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The Camry has BF Goodrich Advantage T/A tires, which rate okay according to tirerack, with merely "good" ratings for deep snow and ice traction.
The reason I asked is that, while there's always the possibility I buy it out in the end, this car is leased for three years for 15k miles per year, so if I turn it in, it will have 40-45 miles on it. Possibly at that time I would have to put on some new tires to avoid some big charge. So, if the OEM tires aren't good, then I thought why not put on good tires within the first few thousand miles, and save the old ones to put on as the lease period ends (what's the best way to store tires for 3 years?).
But, it they're decent enough tires, then I'd just use them for the lease period, and if need be get some similarly cheap ones to replace at the end, if I indeed need to replace them.
I do live in the Midwest, so there is seasonal snow and ice and heavy rain. Though, I don't drive for work or anything, so I can generally avoid the worst of road conditions for all but a short period of time, save those times when it comes on fast and I'm far from home.
I like your idea of pulling the crummy OEM tires when you get the car, put some good skins on it, then when you are ready to turn the lease in, put the OEMs back on. If you store the tires upright, on their tread, rather than on the sidewall, they should be fine for 3 years of storage. Put them in a cool, dark place and you should be good.
I like your idea of pulling the crummy OEM tires when you get the car, put some good skins on it, then when you are ready to turn the lease in, put the OEMs back on. If you store the tires upright, on their tread, rather than on the sidewall, they should be fine for 3 years of storage. Put them in a cool, dark place and you should be good.
Now that I learned they're even worse than I originally thought, it's probably what I'll do. Though, there's only 900 miles on the car, so I'll probably try to get a little use out of the OEMS before replacing them - somewhere between 3 and 10k miles, though maybe 10 is too much (and I guess why not get the as much use of the good tires as possible). How they perform in heavy rain, snow, ice will may force my hand. In central Illinois it's tough to know when winter weather will come (could have snow and ice intermittently starting in October, or it could be fall-like through much of December). Though the heavy rain is a certainty.
New Camry SE and the tires of course look good and have no tread wear. It's summer and there's only been light rain in the 20 days I've had it. But, I'm wondering if they're good for heavy rain and winter driving.
Are OEM tries usually up to snuff?
OEM tires are designed for a specific vehicle's intended use/performance. If a smooth, quiet ride is the goal, the OEM tires will enhance those qualities. If the car is more performance-oriented, the OEM tires will be biased toward handling more than comfort. The brand of tire used is typically based on who can deliver the desired traits at the lowest price.
A perfect example would be the tires that came on my 2006 Mazda3. They were Goodyear Eagle GT-somethings (I forget) and they only lasted until 23k miles. They were designed for handling over everything else and it was obvious (in retrospect). It handled like it was on rails, but the ride comfort and road noise levels were excessive. Their obvious handling bias also reduced longevity, according to the manager at the Goodyear store. But the real kicker was the emplacement cost- in 2008, they were around $270/tire!! A new set installed was going to cost almost $1300...on a car that was less than two years old with 23k miles on the clock!
After I politely made it clear to the Goodyear guy that I wouldn't pay $1300 for tires that only 23k miles, he gave me some very friendly, insider advice. He told me that he had never seen those tires last 30k miles on a Mazda3. Mazda was in the middle of their "Zoom Zoom" phase and handling was paramount to comfort, road noise, wet weather traction and longevity. He unofficially told me that I should try the Dunlop SP Sport Signature instead. He recommended them even though he didn't sell them (although Dunlop is a Goodyear-owned company). I followed his advice and bought a set for around $700 at Discount Tire and they lasted 47k miles. They improved the ride comfort, road noise and wet-weather traction and longevity, but the handling was just as good as before.
The situation was much the same with my 2012 Mazda CX-9. It had Bridgestone Dueler H/L 400s from the factory and they down to 4/32" at 21k miles. So there was approximately 75% worn out. They were also far too noisy for a $40k vehicle, so I decided to go ahead and replace them. Apparently, I’m not the only one who didn’t like them. On TireRack.com, the Performance Category rank is 32 out of 33 (next to last) and when asked ‘Would you buy again?’, the answer was DEFINITELY NOT! Since my tires are 205/50VR20, large and not very common, there weren’t as many alternatives as you’d find in a smaller, more common tire size. But the highest rated was the Michelin Premier LTX, so I went with those. It was almost $200 cheaper per set than another set of the Bridgestone OEMs. It had a profound impact on ride quality and road noise, but the thing still handles better than any large SUV/CUV has a right to. They have 36k miles on them and still have about 40% of their usable tread.
The Toyota Camry SE has P215/55VR17s standard and there are three possible OEM brands. The Bridgestone Turanza EL400-02 and Michelin Primacy MXV4 are the All-Season versions and the Toyo Proxes R35 is the High-Peformance Summer tire.
The Michelin Premier A/S appears to be the customer favorite and the top performer available in your size. They’re also reasonably priced at $159/tire (@ Discount Tire) or $160.87 from TireRack. They also have a 60k mile treadwear warranty, which is usually a good sign that they’ll last at least 40-45k miles.
