Tire recommendations?

[KatB]

I'm such a girl, I know. But somebody please help me pick out some new tires for my '06 Vue V6 AWD. I do most of my driving on pavement, but live in FL, so there is that occasional trip to the beach where we may go off road for about 10 seconds, just cuz we can. Then we do drive 1600 mi. roundtrip to see the folks in the Midwest, where we're hoping to move back to this spring, so we'll have to face snow, sleet, rain, and all that eventually. Right now, we just deal w/ the occasional shower.

The guys at Pep Boys are recommending Kumhos (sp?) at $621 for a set of four. Am I about to get ripped off? :whoa:

Somebody help!

[sportridertex]

I've always had good luck with Discount Tire,, are they in Florida?

[VTchemist]

I don't know your tire size, but I've had good luck with the Michelin Energy series. They are good on treadwear, traction, and stopping power on wet roads.

I got mine at Sam's Club for about $90 per tire.

If you have the 17" rims, hopefully someone on the boards can advise you. I've got the 16" rims on my VUE.

[dcockrum]

First off, we're talking 17's right? My '04 came with P235 60R17 Bridgestone Duelers. They look cool, but are just too wide to grip in snow. Several people have posted that they hydroplaned on wet pavement.

Ok, I'll probably start a war, but if you plan to drive on anything but dry pavement, the answer is to switch to P215 65 R17. They have almost the same height, but more narrow. You'll cut through snow and that nasty film of water much better.

As for quality, I don't buy into brand names. I just get the cheapest in the size I want with a groovy :cool: looking tread pattern.

[SiLenZe]

:no:
Here is what i did. Went to tirerack.com and read the reviews for all the tires that would fit in the stock size. Picked the best rated one in my price range and then went and found it localy at sams club.
Trust the thousands of drivers just like you who actually have the tires and drive on them. Picking a tire just cost/looks will get you in an accident.

[KatB]

Sorry, yes, they are 17" tires. I just don't know the first thing about all those numbers, but I think I will just go up to Sam's and see what they have for that size. As far as Discount Tire stores, I have yet to see one in my neighborhood, but we're pretty new here. The guy at Pep Boys told me that because they're 17" tires, they're going to cost a lot, but I thought $600 was kind of high, even if it was for all four. Here's a (probably) dumb question, but how do I find out what tires I have on my Vue right now? All I know is their size.

[Bill Murray]

but how do I find out what tires I have on my Vue right now? All I know is their size.

I believe all the Vues with 17s are Bridgestones - you can check the sidewall.
The lowest cost option seems to be Kumho mail order from TireRack - then you find someone to install them.
I just ordered a set of Michelins thru Costco - $143 each installed less $60 rebate for 4. These are the 235-60/17 and had to be special ordered. Sam's Club showed them on their website but told me they were unavailable when I contacted the store.
Also Firestone has just released a tire in this size which is available from TireRack.

[Medic005]

The next time I have to replace my tires, I'm going with Kumho Solus KH16 for my VUE from TireRack.com, they are $366 with shipping and my local mechanic will put all four on my Vue for $50, so that's $416 total, installed. See link below:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Kumho&tireModel=Solus+KH16&partnum=36TR7KH16&vehicleSearch=true&fromCompare1=yes&place=1&speed_rating=S&speed_rating=T&speed_rating=U&speed_rating=H&speed_rating=V&speed_rating=Z&speed_rating=W&speed_rating=Y&speed_rating=(Y)&minSpeedRating=S

[D C]

how do I find out what tires I have on my Vue right now? All I know is their size.

If they're the original tires, they're Bridgestone Dueler H/T D684 II in a 235/60R17.

Tires for your VUE will be around $100-120 each, give or take, depending on which ones you go with. Installation adds to that, so you're probably looking at maybe $500-550 total. I just checked the OEM tires at a local discount tire and their out the door price for 4 is $548.

$600 for Kumhos seems very high.

