Finally decided on new tires!

[John Dixon]

Originally Posted by RedGeminiPA

Will do!

We went out of town for the weekend. On the way home, I got to thinking about something... tire size, reported MPH and gas mileage.

I opened my HUD app on my iPhone, and started paying attention to the difference in what my odometer was displaying compared to what the HUD app showed.

Considering my Turanzas are nearing the end of useful tread (4/32 & 5/32 - maybe a little less now), then thinking about the difference the new oversized tires would make, the results were interesting.

According to my HUD app (GPS-based), my odometer was reading about 1-2 MPH faster than the HUD app was showing. It didn't seem to make much difference as to what speed I was going - 45 MPH on the odometer and 43(ish) on the HUD app - 70 MPH on the odometer and 68(ish) on the HUD app. This was with the cruise set on the respective odometer numbers. I say "(ish)" because it would occasionally show 1-2 MPH difference, but usually stayed around 2 MPH.

I have to take it in around 3:00 today for the tires. As soon as I get them done and have the chance, I'll test this out again.

Considering my '04 has very oversized tires (245/65/17 - 235/60/17 is stock size), and it's only off by about 3 MPH at 70 (according to GPS), I'm not expecting there to be a very big difference with these BF Goodrich tires on my Red Line.

I'll find out very soon, and be sure to let everyone know my findings.

Our findings seem to be consistent with the T/A Spec. On our daughter's RL, the tires have actually gotten a bit quieter too. Probably a bit over 1000 miles on them now. Seems to be THE bargain tire for a RL.

[tyrelirwin]

Originally Posted by newbievueowner

Yea, Kal tire. They just had a sale a month ago but the Motivo's are in short supply/high demand so they just came in now. $900 all in out the door.

Thats a good deal, less than I was looking at for the same.

Did you go 235 or 245?

[Vue in Ontario]

Originally Posted by XRL

I don't have these tires, but i will say, my Michelin Primacy MXM4s have been amazing so far. Quiet, comfortable (for a RL), good fuel economy, included roadside assistance, tons of grip, great wet traction, great steering feel... I couldn't ask for more out of tires. I would DEFINITELY buy them again.

They're more expensive than these for sure, but I have no doubt they're a better tire.

I've put a bit over 15k on mine so far and they're in great shape, just rotated them a weekend or 2 ago and both front and rear look brand new (which is rare on the Vue, it/I eat front tires on it form too much cornering).

Michelins have never let me down, they've been so good we got a set of Pilot Super Sports for my dad's 911, and we put Hydroedges on our Outlander. All those tires are fantastic too. It'd be tough to sell me another brand of tires other than Michelin to be honest.

Thanks for the review on one of our cars. Was doing a little looking on Kijiji to perhaps find a roof rack when I decide to but in 245/50/18 and found a set of these that were just listed.

These tires list at Canadian Tire for around $260 each, and say the start with 9.5/32 tread.... well these ones I found still had 7.5/32 but only cost me $225 for all 4.

[newbievueowner]

Originally Posted by tyrelirwin

Thats a good deal, less than I was looking at for the same.

Did you go 235 or 245?

I think they are 235/55/18. I have to look at the invoice.

I have a serious issue now with this specific Kal Tire because they completely buggered my pristine stock rims up! And the clown that balanced them did a horrible job and the vehicle now shakes pretty good around 100-110 km/h! Everything was fine when I went in this morning. What a disaster! Have to go back there tomorrow and chew them out. I am so p@#%!d tonight! I have a feeling this will end up in small claims court. Sorryto hijack the thread but I had to vent.....

[RedGeminiPA]

Here are a few pics of the new tires...

[Hoagrod]

Redgemini,

What size did you go with? I am needing tires asap and I went to a shop and they're trying to put me in a 235 40 R18. I am so damn confused on what these tire sizes mean. They gave me two options

1. Hankook Optimo H426 ($850.00 w/ $50 rebate)

2. Kuhmo Solus KL21 ($860)

Both have bad reviews in wet weather and only rated for light snow. Well I live in MN, so an all season tire that is good in snow is ideal. Please help me with sizes of tires that I can put on my RL at a good price and are decent in snow. I am on a budget big time.