Even as I started typing this, I was going to say that it doesn’t make sense to buy new tires for a car on a 3-year lease. But as I’ve thought about it, if you aren’t happy with the OEMs (or they don’t perform well in inclement weather), that’s a problem that you don’t want to live with for three years. You could actually buy a new set now and hang onto the OEM tires. If the replacement tires last until the lease expiration, slap the OEMs back on it before you turn it in. You will most likely use all (or almost all) of the life in the new tires that you choose, so it doesn’t really matter if you do it now or later.
OEM tires are designed for a specific vehicle's intended use/performance. If a smooth, quiet ride is the goal, the OEM tires will enhance those qualities. If the car is more performance-oriented, the OEM tires will be biased toward handling more than comfort. The brand of tire used is typically based on who can deliver the desired traits at the lowest price.
A perfect example would be the tires that came on my 2006 Mazda3. They were Goodyear Eagle GT-somethings (I forget) and they only lasted until 23k miles. They were designed for handling over everything else and it was obvious (in retrospect). It handled like it was on rails, but the ride comfort and road noise levels were excessive. Their obvious handling bias also reduced longevity, according to the manager at the Goodyear store. But the real kicker was the emplacement cost- in 2008, they were around $270/tire!! A new set installed was going to cost almost $1300...on a car that was less than two years old with 23k miles on the clock!
After I politely made it clear to the Goodyear guy that I wouldn't pay $1300 for tires that only 23k miles, he gave me some very friendly, insider advice. He told me that he had never seen those tires last 30k miles on a Mazda3. Mazda was in the middle of their "Zoom Zoom" phase and handling was paramount to comfort, road noise, wet weather traction and longevity. He unofficially told me that I should try the Dunlop SP Sport Signature instead. He recommended them even though he didn't sell them (although Dunlop is a Goodyear-owned company). I followed his advice and bought a set for around $700 at Discount Tire and they lasted 47k miles. They improved the ride comfort, road noise and wet-weather traction and longevity, but the handling was just as good as before.
The situation was much the same with my 2012 Mazda CX-9. It had Bridgestone Dueler H/L 400s from the factory and they down to 4/32" at 21k miles. So there was approximately 75% worn out. They were also far too noisy for a $40k vehicle, so I decided to go ahead and replace them. Apparently, I’m not the only one who didn’t like them. On TireRack.com, the Performance Category rank is 32 out of 33 (next to last) and when asked ‘Would you buy again?’, the answer was DEFINITELY NOT! Since my tires are 205/50VR20, large and not very common, there weren’t as many alternatives as you’d find in a smaller, more common tire size. But the highest rated was the Michelin Premier LTX, so I went with those. It was almost $200 cheaper per set than another set of the Bridgestone OEMs. It had a profound impact on ride quality and road noise, but the thing still handles better than any large SUV/CUV has a right to. They have 36k miles on them and still have about 40% of their usable tread.
The Toyota Camry SE has P215/55VR17s standard and there are three possible OEM brands. The Bridgestone Turanza EL400-02 and Michelin Primacy MXV4 are the All-Season versions and the Toyo Proxes R35 is the High-Peformance Summer tire.
The Michelin Premier A/S appears to be the customer favorite and the top performer available in your size. They’re also reasonably priced at $159/tire (@ Discount Tire) or $160.87 from TireRack. They also have a 60k mile treadwear warranty, which is usually a good sign that they’ll last at least 40-45k miles.
Even as I started typing this, I was going to say that it doesn’t make sense to buy new tires for a car on a 3-year lease. But as I’ve thought about it, if you aren’t happy with the OEMs (or they don’t perform well in inclement weather), that’s a problem that you don’t want to live with for three years. You could actually buy a new set now and hang onto the OEM tires. If the replacement tires last until the lease expiration, slap the OEMs back on it before you turn it in. You will most likely use all (or almost all) of the life in the new tires that you choose, so it doesn’t really matter if you do it now or later.
It's not that I'm not happy with them; they've been perfectly fine for this first 900 miles - but the weather has been good. It's more that since I will turn in the car between 40 or 45k and will most likely have to replace tires before I turn in the car (or suffer Toyota's excessive MSRP charge for replacement tires) then based on all the fairly crummy reviews (a lot saying they don't do well in bad weather and a lot saying they won't make it to 45k miles), why not get better tires to use for the life of the lease and then just put the OEMs back on before I turn it in?
Again, how they perform in heavy rain, snow/ice will make a big difference. But, still, if I have to replace anyway, why not have the lease on better tires and turn it in on the OEMs, instead of using the OEMS and replacing shortly before the lease is up (or according to some reviews, halfway into the lease). I'm not going to run out tomorrow and replace them, but just looking ahead. I'll give myself a few thousand miles to decide (and to experience some bad weather).
The only way around it is if the OEMs (Bridgestone Turzana EL400s) are perfectly acceptable in all conditions and last for the majority of the lease (which I can't know), then I can just replace them with cheap, but appropriate tires before I turn it in.
Last edited by goillini8; 09-19-2016 at 04:39 PM..