[nakman]

Cost of replacement has a few variables. Mount, balance and value stems, disposal of old tires, road warranty etc. So, do some comparos, and yes, check the tirerack.com for some review info. Some others have mentioned the thru the door costs, that's really what you want for an apples to apples. Is $621 fair the for the tires you're considering? Hard to say. I wouldn't say you are getting ripped off but, check around and do a little more digging. If, that's too much work, and the convenience of getting them replaced at the Pep Boys works for you even if that cost $50 or $100 more than purchasing from a place you're not comfortable with, then it could be the best option for you. Koren tires have recently been comparible to other national makes in terms of performance and wear. My new G6 came with Hankooks and seem to be OK.

Even if the possiblity of moving to the mid-west, go with all-season replacements for now. If you make the move and plan to keep the vehicle, you can gauge the weather once you move and maybe consider dedicated winter tires and alternate with your newer all-seasons.

Good luck.

Sean

[texan]

When I bought new tires, there was only choice, the Bridgestone tires that came on it. Some people gripe about wet traction, but I think they do OK.

[Bill Murray]

The 235/60-17 Michelin Energy LX4s from Costco were $530 installed total incl 6% state sales tax.
A solid improvement, the Bridgestones were pretty much worn out @ 45,000 miles.

[Vue&SL1]

I like the Goodyear Comfort Treds I have on my SL. The best thing about them is that they really hide road bump noises and are rated at 85,000 miles.

[Bill Murray]

I don't drive the Vue much, but the one thing I noticed after the Michelins were installed was the tracking stability. The car tracks straight and stable, noticeably improved vs the Bridgestones which seemed to wander a lot more.

[justVUEit]

When my tires were up for replacement at too young an age I went with Dueller Alenza's. Good reviews at TireRack and everything the OEM tire should have been. A lot quieter and much better in snow and rain.

[sparkys72]

I agree 100% with justVUEit. There are very few tires to choose from in the original P235-60-R17 size . I did a lot of research through Tire Rack and Discount Tire on the internet about which tire to choose. All factors considered, I chose the Bridgestone Dueler Alenzas size P225-65-R17. They are slightly narrower and slightly higher than the original tires but fit just fine. I purchased them through my local Firestone dealer. Good luck

[ImpalaSS]

I have done a lot of looking for tires. Tire Rack has been a huge asset for information. I have purchase several sets of tires from them over the years. The best tire I can find based on thier feedback is the Firestone Destination LE for our stock size (235/60/17) @ $109 each plus shipping.

I have had two sets of tires on my Vue. The stock tires were 16" dueler 684s (I have a 4 cyl. fwd Vue) and I hated them. They hydroplaned like crazy and were useless in the snow and were shot at 25,000 miles. The second set were Avons. Better in weather and got a few more miles out of them, 45,000.

This time I found a set of new car take off wheels and tires. This upgrades me to 17" wheels, but I am stuck again with the Dueller 684's. I could not walk away from a great deal on tires and wheels. I believe when I replace these I will go to the Firestone Destination LE. Unless I choose to down size a little and go to a 235/55/17. This will be better on the hills but cost me a little gas mileage. It does however give me MANY more tires to choose from. The General Altimax HP may be the way to go in this tie size.

A quick note 235 is the width of your tires in millimeters. 60 means that each side wall is 60% of the width (235x60%). Then the wheel size is the last two digit figure. So ((235x.60)x2) convert this number to inches and add 17. This is the overall height of th tires.

This might help you to best figure what you want. Good luck!!;)

[TheSlayer]

Hey Kat, it looks like you have a lot of information and tire sizes to digest. For help in making sense of it all, type tire calculator in at http://www.google.com using a tire calculator you can compare one tire size against another. So when you put in your tire size you have now...it will show how much your speedometer will be off. They say to go nothing over a 5% change. I hope that helps you some.

Using http://www.tirerack.com is the best way to find the right type of tire compared to another. Good luck! I used to work for Goodyear so I am a little partial to them. Take care!!