[Vue in Ontario]

Originally Posted by Hoagrod

Redgemini,

What size did you go with? I am needing tires asap and I went to a shop and they're trying to put me in a 235 40 R18. I am so damn confused on what these tire sizes mean. They gave me two options

1. Hankook Optimo H426 ($850.00 w/ $50 rebate)

2. Kuhmo Solus KL21 ($860)

Both have bad reviews in wet weather and only rated for light snow. Well I live in MN, so an all season tire that is good in snow is ideal. Please help me with sizes of tires that I can put on my RL at a good price and are decent in snow. I am on a budget big time.

The lower that second number, the lower the profile most likely means the higher the price, not to mention the worse the ride.

I believe stock are 245/50/18.... that's what my current tires are.(edit) Just put vehicle info into Canadian Tire site and it came up with 245/50/18 for standard size on a Redline.

Edit- reread your post.... too clear up confusion first number is width of tire in metric I believe, second number is a ratio of height of tire wall to width. So 40's would be shorter than 50's as 40 means tire wall height is 40% of width. Lastly the third number is the most obvious, it's the rim size.

[col_dude190]

Originally Posted by Hoagrod

Redgemini,

What size did you go with? I am needing tires asap and I went to a shop and they're trying to put me in a 235 40 R18. I am so damn confused on what these tire sizes mean. They gave me two options

1. Hankook Optimo H426 ($850.00 w/ $50 rebate)

2. Kuhmo Solus KL21 ($860)

Both have bad reviews in wet weather and only rated for light snow. Well I live in MN, so an all season tire that is good in snow is ideal. Please help me with sizes of tires that I can put on my RL at a good price and are decent in snow. I am on a budget big time.

I would not let them put you in a set of 235-40-18s. They are wayyy off from the stock size. To give you some perspective, if you were to go with the 235-40-18s, when your speedometer reads 60 mph, you would actually be doing a little over 55 mph because the size is so drastically different from the stock size. The 235 width is narrower than the stock 245, so you would be losing some of your contact patch with the road. Also, going with a 40 sidewall would make the ride of your Redline pretty harsh. There are times when the ride can be harsh with the stock 245-50-18s, so I can only imagine what it would be like with a shorter sidewall.

The tire that many of us have been going with is the BFGoodrich Radial T/A in the 245-55-18 size. They are just a hair taller than the stock tires, but they are VERY reasonably priced at around $350 to $400 for a set depending on where you get them. They are the stock all seasons on the base model Camaro, which probably has something to do with the bargain basement price. I have got them on both of our Redlines and they have great grip and they ride at least as good, if not better, than the stock Turanzas. I have found them to be pretty good in snow, although there is no replacement for good snow tires IMO. A few other owners on here have them as well. If you look through the posts in this thread, you will find all the info that you need on them. Any shop that sells BFG tires should be able to order them, although my preference is to order them online through tirerack or discount tire (who often offers a mail in rebate for BFG tires) and then have them mounted locally.

Best of luck with your tire search!

[Hoagrod]

Thanks for the help on this.

[AJEsquire]

Originally Posted by col_dude190

I would not let them put you in a set of 235-40-18s. They are wayyy off from the stock size. To give you some perspective, if you were to go with the 235-40-18s, when your speedometer reads 60 mph, you would actually be doing a little over 55 mph because the size is so drastically different from the stock size. The 235 width is narrower than the stock 245, so you would be losing some of your contact patch with the road. Also, going with a 40 sidewall would make the ride of your Redline pretty harsh. There are times when the ride can be harsh with the stock 245-50-18s, so I can only imagine what it would be like with a shorter sidewall.

The tire that many of us have been going with is the BFGoodrich Radial T/A in the 245-55-18 size. They are just a hair taller than the stock tires, but they are VERY reasonably priced at around $350 to $400 for a set depending on where you get them. They are the stock all seasons on the base model Camaro, which probably has something to do with the bargain basement price. I have got them on both of our Redlines and they have great grip and they ride at least as good, if not better, than the stock Turanzas. I have found them to be pretty good in snow, although there is no replacement for good snow tires IMO. A few other owners on here have them as well. If you look through the posts in this thread, you will find all the info that you need on them. Any shop that sells BFG tires should be able to order them, although my preference is to order them online through tirerack or discount tire (who often offers a mail in rebate for BFG tires) and then have them mounted locally.

Best of luck with your tire search!