I take that back. The stock tires on my new Camry are Bridgestone Turanza EL400s, which rate pretty poorly on tirerack, including an "unacceptable" rating for ice traction Ugh.
I have those on my Avalon. I live in Florida now, so snow/ice isn't a concern. But I lived all of my life except for the last four years in Pennsylvania, so I am all too familiar with winter driving in snow/ice. Looking at them they sure don't look like a tire I'd want on a car driven in the winter.
I had a dedicated set of winter tires on another set of rims back when we had an Accord. They were Gislaved, the best winter tires for a small car hands down, but can be a bit hard to find in the USA.
2 of my new vehicles came with Michelin tires that lasted over 55,000 miles with no troubles, not even a flat tire. I replaced them with the same Michelins and am still happy with them.
It's not that I'm not happy with them; they've been perfectly fine for this first 900 miles - but the weather has been good. It's more that since I will turn in the car between 40 or 45k and will most likely have to replace tires before I turn in the car (or suffer Toyota's excessive MSRP charge for replacement tires) then based on all the fairly crummy reviews (a lot saying they don't do well in bad weather and a lot saying they won't make it to 45k miles), why not get better tires to use for the life of the lease and then just put the OEMs back on before I turn it in?
Again, how they perform in heavy rain, snow/ice will make a big difference. But, still, if I have to replace anyway, why not have the lease on better tires and turn it in on the OEMs, instead of using the OEMS and replacing shortly before the lease is up (or according to some reviews, halfway into the lease). I'm not going to run out tomorrow and replace them, but just looking ahead. I'll give myself a few thousand miles to decide (and to experience some bad weather).
The only way around it is if the OEMs (Bridgestone Turzana EL400s) are perfectly acceptable in all conditions and last for the majority of the lease (which I can't know), then I can just replace them with cheap, but appropriate tires before I turn it in.
How much of your driving is highway (consistent speed)? My best friend has got 60-70k miles out of his last three vehicles OEM tires. It is a company car and he drives about 1k miles per week, so it's 95% highway. I believe two sets were Michelins and one was Continental (on 2012, 2014 and 2017 Ford Fusions). So 45k miles out of the OEM tires might be possible if you're driving 75%+ on the highway. Are you expecting to use the full 45k miles or did you get 15k/year just to be safe? If your mileage is likely to be lower (36-40k), the odds would improve for the OEMs lasting the full lease. Most lease returns can have only 3/32" tread left and still be considered normal/acceptable condition.
But if they don't perform well in all weather conditions, you should definitely think about replacing them. And the odds aren't in your favor that they will last for 45k miles and still be in 'return' condition. As you mentioned, why buy a new set at/near the end of the lease when you could get them now.
Do you live in an area of the country that has a lot of winter weather? Here in Georgia, I'm only concerned how tires perform in the rain. But we have 2-3 days of snow per year, at most...and my part of the state just shuts down and stays at home on those days.
I have those on my Avalon. I live in Florida now, so snow/ice isn't a concern. But I lived all of my life except for the last four years in Pennsylvania, so I am all too familiar with winter driving in snow/ice. Looking at them they sure don't look like a tire I'd want on a car driven in the winter.
It's interesting that you mention Pennsylvania. I have lived in Georgia all of my life and I had never ventured further north than Virginia/Kentucky. Then my best friend (of 29 years) was transferred to Pittsburgh last August. I've flown up three times to visit, but back in February I decided to drive instead.
In hindsight, traveling almost 700 miles through rural Virginia and West Virginia in early February wasn't the brightest idea! In normal conditions, it should take about 10-11 hours to make the trip. After 10 hours, I was only halfway there thanks to a snow storm. I got caught in a 'whiteout' at 11pm (made even worse by the fact that my car is white). I ended up spending the night in Wytheville, VA (the only thing on I-81). The following morning, I made the second half of the trek in seven hours. It had snowed almost two feet and I learned that West Virginia doesn't clear/maintain their roads as well as surrounding states. It was not a pleasant drive.
I definitely feel for anyone who has to drive in snow and ice on a regular basis. My best friend had to make it through his first winter in Pittsburgh with FWD, but he just got an AWD Ford Fusion a few months ago. It should make life a little easier for him.
It's strange how much changing OEM tires can change the driving personality of a car. Go one direction and you can have a much smoother and quieter ride. Go the opposite direction and your car will feel faster and more secure in the corners. And yet there are people who simply walk into a discount department store and pick whatever tire fits regardless of what they can afford. I try to buy the best quality I can afford for the type of driving I do and the type of vehicle I drive.
And yet there are people who simply walk into a discount department store and pick whatever tire fits regardless of what they can afford.
Or whatever tires will simply last the longest.
I always look at it this way. Each year, manufacturers jam more and more safety systems into a vehicle. Early brake detection, ABS, traction control, stability control, high performance brake systems (compared to 20-30 years ago, modern brakes are very powerful), high tech suspension and steering systems and all that high tech stuff is transmitted to the road through 4 tiny contact patches.
So, with that said, don't you want to ensure you have a good set of tires on the car? Or would you rather buy what's on sale?
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