The Ultimate Tire Replacement thread

[C152]

Hi all,

Just would like some confirmation. I have P205/55R16's on steelies, I can get P215/50R17's on cool alloy rims. I believe I'm within the 4% max.

[nicolas_p]

Originally Posted by C152

Hi all,

Just would like some confirmation. I have P205/55R16's on steelies, I can get P215/50R17's on cool alloy rims. I believe I'm within the 4% max.

You would be better off running 225/45/17 on alloys, that would give you a wider contact patch and a little bit better ride overall. If you want the slightly narrower tire the 215/50/17 would work as well

[dalco450]

Does someone can post pictures with 225/45R18?

[emg77]

Originally Posted by dalco450

Does someone can post pictures with 225/45R18?

My summer tires are that size, but they are on aftermarket rims. My winters tires are on my OEM 17's. The 17's were as large as you could get on the 5-door. The factory 18's only came as an option on the 3 door.

[dalco450]

Thank you EMG! Very nice!
What are your wheel's specs? Offset? They look like 19's...
Any rubbing with that setup?

[nicolas_p]

Here's my summer wheel setup


If you look at my gallery there lots of pictures of them on my car. There's absolutely no issues with rubbing. Roman has 235/40/18 with spacers and those are good too

[maschinenbauer]

I have driven 1 year on a set of Kumho Ecsta PA31 on the stock 16in steelies. They are a great tire for the money! I was cross-shopping against the Continental DWS and ended up with these. I actually bought them on Amazon for <$350 a set, then paid the local tire shop another $50 to mount and balance.

Overall they are GREAT economy tires that act like performance all-seasons. They handle way better than the Goodyear LS and seem to be wearing very slowly. They have a very aggressive tread for an all-season, so they are monsters in the snow. I trust them after two Midwest winters.

Great value, highly recommend.

[Solar0987]

2008 saturn astra xe 5 door
205/55/16 steelies with goodyear tires. they were meh..
225/40/18 milestar932 I love these tires..
Wife has kuhmo escta on her aura they don't grip very well in the rain.. Kinda scary.. There only 3 months old also.

[AutoX65Corsa]

I am getting ready to replace my well worn 215/45-18 Continental ExtremeContact DWS which have been great. I have driven my 3dr XR "spiritedly" for the last 50k+ miles, easily taking curves at double the posted cautionary speeds, and while they have been great in any weather condition, they have really proven their worth in the unpredictable Missouri winters.

I am looking at the latest version of the same tire, the DWS 06, and have considered going wider. Has anyone tried 235's on the stock 18's? The 235/40 is closer in rolling diameter to my 215/45 than either the 225/40 or 225/45 and I was concerned about the increased size of the 225/45 reducing the acceleration/passing power of the car.

[velocast]

Mi original post on this issue was on 01/29/2011. That was the time before I started to commute from home to work every day. I commute 80 miles round trip, mostly heavy traffic highway. To get into the quiet community where I live, I have to drive about 2 miles on a quiet road. When snow falls usually the highway is dry, but the road always is covered with snow. So, for this application, I need a good all season tire.

I had the Continental ExtremeContact DWS tire. To me this is a cheap non winter radial tire. I don't understand people who throw flowers to that thing. My Astra went straight forward when I was turning an snowing curve. That thing even can't make an icier slope of 20 degrees angle e.g. can't get into my garage. It goes little bit then slides backward.

After that, I did purchase the PureContact with Ecoplus Technology. Right since you seat and drive you feel the difference. I love it! The PureContact is a "superior" all season tire in comparison to that! In summer, when I was going down on curved merging ramp at about 40-50 mph more than the legal sign, I feel the tire glued the ground. Wow! Now at about 50K miles on it, I am more than happy. It may have 2-3 years more to go. People say it is a noisier tire. Any how all cars make noise.

Other, there is one tire that "So, it does too." People say it is a pretty good looking tire with a fatty side wall. That is the General: AltiMAX RT43 all season e.g. price wise for the 225/45-18 is only $130 each.

I accordance with the reviews here is my all seasons suggestions:

General: AltiMAX RT43 (H or V Speed Rated) $130 each
Continental: PureContact with EcoPlus Technology $160 each
Pirelli: Cinturato P7 All Season Plus $180 each

[C152]

Hi all,

Need help. Can I put my 5dr 205/55R16 winter tires mounted on steelies on my daughter's 225/40R18 originally shod 3dr? Ie, will the rims clear the calipers? If yes, will I have to reprogram the TPMS?

[nicolas_p]

Originally Posted by C152

Hi all,

Need help. Can I put my 5dr 205/55R16 winter tires mounted on steelies on my daughter's 225/40R18 originally shod 3dr? Ie, will the rims clear the calipers? If yes, will I have to reprogram the TPMS?

Yes the 16" wheels and tires will fit properly and the TPMS won't need any programming to be learned onto the new car. I've had 16" rims on my 3dr xr with the same specs and I'm going back to those this winter to park my car

[C152]

Originally Posted by nicolas_p

Yes the 16" wheels and tires will fit properly and the TPMS won't need any programming to be learned onto the new car. I've had 16" rims on my 3dr xr with the same specs and I'm going back to those this winter to park my car

Hi Nicolas_p,

Thank you. Quite a relief.

