Tire n00b looking for advice - '03 Protege ES

O

ontario

Member
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2003 Mazda Protege ES
Hi there, Canadian member checking in. (canada)

I have an '03 Protege ES with the OEM tires still on it. (Dunlop whatevers)

The tire size is P195/50R16.

I am looking for an affordable replacement all-season tire.

Costco currently has a deal on Michelins where you get $60 off plus a new set of wipers if you buy Michelin.

However when I went to their website to place an order, it says it doesn't have any available for my car :/

When I go to the Michelin site, it does show that they have "MICHELIN Pilot Exalto A/S" in 195/50/16.

but if I go back to the Costco site and use "DX" instead of "ES" for my car type, it brings up those tires in 195/55/15 but they are $172.99 PER TIRE!!!!

I'm not willing to pay even close to that 0_0. and i would really like to have the same size, right? help... i am totally new to this - all i do with cars is drive them and put cheap gas in them.

Can anyone help me out? Should I just go to tirerack.com, pick out a set of 195/50/16s and shop around? (boom01)
 
check out tirerack.com man.....i don't know about shipping to canada but you can score tires under 90 bucks
 
i'm thinking Kumho Ecsta ASX?????

i'll shop around for these. shipping / duty from tirerack might be too much, i'll check with some local tire places.

any suggestions / help much appreciated
 
Dang. Thought this forum was more active.........

My buddy that runs a tire shop quoted me $678. CDN with tax for 4 Goodyear Assurance tires, mounted & balanced. That is ~$170 per tire. Seems like a lot.

He says they are rated for 105,000km and "a lot better tire than the Kumho or Dunlop". That said, he runs a Goodyear shop... so I think he might be a little biased.....

Looking for help here guys.
 
you can also go with 205/45/R16 it"s the same height just alittle wider that"s all I perf birdgestone RE750 or AVID H or V4's nice an sticky and very well priced.
 
The michelin piloto tires were stock on like 99 miatas...f- that though, the price is ridiculous.

Last year costco was having a buy 3 get 1 free sale on the michelin x (costco store brand michelin) here in detroit...i bought a set for my daily driver 91 civic...they are great little tires...probably the best tires i've ever had on a daily driver...good only if they are available in your size...you dont want the balloon tire 4x4 look

I just checked tirerack.com...looks like there are only expensive ass options in your size...umm...Kumho Ecsta ASX looks like the hot ticket
 
Do you have a set of dedicated Winter Tires? If you don't I should bonk you on the head for that. If you do then perhaps you want to look at dedicated summer tires for the summer. 195/50/r16 would be ideal for someone like yourself, but the selection sucks in that size. I would NOT consider 205/45/r16, but rather 205/50/r16 as your only other viable option.

You know this - or you should - you GET what you pay for with tires.

Michilen Pilot Exalto A/S are AWESOME tires. I can certainly understand not wanting to pay that price and GREAT tires can be had for less.

I have read good things about the Kumho ASX tires. I had BFG Traction T/As. Stay away from them. They got very noisy later in their life.

If you were to consider summer dedicated tires, look at what I am looking at. Bridgestone Potenza RE760 in 205/50/r16.

What do you want from a tire? Low Noise? Performance and Handling and Nice Steering Response? Do you want cushy comfort and long lasting?

TireRACK.com is your 150% go-to resource on EVERYTHING tires, even if you don't buy from them. Reviews, Specs & General Info about everything tires.

Tires23 is local for us in GTA. 1010tires.com is Canadian equivalent of TireRack - kinda.
 
Kumho's are ok, also look into Falkens. For some reason the Kumho's didn't last too long (<2 years)
 
My mom has those Goodyear Assurance tires on her Grand Marquis and they are awesome all year round. I would definitely say they are worth every penny. Other than that I don't know much about all-season's, I have only bought a set of Yokohama YK520's as summers, they weren't bad in the rain and were pretty nice on in the corners in the dry. Not sure how they would handle in the snow, I had Yokohama IceGuards on in the winter. But like a couple of people mentioned check out tire rack, they do excellent reviews and they have a really competitive price.
 
Kumho Asx's are crap, the stock tires are good on treadwear but they are a little stiff, Only others Ive tried and so far very pleased with them are falken ziex (something) i think thats what they are.. But treadwear is great and good grip as well. I used to have to replace my tires atleast once a year with kumho.. been on these six months now and still look almost new
 
I run separate tires for summer and winter, something you really should consider based on your location.
And as a few others have said, forget the 195/50, not enough selection.
Go with 205/45 or 205/50.
 
Protephile said:
Hmmm, I don't think I know of anyone who's run 215s on the stock wheel.
Click to expand...


Using tire-size calculators it comes out nearly exactly the same circumfirence. HOWEVER, I wouldn't recommend this size on a 6" wide wheel and for someone such as the OP looking for A/S tires. Only enthusiasts knowing exactly what they are doing; willing to put up with the trade-offs.
 
According to Consumer Reports, the Falken Ziex 912s are at the top of the high-performance all-season list. Nitto makes a great, inexpensive all-season tire as well.
 
i got nexen 2000's, they're quiet, last long and cheap. 195-50-16 on my es. way better than the oem dunlops.
 
Hey ontario, you can order from Tirerack and they will include shipping+duty in their final cost. You will also have to pay the conversion rate.
You can also order from Canadian vendors.
www.1010tire.com (BC)
www.tiretrends.com (BC)

I highly recommend Allen at Simply Tire
allen@simplytire.com
http://www.simplytire.com/.
They are based in Toronto, so you may not have to pay shipping.

Another Toronto option is Tires23

Contact:
Billy or Terry
(905) 602-8881
1380 Matheson Blvd. E. Unit 5
Mississauga ON
Sales@tires23.com
www.Tires23.com

I will PM you for the toronto mazda boards URL, where you will get advise from Canadian members.

Ordering from Costco isn't a bad idea because they will rotate your tires for free for lifetime and Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S is one of the best All-Season tire you can get but as you've discovered, you're going to pay for the Michelin brand name.
Do not get 195-55-R15, they will not fit your stock 16" wheel because that is a 15" diameter tire.
 
My 02 now has Toyo Proxes 4, very happy.

Kumho ASX was a bad weather upgrade over oem Dunlop, and much cheaper.

Toyos are 10% more than Kumho from my local shop, worth it for a bit quieter, smoother, grippier on pavement, same on snow.
 
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