delivered had 3 of 4 wheels out of alignment, and
	- better tires

So for the conditions you describe, I can highly recommend these tires if
they're available in your size.  They are one of the few very high-performance
tires available for the narrower and smaller wheels it seems you have (my tire
size is 205/60-15).  They are an outstanding performer for the cost ($85 each
at Costco; ~ $80 at Tire Rack).  The treadwear rating (140) indicates they'll
last less than half as long as the Michelins; I'll expect maybe 20k (I've heard
of MXV4's lasting upwards of 50-60k).

For other performance ranges what I've settled on are:

1. Extremely high perf street legal (i.e. mostly street, occasional track use):
Firestone SZ50, now on my '87 911, or Dunlop SP8000 (a close runner up in my
analysis; no direct experience).  The SZ50s are very similar in design and
construction to the Bridgestone S-02 (same company) but substantially cheaper. 
Not quite but close to the same class of performance as the S-02, Yoko Nexus,
and MXX3.  See especially the Tire Rack's comparative handling ratings.  Highly
recommended, although not broadly known outside of Mustang and Corvette
circles.  (Note: the 911 had Michelin XGT-Zs on it when I bought it in '96; the
PO was apologetic about it saying they were the worst tires he'd had on them
and would take back the Yokohama AVS-Intermediates any day.  I agree: for this
price and performance expectation they had vague steering, sub-par traction,
and were stiff and noisy.)

2. All-Season Touring: Bridgestone Turanza-T on our Previa van.  Relatively
inexpensive (I think about $50), very reasonable traction and steering
response, long treadwear, and decent snow performance for our 1-2 trips/year
into the Sierras.  I'm not that critical on this car but am very happy with the
tires, although I've added a rear sway bar for more balanced handling :-).

3. Mid-range performance, low cost: Yokohama A509.  About $70 for pretty long
wear (30-40k on a VW Jetta) and very reasonable handling (main negative point:
not real crisp steering response -- soft sidewalls).

All the above fit the requirement of very good wet performance but outstanding
dry for their intended purpose.

		-Mike

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