ms3 tire advice

bustanut

Member
Im in need of 2 new tires on my ms3 and considering switching brands due to the fact that the stock tires seem overpriced. The cheapest ive found them for is about 240 a piece and usually backordered. I want a quality tire and will spend what i have to but i have a feeling i can get a different tire for cheaper without losing quality. So my question is that is there another option for cheaper tires that compare to these? Also i only need 2 tires and dont want to compromise performance by having different tires upfront and back. Would there be negative issues? Also there doesnt seem to many options of tires for the stock size that comes on the ms3. Should i maybe switch to a 225? Like i said i really like how these tires perform but want to see if i can save some money without being unhappy about the new tires
 
Can't go wrong with the Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 or Michelin Pilot Sport PS2.

Both are available in 225/40-18 at tirerack(dot)com.
 
As maczter saied.. Check out tirerack - you can specify the car and exact model (yes the MS3 is there) and it will give you all the tire choices for the car and prices on them...

I doubt the Goodyears will be cheaper than the Bridgestones btw... and just be thankfull they arent runflats...
 
so i finally got the 2 new tires and went with 225/45 instead of 215/45. I was thinking of going with 225/40 but i was convinced to stick with 45. So the 2 options i had were kuhmo's for 118 each or dunlops for 145. I debated the 2 until i saw they had weights on both and the dunlops were only 19 pounds compared to the 25 pound kuhmo's so i paid the extra for the dunlops. Is there an issue for having the little wider tire? Is the extra 6 pounds per tire obviously worth the extra money right? What do the stock potenzas weigh in at? I do seem to notice the front being stickier with the new tires but not sure if it has to do with the width being a tad wider or maybe its a stickier tire, not sure.
 
If i were u, id still go with BS RE050. I just checked the price on tirerack.com
their price for 225/45/R18 is 193 and if you buy set of four, you can get 100 bucks back, i think that's good deal to me. even if you don't get four, it just 50 bucks more than kuhmo's and dunlop.
 
So you have 215's on the rear and 225's on the front. Thats ghetto. I like to do matched sets of 4 tires for the most part. Mismatched tires even of the same size create unusual handleing charateristics. I have seen people plan this to get certain handeling requirements, but I think you were mearly looking for the cheapest solution to bigger tires?
 
Not to mention that different size tires means you cant rotate them and the life of the tires will go to s***.

Those Khumos arent bad I am sure but not nearly as good as the Potenzas or any other tire rated at 200AA or less. That 320 AA rating means that they are harder compound and wont handle as well.

Now I dont know from experience so dont quote me on this. It has been what I have been reading about and learning so someone else can confirm or shoot this down.
 
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yea they are harder thats y the life is longer...but i dont do any track racing or autox so i will buy these when the time comes and let you guys know how they feel..
 
When i look at tires i find the specs of the stock tire (overal dimensions and treadwear) and try to find t suitable match within my price range.

a 235/40/18 tire from Sumitomo has a overal size of 25.4 " (stock is 25.7) and its only 1" wider. Has a TW of 220. though i do notice its recommended for a 8" rim so its up to you.
Cheap though only 95.00 each. so its almost as soft and an inch wider. plus cheap. Need to check on the whole rim width thing, but it should fit stock wheels just fine and i don't think gaining .5" on each side of the tire would interfere with anything............ atleast i hope not.
 
whitey4311 said:
Not to mention that different size tires means you cant rotate them and the life of the tires will go to s***.

Those Khumos arent bad I am sure but not nearly as good as the Potenzas or any other tire rated at 200AA or less. That 320 AA rating means that they are harder compound and wont handle as well.

Now I dont know from experience so dont quote me on this. It has been what I have been reading about and learning so someone else can confirm or shoot this down.

Sure you can rotate them. You'd just alternate between having the bigger ones on the front axle and having the big ones on the rear axle. (dunno)
 
bustanut said:
Im in need of 2 new tires on my ms3 and considering switching brands due to the fact that the stock tires seem overpriced. The cheapest ive found them for is about 240 a piece and usually backordered. I want a quality tire and will spend what i have to but i have a feeling i can get a different tire for cheaper without losing quality. So my question is that is there another option for cheaper tires that compare to these? Also i only need 2 tires and dont want to compromise performance by having different tires upfront and back. Would there be negative issues? Also there doesnt seem to many options of tires for the stock size that comes on the ms3. Should i maybe switch to a 225? Like i said i really like how these tires perform but want to see if i can save some money without being unhappy about the new tires


how many miles did you get out of them?
 
Tirerack isnt the only place to buy tires from, you guys know that right???? Try edgeracing.com for starters, much cheaper.....
 
maczter said:
Sure you can rotate them. You'd just alternate between having the bigger ones on the front axle and having the big ones on the rear axle. (dunno)


I hope you are joking?
 
clos561 said:
yea they are harder thats y the life is longer...but i dont do any track racing or autox so i will buy these when the time comes and let you guys know how they feel..


Harder means they last longer and also means less grip to the road. This is why a good sport tire will cost more and the ones on the car are more then likely the best choice for this car and performance.

Since the price came down I will be buying them for sure when the time comes.
 
whitey4311 said:
I hope you are joking?

Not particularly, but this is my first FWD car. Do you not rotate front to rear? (dunno)

I just give the guys my keys and say "Rotate please" and they do it. Never watched to see where things get moved to.

Edit: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=43

"On front wheel drive cars, rotate the tires in a forward cross pattern (fig. A) or the alternative X pattern (fig. B)"

And his new tires are only marginally wider than the old ones, so that shouldn't be a factor.
 
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