When the Toyos Wear Out

[Saluki]

What are people buying to replace the factory tires? The Toyos are not bad on dry pavement, but dont perform nearly as well in ice and snow as all-season tires i have had on previous vehicles.

Where I am at, there is simply not enough bad winter weather to justify dedicated snow tires, but there is enough to try to get something better than the factory tires.

 

[DKaz]

If you want all-seasons that are ok on snow or ice, hands down the Nokian WR G2 All-Weather tire, carries the snowflake and mountain emblem for severe winter weather service but has year round treadwear rating. It's decent in the snow (better than all other all-season tires), good on ice, and beyond awesome in wet weather. Would you ever drive through that 3" puddle on the Interstate at 70mph? With the WR G2s you will not hydroplane through that at all. Very good in slushy weather as well. It's also very good on dry pavement, the steering response is decent and it's got good grip.

Also recommend Goodyear Assurance Tripletreds and Hankook Optimo 4S. The Toyo Versado LX is also said to be really good in light snow and ice.

As with all studless tires though, be careful with black ice.

 

[KBrian]

The all-weather tire seems to be a better compromise over all-season tires as the winter performance is much better without sacrificing wet/dry performance.

I have driven the Goodyear tripletread both in wet and in snowy conditions and been very satisfied (Nissan Murano AWD).

 

[SGT_OKINAWA]

Ummmm.... these.

Peace!(rei)

 

[Mr5ive]

On my old 5, I downsized to 16" wheels with Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S tires. The Michelins were a vast improvement over the stock Toyos. They had great wet and dry grip, wore well and were comfortable and quiet. They also performed passably through 3 NJ winters.

My new 5 will need new tires in the spring, and I will probably get the Michelins again.

What are people buying to replace the factory tires? The Toyos are not bad on dry pavement, but dont perform nearly as well in ice and snow as all-season tires i have had on previous vehicles.

Where I am at, there is simply not enough bad winter weather to justify dedicated snow tires, but there is enough to try to get something better than the factory tires.

 

[lindsayt]

On my old 5, I downsized to 16" wheels with Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S tires. The Michelins were a vast improvement over the stock Toyos. They had great wet and dry grip, wore well and were comfortable and quiet. They also performed passably through 3 NJ winters.

My new 5 will need new tires in the spring, and I will probably get the Michelins again.

I was just going to mention the Pilot Exaltos. I live in Minneapolis, where we have snow from October to May and winter temps can get down below -20 F for extended periods. I used Pilot Exaltos on my old car and they were great all through the year, even in the depths of winter. Not *quite* as grippy as snow tires, but being in the city they were certainly plenty good.

They're available in 205/50R17, I think. Why did you choose to go with the 16" wheels? I'm thinking I'll go with them myself, but thought I'd stick with the stock size...

 

[Heat]

On my old 5, I downsized to 16" wheels with Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S tires...

What was the size of the tires? I'm interested in eventually moving to 16" rims with wider profile tires.

 

[Mr5ive]

Why did you choose to go with the 16" wheels? I'm thinking I'll go with them myself, but thought I'd stick with the stock size...

I went with 16s because they're cheaper than 17s, and because I wanted the extra sidewall as protection against the lunar-surface roads we have in NJ. The 16" Michelins improved the ride comfort over the stock 17" Toyos, but didn't have any noticeable drop off in performance.

 

[Mr5ive]

What was the size of the tires? I'm interested in eventually moving to 16" rims with wider profile tires.

I went with 205/55/16. 225/50s would also probably work.

 

[doctorz]

Michelin Pilot Exaltos here too. Best thing we ever did for the 5.

 

[suPREMACY]

I put on a set of Yokohama Avid W4S in 225/45/17 about 4000 miles ago, and they (so far) seem to do everything better than the Toyos.

 

[5zoom]

I went with the Yokohama YK520 and have been very happy with them on my 08 5AT. I stayed with the 205/50/17 size. I've got about 13k on them now and hope they are good for more than 40k, especially with a 520 tread rating. I know there is no standard on treadratings, but one can hope.

 

[dan4behr]

I've mentioned this on other threads, but I went with the Kuhmo Escta LX. I live in North Carolina and don't get a whole of of heavy winter weather, and have found the Kuhmo have worked well for my daily driving which I'd describe as "sanely enthusiastic".

I would have loved to try the Michelin Pilot Exalto, but at over $200 apiece, they were a bit dear for this modestly-paid state employee(unamused)

 

[schokie]

+1 for the Kuhmo Platinum LX. Nice quiet ride and good handling in rain. Much cheaper than the Michelins. Got mine for about $125 apiece in stock size.

 

[sethro_GT]

Just installed Continental Extreme Contact DWS's on the 5 yesterday. Stock size, $660 installed. Great looking tire and high reviews. Also, I did notice they have a large rim guard which would have been nice on the old yoko's. My wife has put a few dings in the wheels. I'll try to remember to report on performance in a month or so.

Note that it was a toss up between these and the Kumho LX's, came down to availability.

 

[MD5]

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123766846

 

[m5pa]

I've had good luck with the Yokohama Avid tires in both H and V speed ratings. Not as sporty as the Toyos. Not sure if the Avids comes in the M5 size.

 

[ExDusterRacer]

I'm glad I found this thread. With only 1 year of ownership and 30K miles on
my M5, the tires seem to be about half worn out. I don't think I'll make
another year on the original tires. Since these wore out so soon, I don't think
I'll replace them with another set of the same make.

Thanks for the ideas, y'all!

 

[KBrian]

60K miles on a set of tires is very good wear. I have had lots of sets of tires wear out in 20K under a heavy right foot.

The stock goodyear gatorbacks on my LX 5.0 were gone in less than 10K (back in my misspent youth), even the front tires

 

[Snagjim]

Last spring I replaced the OEM Toyos with a set of Dunlop SP Sport Signatures, in the OEM size. I've been impressed...they're much more responsive, and seem more resistant to hydroplaning than the Toyos. I plan to swap them onto my 2008 5AT.

I run a set of X-Ice 205/55-16 on steel rims in winter. They've been so-so - not nearly as good as the Hakka's I had on an older car. They'll be shot by next winter, so I'll welcome suggestions on replacements.