Learn me: What tires?

The Michelin thread has prompted me to start this thread as my General Altimax RT's are about used up. I bought these tired because they were cheap and highly reviewed. They lasted 53k miles and counting right now but otherwise I haven't been a fan. They are loud, not smooth and in the rain downright scary.

Any recommendations for a good 15" tire for my daily driven VW TDI?

My fiance had some Goodyear Eagle Gt on her focus for 4 years, we were pleased with them. I've had Dunlop dz101s on my car for about 150 miles, good so far but people say they get loud as they wear which I imagine is the case with almost any tire to an extent.

Continental extreme contact DWS. Excellent all around tire that can handle spirited driving.

I've had Kumho SPTs and Goodyear F1 Eagles, both are decently grippy, long-lasting and have very nearly as much wet grip as dry grip. I've heard good things about Dunlop DZ101s and Yokohama S-Drives as well.

Cooper C4S

Look into the Kumho 4x. I have them on the Mini now after running the Bridgestone RE760s which I didn't really like. They seem pretty good. Good sporty feel, good grip, seems ok in the wet.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Kumho&tireModel=Ecsta+4X

Gearheadotaku wrote: Cooper CS4

For a non-performance tire these are my top pick. Long lasting, quiet, good in the wet, ample grip for every day use. In a 15", budget $100-125 each.

Huh, I like my General Altimax RTs.

I dont think you'll get 50k miles out of a set of DZ101's

I put about 50k miles on a set of Hankook Ventus V2 Concept H437's. Even now they still drive well in the wet and have some decent tread left.

Only reason I replaced them was to try and put the rims up for sale with some usable tread on the tires.

Tom Suddard wrote: Huh, I like my General Altimax RTs.

Yeah, I was gonna say!

I've got the Altimax HP's on my MPV--this is the second set I've bought, actually. Got a little over 40k on the first set, but I don't check the pressure as often as I should, and I suspect that I chewed up some life by running them under-inflated.

I have found them to be smooth, quiet, and they grip tenaciously, especially in the rain.

I've owned too many dz101s for my own liking and wouldn't recommend them. My favorite thing about them is the big rim protector lip. My next favorite thing is their looks. Then it all goes downhill, ending with totally unimpressive traction and floppy sidewalls. Just my .02.

Vigo wrote: I've owned too many dz101s for my own liking and wouldn't recommend them. My favorite thing about them is the big rim protector lip. My next favorite thing is their looks. Then it all goes downhill, ending with totally unimpressive traction and floppy sidewalls. Just my .02.

This. These are seriously disappointing tires.

Sonic wrote: Continental extreme contact DWS. Excellent all around tire that can handle spirited driving.

That's pretty much what I've been recommending to friends/family that are spirited drivers.

What are your priorities in a tire? In other words, are you willing to sacrifice a 50K lifespan for better performance? Looks like you live in Tampa, so I don't really see any reason for you to compromise with all seasons.

I'm a good bit north of you in Atlanta and my personal sweet spot for daily driver tires are the 300ish treadwear summer ultra/high performance category like the Kumho SPT and Yokohama S-Drives. They don't last 50K though. More like 25-35K depending on how many autocrosses I subject them to.

Unfortunately, they don't make the Conti Extreme Contacts (DW or DWS) in a 15" size, but I've heard great things about them.

Another vote for the Conti DWS, I did A LOT of research before we bought them, and so far I love them on our Jetta, unfortunately they don't come in 15" they're 16" and up only.

I got some nice 16" BBS RX wheels off of Craig's List last spring and they'll eventually get wrapped in the DWS. Before I got the 16" wheels I had been thinking that I'd get Michelin Pilots (195/60 R15) but now I can't find them.

Sorry I know that doesn't tell you what to get, just that you can't get the Extreme Contact DWS in a 15" wheel.

• Lee

Hoosier A6's. All other tires are bad.

I love my Yokohama S-Drives, but they aren't Winter tires...

In reply to mtn:

Yes, but where to find them used...

Jerry wrote: I love my Yokohama S-Drives, but they aren't Winter tires...

They are in Florida.

EvanB wrote:

Jerry wrote: I love my Yokohama S-Drives, but they aren't Winter tires...

They are in Florida.

Then yes yes yes to S-Drives. Low road noise, look nice, stupid sticky grip levels and my 15" were fairly cheap for Super Summer-type tires.

I don't mind getting less miles out of a set, but I don't need an aggressive compound or anything. This car doesn't get any spirited driving.

As far as the General Tires, as soon as I put them on all the VW creaks and rattles came to life. I went to 3 different shops for balancing/alignment and it never went away. Mileage and price wise they were great, but otherwise not so much. I'll look into the others you guys mentioned!

Generals are hit and miss with me. I had a real nice pair of French made Altimax HPs on a beater, The next car got another set of HPs Mexican production this time, I swear they're made of inferior rubber, pretty meh in terms of wet grip.

How do you tell the difference?

Gearheadotaku wrote: Cooper C4S

Update: Thanks to you guys I ended up getting the Cooper C4S - H rated compound. This was the slightly softer version as I was able to find 2 of the same model tire. I'm on day two and I've noticed a big difference in noise/comfort from my old General tires. In the defense of the Generals, they did last 58k miles but they were much more noisey and had more feedback in the wheel.

Thanks GRM!

Sonic wrote: Continental extreme contact DWS. Excellent all around tire that can handle spirited driving.

I wish they were available in 15s, but they are not. 16+ only. Other than that, I agree completely with the analysis. They're not even terribly expensive.