[NJastra]

Originally Posted by NJastra

Stock: 225-40-18 Pirelli Summer Only (about 33,000 miles and replaced due to dry rot developing)

Replacement: 225-40-18 Continental Extreme Contact DWS (All Seasons)

I am very satisfied with the look of the tires. I am even more satisfied with the increase in comfort with the ride which was not entirely expected. I waited a little over 1,000 miles to post this so that I can get a better idea of how the tire performs. Originally, and probably due to the tires not being broken in and still a bit slick, I didn't think they grabbed the ground as well as the Pirelli's. Now that I have put some miles on them, I still agree that the ride quality has improved (very happy ) and they perform pretty good as well. I still think that the Pirelli's grip the ground better, altho I don't exactly have proof of that but I felt more confident with the Pirelli's. The steering also feels slightly less tight as well.

Anywho, I definitely recommend this set of tires as a very good replacement option for those of us who have to deal with ALL seasons. Ironically enough, I haven't had the opportunity to drive in snow because it's been a NICE winter!

So here I am again getting a new set of tires. Just an update, I still have the above mentioned tires on my car which replaced the stock tires at 33,000 miles. I can't believe I currently have over 97,000 miles on the car and with these same tires! I would recommend them in a heartbeat. I am looking to replace with the following in the next month or so (maybe sooner if I can). It doesn't seem like Tire Rack has these same tires so I will be likely getting:

Continental Extreme Contact DWS 06
225/40/18

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...r&autoModClar=

[JFS]

Originally Posted by NJastra

So here I am again getting a new set of tires. Just an update, I still have the above mentioned tires on my car which replaced the stock tires at 33,000 miles. I can't believe I currently have over 97,000 miles on the car and with these same tires! I would recommend them in a heartbeat. I am looking to replace with the following in the next month or so (maybe sooner if I can). It doesn't seem like Tire Rack has these same tires so I will be likely getting:

Continental Extreme Contact DWS 06
225/40/18

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...r&autoModClar=

If you have not pushed the button on your TireRack.com purchase, consider a look at https://www.tirebuyer.com/ to see if you might do any better.

I was very happy with the price, free and fast shipping (to my installer), as well as being able to chose who I wanted to do the installation. I saved $120 vs. TireRack, who I also adore.

[tackepj]

I put about 67,000 on the stock Eagle LS2s before giving them up due to such poor performance in the rain. I found a good deal at Discount Tire for closeout Michelin MXM4s. The price was good (plus a rebate), and the tires have so far been excellent. Low noise, good ride, and substantially better in wet conditions.

[NJastra]

Originally Posted by JFS

If you have not pushed the button on your TireRack.com purchase, consider a look at https://www.tirebuyer.com/ to see if you might do any better.

I was very happy with the price, free and fast shipping (to my installer), as well as being able to chose who I wanted to do the installation. I saved $120 vs. TireRack, who I also adore.

Thanks for letting me know about that tire site. I checked it and for this particular tire, it is the same price.

I just noticed that Tire Rack is having a promotion on Continental tires until 4/15/17 that if you purchase a set of 4 you can get a $70 mail in rebate (Visa gift card). That's a good offer!

[velocast]

225/45-18 Milestar 932 Sport All Season

My drive: Highway commute 80 miles per day / about 20k miles per year!

Driving style: Most of the time defensive and relaxed

Car Maintenance: Meticulous!

Do to the Milestar “superior price” I replaced my aging Continental PureContact with EcoPlus Technology All Season ($160 each) with the Milestar ($60 each).

My feelings:

-The Milestar is a good looking, kind of fatty tire.
-It does absorb the bumps softly. It seems to me our Astra’s engine runs much smother. I feel this car is never going to die. I love it! +++
-With previous low profile tires, I had the feelings the car’s frame was hitting hard the ground when passing a bump.
-I feel the Continentals have better grip on the road than the Milestars. So, I will NOT suggest to do the dare devil thing! After 7k miles I feel the Milestars are outputing a better grip on the road. But, I steel prefer the Continentals!
-The brand new Milestar does consume little more gas than the Continental somewhere 10-30 miles out of 400 miles. After 7k miles gas consumption is decreasing. I like that!
-This 2017 Winter the streets where covered with 6-9 inches of hard frozen snow. People could not park on the streets. I tried to park in a fresh area breaking the frozen snow with my front Milestar tires almost I got stuck. Other than that, I had no issues whatsoever driving in snow.
-Time will tell how good or bad these Milestars are.
-After 7K miles I did check the air pressure so there is no need to put more air.
- Up to this time, the Milestars are proving that are a very decent reliable tire -we can count on- for a normal driver!

Size: 225/45-18
Price: $60 per tire
Warranty: 50k miles
Installation: $100

Total cost installed: ($60 x 4) + $100 = $340


Other thoughts from experts in tires, approximately after 5 + years’ rubber compounds in a tire deteriorates regardless their brand name. With over 25k-50k miles a tire's tread start losing grip. The often we replace them the better.

[Brianvande]

I would definitely suggest Continental ExtremeContact DWS for the 18" rims. They look cool, too!

[velocast]

If you want to unleash the qualities of the Continental ExtremeContact DWS, drive over 80 mph. You will love it! Of course in dry weather. I never tried in wet weather.

I been told the newer version the Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 uses softer compounds for better track in winter. So, meaning it has shorter life than the old version.