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I've found, over five decades of asking, that automotive experts who I trust, recommend Michelins most often. I've used many sets of them and can't recall ever being disappointed for any reason. I need a set right now for my Prius, and it came down to Michelin or Pirelli, and I've decided to go with Pirelli. It's been several years since I've had them, but the ones I had (v-rated highway for a couple high-performance cars) seemed a step above others. How much of that was "placebo effect" I don't know, but I just wanted something different.
It sorta came down to price. A $70 rebate on the Michelins I was considering (Defender H/Ts) ends this week, and I was going to buy them from the Toyota dealer today, but when I called yesterday they couldn't get them until tomorrow. (Toyota dealer is 110 miles away, and I don't want to go back just for that again this week, as I make that trip twice/thrice monthly.) Since I can't get the rebate from them, I'm having Walmart order a set of Pirelli P4s.
Walmart is much cheaper, like 20% or so. $470 installed, balanced, etc. with road hazard coverage. I'm not crazy about buying them from Walmart, but they're so much cheaper there! And when I had a flat a couple weeks ago and wanted to get the tire fixed on a Sunday... guess where I took it. To the only place in this town of 32K that was open for tire repairs -- Walmart! So I'm gonna try 'em. Planning to order them tomorrow.
Michelin period. Plus they have a great pro ration deal. Make sure you rotate the tires every 3-5k and keep records as Michelin will want those. Also make sure your alignment is good and keeps the tire wear even. When you are down to about 3/4 32nds and need a new set, the tire shop can call Michelin and get you a prorated discount on a new set. I do it all the time here in Colorado and you can save money on the next set. We are one of the top sellers of Michelin tires in CO.
There are a ton of factors to consider in selecting tires. One brand.model may last longer, but another brand/model is far quieter, while some other brand/model holds the road better, or stops better, a different brand might do better in wet. . . .
Often you have to trade off you may choose longevity and get a tire that whines a lot at high speed. Nothing wrong with it but the noise can get very annoying. You might get a long lasting quiet tire, but it does poorly in wet conditions. . etc.
Then the best tire for each issue will vary with the type of vehicle.
Tire rack is a good starting point, but they do not rate or consider all bands. If you want to make the best possible choice, you will want to decide which factors are important to you and try websites for your car and ask which tires are best for those factors. Also ask the tire dealers sometimes they know about things that do not show up on the internet.
Last time I bought tires for my truck, i did a great deal of research and finally selected a particular type of tire in the price range i could live with. Then I went to a tire store I trust to get a price and they said there is a General Tire Company tire that is better than what I wanted and cheaper. However none of the websites or tire rack had mentioned this particular model of General tire. I decided to trust the tire guy. He said he put them on his truck (same as mine) and loved tham. They have been great tires, but did not seem to last very long. I have to look at the mileage, but they are already shot and it has been less than two years.
My nephew has a 2001, Lexus RX 300 which bought used a few years ago.
It has about 180k miles on it, and the time has come where it needs a new set of tires.
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Car & Driver just tested several tire brands from TireRack on a BMW and put Goodyear at the bottom, Continental and Michelin at the top.
I'd go to the TR website and search your specific vehicle and see the recommendations.
We discussed TR in another thread and it seems they have good prices but if you can get the same tire locally it may workout better for you. Use their quote as a bargaining tool.
We bought some Pirelli Scorpion Verde A/S Plus tires from Sam's Club in a recent sale.
We are waiting for them to arrive at the store, following which we will get installation.
We paid about $525 in total for a set of 4 after instant rebates and free installation.
They have a 740AA rating with a 10/32 tread depth, and a 65,000 miles mfr limited warranty.
Repeat, we are still waiting on them to arrive at the store...so we may be able to cancel and get a refund....
Alternatively, we have come across a deal on 4 Cooper CS5 Grand Touring 103T Tires (new) from another big box store, and are wondering whether we should go with the Coopers instead??
The Coopers will save us about $175 after factoring in installation costs, and seem to have similar or better specs
Or should we go for the Cooper? and maybe use the approx $175 in savings to get an extra 2 tires to keep as spares?
You got the tires that you want. Be happy.
As long as you did some homework and picked the right tread design for your usage you will be fine.
All of the major tire companies make different tires for different usage. Car tires, SUV tires, truck tires, etc.
I have had Goodyear tires and Cooper tires. All last a long time with zero issues. And other branded tires that were Made in China tires that were junk. China tires were new and came with used car.
I do get an alignment when I get new tires. But that has been debated here endlessly. Some do get an alignment and some never get an alignment. It's your choice.
Both the Pirelli and the Cooper have asymmetrical tread patterns, that is one feature I did not check on in too much depth before purchasing.
However, both seem to have the same pattern, so that does not complicate the comparison.
Unfortunately Tire Rack does not have Cooper tires, or else I could have read detailed reviews of it as well.
The Pirellis were the best option based on specs, in my understanding, available at the Sams Club deal last week, but that does not mean that they are not comparable to these Coopers...
So I am still looking for any advice on whether I should seriously consider the Coopers and cancel the Pirelli's
Location: In a perfect world winter does not exist
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I have the Cooper CS5 Touring Tires, on a Nissan Cube. I can't tell you about the performance part since the Cube is hardly any performance oriented at all. I have about 25k miles on them, I believe from eyeball test it should hold up to 55-60k miles and still be usable.
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