When to get new tires?

[Debra Co]

I have 33K miles on my OEM tires, those godawful Potenza 92s. Is it time for
new ones? What does everyone think of the Potenza 950s? I am considering
them. I live in NY City and I do have to drive in snow sometimes (those stock
tires are horrid so far in snow).

 

[Edward Hayes]

Go to www.tirerack.com to research tire for the type of driving you
encounter. eddie

 

[Chauncey Gardener]

I have 33K miles on my OEM tires, those godawful Potenza 92s. Is it time for
new ones? What does everyone think of the Potenza 950s? I am considering
them. I live in NY City and I do have to drive in snow sometimes (those stock
tires are horrid so far in snow).

I'm replacing my Potenza 92s at 26K miles. They still have some tread
on them but like you say, they are horrid in snow- and in rain.

I've ordered a set of Continental Extreme Contacts. It's an all season
tire that, according to user ratings at tirerack.com, is good in the
snow but has good performance on dry pavement, too.

My second choice would have been Dunlop Winter Sport M3's. It's a
winter tire, but according to the ratings has good performance in
summer too, as well as decent treadwear.

 

[Alpha Male]

I'm replacing my Potenza 92s at 26K miles. They still have some tread
on them but like you say, they are horrid in snow- and in rain.

I've ordered a set of Continental Extreme Contacts. It's an all season
tire that, according to user ratings at tirerack.com, is good in the
snow but has good performance on dry pavement, too.

My second choice would have been Dunlop Winter Sport M3's. It's a
winter tire, but according to the ratings has good performance in
summer too, as well as decent treadwear.

Whatever you do, don't use winter tires in the summer. They'll wear out
extremely fast, they'll suck your gas back because of the soft rubber
compond, and they simply cannot compete with a dedicated summer tire for
handling. My recommendation is to have a set of winter tires and summer
tires. If you're in NYC and don't get much snow, go with a good all season.
But like I said, don't drive winter tires in the summer, it's just silly.

Chris

 

[Joel Schleifstein]

I replaced the RE92's on my 2002 Legacy at 26K miles, (even though they had
plenty of tread) with Kumho HP4's from Tire Rack. They are quiet, excellent
in snow and very inexpensive. They also handle far better.

 

[Larry Van Wormer]

I have 33K miles on my OEM tires, those godawful Potenza 92s. Is it time for
new ones? What does everyone think of the Potenza 950s? I am considering
them. I live in NY City and I do have to drive in snow sometimes (those stock
tires are horrid so far in snow).

I replaced my 92's with Potenza 950's, based on recommendations here and
the user feedback available at tirerack. They are a great improvement,
very good in all conditions, *except* snow. They are not snow tires, I
have a set of Yokohama 720's for winter. Those are the best tires I've
ever used on ice, and excellent in snow as well. (Hakka Q's are better
in deep snow, not as good on ice, and nowhere *near* as good as the
720's on dry pavement.)

Larry Van Wormer

 

[Debra Co]

Go to www.tirerack.com to research tire for the type of driving you

encounter. eddie

Did that. But it doesn't say anything about how many miles they should
typically last.

 

[Debra Co]

I've ordered a set of Continental Extreme Contacts. It's an all season

tire that, according to user ratings at tirerack.com, is good in the
snow but has good performance on dry pavement, too.

My second choice would have been Dunlop Winter Sport M3's.

Thanks. I'll check them both.

 

[Debra Co]

Um.......I would challenge the driver skills

Any subaru will be good in snow with tires like yours.
I took one with all seasons through snow deeper than the headlights and did
not get stuck.

Who said I got stuck? My driver skills are excellent. The reason they suck in
snow is that they don't grip. Lots of slippage when making turns, fishtailing.
Don't make assumptions!

 

[David]

Um.......I would challenge the driver skills
Any subaru will be good in snow with tires like yours.

Not if they're already worn out at 33k. I've had a couple of sets of all-season
tires that didn't last that long. I don't think any car will do well in snow on
worn-out tires.

Sometimes when people decide their tires suck (too noisy, hydroplane too
easily, no grip in mud or snow), it's because there isn't much tread left.

