OK!!! I am ready to upgrade from the stock Toyo's. I am taking the winter tires off this week and really don't want to go back to the crappy Toyos!!! So what has everyone else done, and what do they recommend? Thanks in advance for any and all help 
What new tires do you recommend?
- Thread starter opus
- Start date
The new OEM tires are Yokohama Avid S34, 205/50R17. I have no real complaints about them other than the price - about $165 before mounting, tire disposal, balancing, etc.
The other tire I considered when I had a flat after 600 miles on the car were the Bridgestone GT's. About $130 per tire and had excellent ratings on TireRack's site. But in the end I just replaced the Yokohama with the same tire but paid an extra $100 for road hazard warranty for all four tires ($23.50 each, plus tax). Discount Tires. Plus I now have free rotation.
The other tire I considered when I had a flat after 600 miles on the car were the Bridgestone GT's. About $130 per tire and had excellent ratings on TireRack's site. But in the end I just replaced the Yokohama with the same tire but paid an extra $100 for road hazard warranty for all four tires ($23.50 each, plus tax). Discount Tires. Plus I now have free rotation.
I have these and they are great tires:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes&place=3
Yes, they are 215/50/17s. I would not go back to the 205s for any reason.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes&place=3
Yes, they are 215/50/17s. I would not go back to the 205s for any reason.
My (used) 5 came with the tires "MD5" posted above on the front, and mostly bald stock Toyos on the back. I can tell you that combo was pretty bad in rain, and completely useless in the winter (think "trouble going up inclines" bad). The Ecstas would be OK if you only ever drove on dry roads, but on my car they spun with anything more than light acceleration in rain/snow. Hope this helps.
I have these on my Mazda6i and love them:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Sizes.jsp?make=Dunlop&model=Direzza+Sport+Z1+Star+Spec
They are the best tires I have ever used for traction in dry and wet conditions. No good for cold (below freezing) or snow use.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Sizes.jsp?make=Dunlop&model=Direzza+Sport+Z1+Star+Spec
They are the best tires I have ever used for traction in dry and wet conditions. No good for cold (below freezing) or snow use.
If you want to go for a 215/50 R 17, you might look at the Nexen CP641. Just put a set of 195/50 R 15s on my Toyota Echo and am very pleased so far. I just don't drive aggressive enough to warrant a full on UHP tire.
Out 5s Toyos are holding up pretty good (though they are summer only tires), but unless my Nexen's wear through fast, I'll look at them when the 5 is in need of new shoes.
Out 5s Toyos are holding up pretty good (though they are summer only tires), but unless my Nexen's wear through fast, I'll look at them when the 5 is in need of new shoes.
was98strat
Member
I'm starting my 4th summer on the OEM Toyo's and as far as I can tell I might just get a 5th summer. I don;t know what people are doing to wear down the stock toyos so fast. I'm a bit of an agressive driver and they are lasting a lot longer than the Pirelli P3's I had on my other car (they were rated for 110,000km and were shot by 40,000k)
the thing I noticed is the Toyo's appear to have 2 sets of wear indicators and I think that fools alot of people. I thought I was at the wear bars but the real wear bars don't show up until there is only 2/32 of tread left . the "fake" set (they don't cross the entire width of the tread) show up at 6/32 . I'm at 7/32 and it almost fooled me!
the OEM's while not the greatest tire around sure do last a long time!
the thing I noticed is the Toyo's appear to have 2 sets of wear indicators and I think that fools alot of people. I thought I was at the wear bars but the real wear bars don't show up until there is only 2/32 of tread left . the "fake" set (they don't cross the entire width of the tread) show up at 6/32 . I'm at 7/32 and it almost fooled me!
the OEM's while not the greatest tire around sure do last a long time!
brarsandeep
Member
- :
- '08 Mazda5
I recently bought a used '08 5 and it had the OEM Toyo's on it. The car has 12,000 miles on it and the tire are almost bald on the inside. The rest of the tires only have little bit of tread left. I just purchased a set of 215 50 17 KUMHO ECSTA ASX. I went with the bigger size just cause they were a bit cheaper. Only throws off the speedo by 1mph at 60mph.
When I get them put on at the dealer, I am going to have them check the Camber/Toe to see if it is within tolerance. Hopefully the Kunhos will last longer than one year.
When I get them put on at the dealer, I am going to have them check the Camber/Toe to see if it is within tolerance. Hopefully the Kunhos will last longer than one year.
Thanks for the feedback MD5
No issues whatsoever. This is my second set of these tires. If I had issues, I never would have bought them again.
I'm not sure what the other member is talking about unless they were bald, and then we all know how bald tires perform in the rain(hand)
I refuse to buy directional tires for a mini van. We're not out autocrossing.
Saskatchewan17
Member
- :
- 2008 TR Mazdaspeed 3
You have a set of winters? There's no reason, then, to not get a great set of sticky summer tires. Try these:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes&place=4
They last a pretty long time, they are sticky, ultra high performance tires, and they are the best rated in their class by all tirerack.com users.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes&place=4
They last a pretty long time, they are sticky, ultra high performance tires, and they are the best rated in their class by all tirerack.com users.
The Monkey
Member
I went with some cheapisth 215/55R-17 from Discount tire...they were the Falken brand. I think its a house brand.
http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/fi...yr=2006&pc=18176&cf=false&vid=011015&sw=false
I freaking love them and I would never go back to th 205/50. It is such a smoother softer ride now having more tire and I don't scrap the front of my car anymore leaving my driveway. Speed bumps and crappy roads are much smoother too. The lower profile tires look cool but as a practical family car they suck.
http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/fi...yr=2006&pc=18176&cf=false&vid=011015&sw=false
I freaking love them and I would never go back to th 205/50. It is such a smoother softer ride now having more tire and I don't scrap the front of my car anymore leaving my driveway. Speed bumps and crappy roads are much smoother too. The lower profile tires look cool but as a practical family car they suck.
Wider = better handling, at the expense of fuel economy (probably -2%)
Lol, Falken is definitely not a house brand, the Falken ZIEX ZE-512 and its successor the ZE-912 is a very popular tire among those looking for a great performance tire for a great price. Expect them to get noisy as the tread wears down though. It's a sacrifice many are willing to take as the tire does cost about 30% less than similar performance tires, but if comfort was your main concern, there are better tires we could've recommended to you.
At first I would've thought to be the reason as well, but the poster says: "I refuse to buy directional tires for a mini van. We're not out autocrossing."
So, it seems the reason is not for handling. So I wanted to know why the poster preferrred them.
Personally I'm going the opposite direction. I'm having Goodyear assurance tripletreds mounted on saturday with an alignment for the measly price of $1035 and some change.
