PontiacBonnevilleClub.com

Hi - I'm looking for some tire recommendations for my 96 LSS. It currently has 225/60-16 Kelly Springfield Chargers on it and I've never really been too happy with them. Basically, I'm looking for an all weather tire that will last about 50,000 miles.

Thanks,
Jim

VBCSpangler and I are both here in the same town. We've both got Kumho Ecsta ASX's on our cars, and have done VERY well this winter so far. I was also quite pleased during the summer and at the track. They came highly reccommended by friends, and my tire shop described them as an all-season tire that leans a little to the summer performance side.

Tirerack.com has VERY high ratings for this tire.

(moving topic to General Chat since it's not a mechanical problem)

Several members on this board, myself included, run Goodyear Assurance TripleTred's, and love them. They ride well, handle well in snow, on ice, and in the wet. They have a 60k warranty, IIRC, so they're going to last. I just rotated mine after 2500 miles, and they show no wear, other than the nubs burning off.

I'll vouch for Goodyear TripleTreds..
Good handling, and if you want to crank out the hp and do an awesome burnout they let you do that too.

TripleTreds here too! I caught a set on sale at Sears a few months back and got the set for about $500 mounted and balanced.

I believe they are rated for 80k miles although I probably wouldn't push them that far before replacing them.

i had triple treads on my 93 and didnt get enough miles on them before i sold the car to make a descisson on how they were

i have the GY Eagle F1 all seasons on my 03 and they are awesome

I'm a little leery of Goodyear - I've had two sets on two different cars over the years and didn't get very good wear out of them. Anyone running BFGoodrich tires?

96LSS wrote:I'm a little leery of Goodyear - I've had two sets on two different cars over the years and didn't get very good wear out of them. Anyone running BFGoodrich tires?

I was too, we had the same issues on a truck a long time ago. The TripleTreds are an incredible tire, and they are very competitively priced on tire rack. With shipping and installing I still saved $10 a tire vs buying from the local shop that could get them the cheapest.

ya also if you have a Sams Club, they have really good prices and a roadhazard warrenty that simply cant be beat

If you're not looking to spend $500+ on tires, I would recommend the Bridgestone Insignia SE200. They provide good traction and a smooth ride, and they look pretty decent.

Sam's Club has them for around $80/tire.

After running on mismatched tires with horrible tread for a couple years I finally have some new TripleTreds also. I have only put about 500 easy miles on mine. They weren't my first choice – long story – but I knew many members had them and liked them. They have done great in the snow so far. I am sure they will do exceptionally well on dry pavement and through rain. I read many reviews, some being mixed, but I'm sure if you rotate the tires and maintain proper pressure and alignment, many less favorable reviews would have been different. I was pleased to find out that they have an additive in the rubber that keeps them nice and black.

What I can make a solid recommendation on based on experience are Bridgestone Potenza G009s. Those are an all-season (I didn't know at the time) and they were incredible. I got them for just over $400 mounted. Snow was no problem, pouring rain was not an issue even at speeds well above the limit. They also grip great on dry – I stopped on a dime when I had to stomp the brakes at a low speed once. I loved those tires. I hope the TripleTreds do just as well!

Where are you from?

After doing summer/winter setups, There really is a big difference..

96LSS wrote:I'm a little leery of Goodyear - I've had two sets on two different cars over the years and didn't get very good wear out of them.

All Goodyears will wear a bit faster than others(in normal driving). They typically have a softer compound than other brands, like Michelin, which are very hard. Most people I know that have had Michelin did not like them at all in winter because of they didn't provide traction. I went with the Triple Treads last summer and have been extremely impressed with the way they have performed this winter. Haven't had any traction issues at all with them, either stopping or accelerating.

BonneMe wrote:After doing summer/winter setups, There really is a big difference.

Agreed. All season tires are all right, but if you want maximum performance for any given season you will want to get tires made for those conditions.

I run some all season Bridgestone Potenzas (stock 16" wheel sized H rated) and they are great in wet and dry conditions in the summer/spring/fall but when it gets really cold out in the winter, which here in MN is always -20*F to 20*F, they get noticably worse for traction. They are one of the better rated all season tires at tirerack and I am quite satisfied with them so far. I also got lucky and got them cheaper at a local Tires Plus than tirerack.

My Bonneville runs Kuhmo Solus tires, which apparently are pretty cheap, and you get what you pay for (they were there when I bought the car, so...); those tires, I don't recommend (a few members seem to highly rate the Kuhmo Escta's). I still haven't decided what I want to put on the Bonneville as replacements.

On my LeSabre, I run BF Goodrich Touring T/A's 215 60 16's (was running Goodyear Viva 2's on the stock rims - I like them, but they just wore really fast), and I have had very good luck with them. I have had them through 3 winter's with a decent amount of snow, and I have yet to have a traction problem (even at highway speeds), except for the occasional slip when I accelerate too fast on snow. In the rain and in the summer, they're great - they provide excellent grip when accelerating and braking (with the Viva's, I used to be able to spin the tires a bit, with the BFG's I can't). I know in the summer when I've taken my LeSabre out on twisty, country roads, they gripped the road much better than any tire I've previously had on the car. Both sets of tires are 215's; the Viva's are on just 15 inch rims and the BFG's are on 16 inch rims.

Of course, due to a problem a couple weeks back, I'm forced to run a Douglas X-Trac on my front passenger, and as it stands, I'm not too keen on that tire. It's real rough on the road and does not seem to provide the same level of traction as the BFG's.

Anyway, just my 2 cents on a few sets tires.

Well, I went with the General Altimax RT. I don't drive in the snow very often (2x so far this year), so these seemed like a good tire at a pretty reasonable price - $375 mounted and balanced. I've had a couple of sets of Generals over the years with decent results. I'm getting them put on tomorrow and there's snow in the forecast, so I guess I'll find out pretty fast how they work.

Thanks for all of the comments.
Jim

smellbird wrote:

96LSS wrote:I'm a little leery of Goodyear - I've had two sets on two different cars over the years and didn't get very good wear out of them.

All Goodyears will wear a bit faster than others(in normal driving). They typically have a softer compound than other brands, like Michelin, which are very hard. Most people I know that have had Michelin did not like them at all in winter because of they didn't provide traction. I went with the Triple Treads last summer and have been extremely impressed with the way they have performed this winter. Haven't had any traction issues at all with them, either stopping or accelerating.

BonneMe wrote:After doing summer/winter setups, There really is a big difference.

Agreed. All season tires are all right, but if you want maximum performance for any given season you will want to get tires made for those conditions.

It depends on which GY tire you get some will last a long time others will not. The triple tred is a very good tire. GY F1 all-season is a good tire too. Generally our type of car folk arent friendly on tires so they wont last as long. They will last longer If you rotate them often. Michelin mostly sells tires for limos, from what I seen working for goodyear, and they are very soft, Michelin Energy MXV4 225/60/17 or 245/60/17 for the longer limos.

Well, I've got about 300 miles on the Generals. It's been a good week for evaluation, everything from dry roads to heavy rain and light snow this morning. At this point in time they get a thumbs up from me - I'm pleased with how they perform. I put Sensatrac struts in the car last month and the combination of the new struts, factory installed F41 air level suspension, and new tires have really shown me how these cars are supposed to ride and handle - flat in the turns, good response, and very stable road feel. Definitely not like a typical big American sedan. Have I mentioned recently what a great site this is?
Regards,
Jim

Generals used to be bottom of the barrel tires we wouldnt even use them as spares for our demo cars. There quality must have gone up.

They've come a long way in the past few years. I had a set of General summer tires on another car, couldn't say enough good things about them.