Should I Stay with Stock Tires?

[7milesout]

I'll probably roll with the Kwaw-Track-5's, when I find chord or steel belts showing through on these kick-arse Enasaves....

After all taxes, etc, my out the door cost for the Michelins for my Lexus was $272.05 per tar. That should tell a person how overpriced the Enasaves are at $228 per tar. That's before installation, taxes, etc.

The tars I bought for the Lexus were these:

MICHELIN

PRIMACY TOUR A/S

245 /45 R19 98W SL BSW HK

[Mark]

I'll probably roll with the Kwaw-Track-5's, when I find chord or steel belts showing through on these kick-arse Enasaves....

After all taxes, etc, my out the door cost for the Michelins for my Lexus was $272.05 per tar. That should tell a person how overpriced the Enasaves are at $228 per tar. That's before installation, taxes, etc.

The tars I bought for the Lexus were these:

MICHELIN

PRIMACY TOUR A/S

245 /45 R19 98W SL BSW HK

The $228.01/tire was Quattro Tires (Canada) pricing for the Dunlop Enasave. That's about $168 USD, which is in line for our pricing of them here.

Michelin is probably the best tire company today. They don't sell 14" tires here.

You seem drawn to the Quatrac 5 tires for whatever reason. I have had a set of Quatrac 5 tires on backorder since November of 2022. I want to test them in the snow. I don't need them yet! They wouldn't be my first pick for summer tires.

[7milesout]

Yikes, I missed the Canadian pricing ... what a maroooon (as Bugs Bunny would say). Which means the tires for my Lexus were SUPER EXPENSIVE. But dayim, that is one nice riding car. As good as that car rides, the sound system is better than the ride.

[MightyMirageMpg]

I bought 175/65 r14 hankook kinergy st. They are a lower budget eco tire, paid $72 USD each which still feels pricey for such a tiny tire

[Mark]

I bought 175/65 r14 hankook kinergy st. They are a lower budget eco tire, paid $72 USD each which still feels pricey for such a tiny tire

That seems like a very good tire choice, & this is how I would shop for tires if I needed a set of them.

If someone has a desire to stick close to factory size tires, I would check the prices of the Nexen & Kumho tires I mentioned in my earlier post. If the prices seem high or availability is low, I would jump to 175/65r14 size because the choices are way more plentiful.

I like the pair of 165/65r14 Nexen N'Priz AH5 tires I have for my Mirage. For a long time, they were typically $80/tire, but I bought my pair on sale for $50/tire @ tires-easy.com. Had I not bought them on sale or needed a pair of tires in a hurry, I may have picked out something else.

Mighty's 175/65r14 is a good example of a good alternative pick. His 175/65r14 Hankook Kinergy ST tires have a very good 680AA rating with a 70,000 miles/6-year warranty.

Tires really are a global market item these days, Hankook's headquarters may be in Seoul, Korea, but their factories are found in China, Indonesia, Germany, Japan, Hungary, and the United States. Many different tire brands are this way today.

I just say in an earlier post that Michelin tires have a great reputation. Search for where Michelin tires are made & you will find this -

"Michelin produces tyres in France, Serbia, Poland, Spain, Germany, the US, the UK, Canada, Brazil, Thailand, Japan, India, Italy and several other countries."

So when someone says they are hung up on buying Korean tires, I sort of roll my eyes. I get that some of these companies are Korean companies, but most companies are owned elsewhere. Goodyear & Cooper were the last two American owned tire companies, and Cooper sold out to Goodyear recently.

The last Cooper tires put on my driver's education car were crap. I was really disappointed in how they held up. They have been replaced with Nexen N'Priz AH8 tires this summer. I wanted to wait until this fall to have them replaced, but the cords on the Cooper tires were starting to show (not good for a driving school car). They were horrible, and Cooper use to be my favorite tire brand.

I wouldn't be stuck on brand names either, but I do look for ratings & warranties. Even though those items are somewhat subjective from brand to brand, a tire that has a good warranty attached to it will most likely out last/ out perform one without one.

[dkm]

Thanks for the feedback and ideas, everyone! This will be plenty to look at and research into. I appreciate your help.