My daily needs a new set of tires (215/60R-16). It's been 6-7 years since I've bought tires so a morning price inquiry gave me quite a shock. My local tire shop's owner recommended either General or Michelin depending on how much I wanted to spend. The General runs about $125 per tire mounted/balanced, the Michelin run about $165 per tire mounted/balanced. The car currently has General tires on it and I was planning on going with the Defender, until I heard their price. Are these decent prices or should I look at other brands and stores such as Discount tire?
General or Michelin
Tire brand is very important, yet the exact tire model also important.
By the way, on Discount tire direct they offer some General Tires as cheap as $59 [source] I do not know if it's legitimate)
should I look at other brands
Personally, I usually go with Falken Tire - great Japanese tires and they're usually well priced too.
I'd recommend a ZIEX 960 A/S if you need all season performance tires.
They usually come with long tread life warranties, the best possible treadwear indexes, and some of the best test results.
(On Discount tire direct, they're $112 each, [source])
Don’t make the mistake I made a few years ago. Most of us have heard of Goodyear tires. I had gotten “Goodride” brand tires, the cheapest option at NTB. Goodride was horrible. The brands others have mentioned seem like good picks for tires.
I'm honestly surprised Goodyear didn't sue Goodride for infringement. That's totally a Goodyear knock-off.
Like everything else, prices on tires have gone way up in the last couple of years.
General recommendation I usually follow for regular tires using the "good, better, best" model is:
Good: WalMart "Douglas" tires (made by Goodyear)
Better: General RT43 (new model is RT45)
Best: Michelin
If looking for a decent budget tire it's hard to beat WalMart's Douglas brand. The ones I've bought over the years have been made in the USA or Brazil. Currently your size is $73 each, figure by the time you get them mounted and balanced about $100 per tire. To go less than that you'd likely be looking at cheap/junk Chinese tires.
The Michelin Defender 2 is a great tire (put them on my Daughter's car), and the long treadwear will offset the initial cost. But, yeah, they're expensive. The General Altimax RT45 is also good and the price is right. I'd also look at the Continental PureContact LS, which also comes in your size (I had them a few years ago and loved them).
Really, those are all good choices, and you really can't go wrong with any of them.
See if they produce a Kelly all-season tire with your specifications. I bought Kelly all-terrain tires for my '99 Ranger 4 years ago, and I had Kelly tires on my HHR 7 years ago. They're basically bottom-shelf Goodyear tires. I got my tires at Tire Discounters both times.
When I got my Ranger's tires, Goodyear was actually running a special at that time. Tire Discounters didn't have any in stock. They ordered the tires and even price matched the Goodyear store's offer. I got 4 new tires for like $600. They're also Made in USA.
I would want to know what your driving is like before recommending much. How much do you drive a year, do you live in dry climate, wet climate with lots of rain, snow etc?
Let me first say I appreciate everyone's recommendations and advice, thank you.
Not sure about he specific model tire my local owner suggested in the General tire brand. Guess I was still a bit shell-shocked at the high quote of the Michelin Defender. 90% of my driving is stop and go city driving with 20 minute jaunts to nearby cities. Living in upstate South Carolina, we only get 2 to 4 significant snowfalls per winter, inclement weather is mostly heavy rain here but I prefer an all season tire. Again, great advice, thanks!
Then all of the above should work.
It's good to know I have several options, tks.
I got some Hankook Kingery PT tires from Mavis tire a couple of months ago. I pitted them against walmart and they made it worth it.
So far I really like the tires, I drive them for delivery, and they are good in wet, and in the twisties on mountain roads. They have very long life, supposedly 90k miles. I used the Falken Ziex 950 before, but they only lasted like 18k miles, though they handled great. The ones @dan mentioned were a different type, so maybe they last longer.
When I had my prius a few years back, I wanted something that was good in all conditions. I chose the Nokian WR G4 tires, and they were great. They were really good in rain, even not bad in ice and snow. They are an all weather tire, close to all season, but made for a little worse weather, like rain and snow/ice. I would suggest taking a look at those, especially if you are in the spartanburg area. It is nice knowing that your tires won't lose traction as easily, when the rain and snow hits. A quick look shows the price at Walmart, not on sale at $130 a tire.
Quite familiar with Spartanburg as I went to college there ions ago. My family ran an Independent Goodyear store back in the day so my knowledge of prices/models today is antiquated. Familiar with tires in general but not specific models. The replies have been very helpful as I was hoping for models/series as well as brands. Someone mentioned the series being as important as the brand - I agree. Brand is less important than the particular series tire to me. Will def give the Hankooks a look also
The Ziex 960 A/S has a 65k treadwear warranty and the best possible thread wear index so I’m guessing it will last more.
I previously had Falken Ziex (it was a summer tire not available in the US, ZE310 EcoRun) on a Corolla and they didn’t wear even a bit in the 45k miles I had the car.
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And yep I agree. they handle great, I discovered them when I had a Hyundai Accent 4th gen (they’re known for oversteering like crazy) and replacing the OEM tire with Falken Ziex and it made the car handle noticeably better.
The ones I had were 45k mile tires. I had no complaints other than short life, but then again, I got them for $75 a piece, so not bad.
For most of my vehicles I don't even worry about that. The tires will age out and dry-rot before they reach anywhere near the mileage rating of just about any on the market. Usually when I buy new tires the old ones still have plenty of tread left.
Hankook Kingery PT tires
@nlord haven't been able to find the PT series at Wally World.. were the tires you bought the Hankook Kingery GT instead of the Hankook Kingery PT series? Only see the GT at Walmart .
Here is the complete model. Hankook Kinergy PT H737 All-Season Tire - 215/60R16 95T - That was right from walmart.
I saw many complaints about the GT. Here is some interesting info I snagged from Tire Rack.
Tires Tested
Continental TrueContact (Standard Touring All-Season, 215/60R16 95T)
What We Liked: Ride and noise comfort are top-notch, a proven winter performer.
What We'd Improve: The around-town steering response and handling could be a little more involving.
Conclusion: Should deliver many miles of satisfaction.
Hankook Kinergy PT (Standard Touring All-Season, 215/60R16 95H)
What We Liked: Delivered best in test performance in our dry and wet track testing.
What We'd Improve: The ride is a little firm, feels nervous over grooved concrete.
Conclusion: A new option that is a good addition to the category.
Michelin Defender T+H (Standard Touring All-Season, 215/60R16 95H)
What We Liked: Feels sporty around town, performs at a relatively high level in all aspects.
What We'd Improve: It could be a little quieter with a more forgiving ride.
Conclusion: A solid choice for your daily commute.
Pirelli P4 Four Seasons Plus (Standard Touring All-Season, 215/60R16 95T)
What We Liked: The ride is composed and refined.
What We'd Improve: Needs a big increase in wet traction to keep up with the competition.
Conclusion: A nice tire for nice days, but be careful if it rains.
Couldn't find it at Walmart because their site doesn't show the Hankook PT as an option for my car using their 'tire selector tool'. Something amiss on their end. Searching using size + brand - IT IS listed but shows, "Looks like this tire won't fit your vehicle", which of course is wrong. Thanks & appreciate the research