 

[No Way]

I have 33K miles on my OEM tires, those godawful Potenza 92s. Is it time for
new ones? What does everyone think of the Potenza 950s? I am considering
them. I live in NY City and I do have to drive in snow sometimes (those stock
tires are horrid so far in snow).

Um.......I would challenge the driver skills
Any subaru will be good in snow with tires like yours.
I took one with all seasons through snow deeper than the headlights and did
not get stuck.
The snow was coming over the hood.

 

[Verbs Under My Gel]

I have 33K miles on my OEM tires, those godawful Potenza 92s. Is it time for
new ones? What does everyone think of the Potenza 950s? I am considering
them. I live in NY City and I do have to drive in snow sometimes (those stock
tires are horrid so far in snow).

I highly recommend the Continental ContiExtremeContact. Note that
they have a "directional" tread pattern, so when you rotate, you have
to swap front and rear on a given side (so as to maintain the
direction of rotation).

 

[Hiver]

Um.......I would challenge the driver skills
Any subaru will be good in snow with tires like yours.
I took one with all seasons through snow deeper than the headlights and did
not get stuck.
The snow was coming over the hood.

I would like to see the response from a Subaru rally driver on your
comment. Snow tire make a night and day difference.

I have installed Hakka 2 on my Forester and they are wonderfull.

 

[Debra]

Not if they're already worn out at 33k. I've had a couple of sets of all-season
tires that didn't last that long. I don't think any car will do well in snow on
worn-out tires.

Sometimes when people decide their tires suck (too noisy, hydroplane too
easily, no grip in mud or snow), it's because there isn't much tread left.

Well, they did feel this way last year in the snow at around 9K. So,
while they may in fact be worn down now, they're not very good even
when new.

 

[Stu Hedith]

Um.......I would challenge the driver skills
Any subaru will be good in snow with tires like yours.
I took one with all seasons through snow deeper than the headlights and did
not get stuck.
The snow was coming over the hood.

Various "all-season" tires behave differently in the snow and there is
no regulation as to what is and isn't an "all-season". You may have
been on "all-seasons" that were good in the snow. The RE-92s are NOT.
Worn ones are even worse. Dunlop D60 A2's are "all-season", but they
are even worse in the snow. During my 2nd winter with those, having
bobsled driving skills would have been more relevant. The car would
slide down a 2-3% incline with no hopes of stopping at any distance. I
renamed my car Rosebud. Bought some Hakka Q's....whole different story.
Did the whole snow over the hood thing too and without a LSD in the rear.

Stu

 

[Willuam S. Hubbard]

I would get run flat tires and put kevlar in the doors!

 

[FFF]

I would get run flat tires and put kevlar in the doors!

Now, now. NYC isn't so bad.
Not too many stray bullets these days - and none from drunk Baja drivers aiming
for dogs...

florian

 

[kl]

Um.......I would challenge the driver skills
Any subaru will be good in snow with tires like yours.
I took one with all seasons through snow deeper than the headlights and did
not get stuck.
The snow was coming over the hood.

I'm curious as to where you were and what kind of snow you were in. I'm
guessing it was dry powder.

In Pennsylvania, where I live, a big snow tends to be wet and dense. I
can't imagine driving in heavy wet snow up to the headlights like that -
it would probably pack up in front of the car and under the car.
Fortunately the snow plows do pretty well here (in Pittsburgh), so I'm
not often in such deep snow.

Also, I have 27K miles on my OEMs and although I could go pretty well on
them in snow, I was not happy with the stopping power. So I got Nokian
Hakkapeliita 2's for the winters. Of course it hasn't snowed since I
got them! I plan on putting the OEM tires back on in the spring, since
they were good in wet/dry conditions and still have good tread
remaining. I have a storage room a few blocks away, so I have a place
to keep the off-season tires. A New Yorker might not have that luxury!

kl
2002 Outback Sedan VDC

 

[Chauncey Gardener]

I highly recommend the Continental ContiExtremeContact. Note that
they have a "directional" tread pattern, so when you rotate, you have
to swap front and rear on a given side (so as to maintain the
direction of rotation).

Isn't that a requirement for all radial tires?

 

[David]

Isn't that a requirement for all radial tires?

Not really. People say it's obsolete now. Although I have read at least one recent
claim of premature tire failure (belt slippage?) apparently caused by going the other
way.