So I will add my 2 cents because tire size/look/tread/rating all is very important to me and my vehicle. In short...sure! go with the 40 in profile height....ONLY if you are putting 20 inch or 22 inch rims on your RL lol. That would be the only way they would fit! 40 is considered "low profile" which people put on their cars to show off their rims....the less thickness of the tire wall? The more impact YOU feel when driving because you can think of that number as the amount of cushion you get between the road and the bumps and your bum.....the higher the number, the more cushion you get! Personally I think they picked the perfect number of 245/50 r18...it looks really good on the RL and keeps it looking more "sporty" Plus...in my opinion...55's are more than a "hair" taller...they are noticably taller and make it look like you are driving a soccer mom SUV more than a sleek sporty RL ;-). Keep in mind that is just my opinion. But I could tell in the pictures that those are not 245/50 r18's those are 55's, the difference is as clear as day. But I am sure that they get a better ride then I do. Mechanics will tell you, when you want a smoother ride, get better tires (as opposed to switching out your struts).
Last thing....you need to also look at the warranty. I have already had tires that the tread life wore out before the warranty did. All season non z or x rated, non touring tires will last the longest, the sportier the tire, the softer the tire..the quicker it wears out. (keep in mind their are exceptions but that is the general theory on tires) more grip usually means less tread because to get good grip, you need softer tires. Mine came with Z rated tires...I forget the name because I will NOT be getting them again, I drive tooo much to have soft sport "v" treaded tires!

[RedGeminiPA]

Originally Posted by AJEsquire

So I will add my 2 cents because tire size/look/tread/rating all is very important to me and my vehicle. In short...sure! go with the 40 in profile height....ONLY if you are putting 20 inch or 22 inch rims on your RL lol. That would be the only way they would fit! 40 is considered "low profile" which people put on their cars to show off their rims....the less thickness of the tire wall? The more impact YOU feel when driving because you can think of that number as the amount of cushion you get between the road and the bumps and your bum.....the higher the number, the more cushion you get! Personally I think they picked the perfect number of 245/50 r18...it looks really good on the RL and keeps it looking more "sporty" Plus...in my opinion...55's are more than a "hair" taller...they are noticably taller and make it look like you are driving a soccer mom SUV more than a sleek sporty RL ;-). Keep in mind that is just my opinion. But I could tell in the pictures that those are not 245/50 r18's those are 55's, the difference is as clear as day. But I am sure that they get a better ride then I do. Mechanics will tell you, when you want a smoother ride, get better tires (as opposed to switching out your struts).
Last thing....you need to also look at the warranty. I have already had tires that the tread life wore out before the warranty did. All season non z or x rated, non touring tires will last the longest, the sportier the tire, the softer the tire..the quicker it wears out. (keep in mind their are exceptions but that is the general theory on tires) more grip usually means less tread because to get good grip, you need softer tires. Mine came with Z rated tires...I forget the name because I will NOT be getting them again, I drive tooo much to have soft sport "v" treaded tires!

Did you look at the pictures of mine I posted above? Hardly soccer-mom looking. Start pricing that size of tire, and you'll start considering other options, as we've done.

[RedGeminiPA]

Originally Posted by hoagrod

redgemini,

what size did you go with? I am needing tires asap and i went to a shop and they're trying to put me in a 235 40 r18. I am so damn confused on what these tire sizes mean. They gave me two options

1. Hankook optimo h426 ($850.00 w/ $50 rebate)

2. Kuhmo solus kl21 ($860)

both have bad reviews in wet weather and only rated for light snow. Well i live in mn, so an all season tire that is good in snow is ideal. Please help me with sizes of tires that i can put on my rl at a good price and are decent in snow. I am on a budget big time.

245/55/18

[AJEsquire]

Originally Posted by RedGeminiPA

Did you look at the pictures of mine I posted above? Hardly soccer-mom looking. Start pricing that size of tire, and you'll start considering other options, as we've done.

I saw yours, and...u r right...not soccer momish but theyn still look a little too beefy for me...I like the 50's a LOT better...but then again..that is my opinion, it is not as if they look sacreligious or anything lol...just too beefy for me.
I just found 2 sets of Kumho Majesty Solus KU50 Tires $250 a set with free shipping. Now that was just blindly looking and putting them in the order of cheapest first...plus it cost more to buy four at once then 2 sets of 2 lol weird. Don't know their rating or anything so maybe they suck but 500 bucks is a reasonable price for tires to me because my nissan altima had 16's and I spent 420 on four tires for that car (granted I got lower profile and wider ones). BUT I do see tires in that size that cost a LOT more....I think you just have to take the time and look and you can truly find some in the right size :-)

[col_dude190]

Originally Posted by AJEsquire

I saw yours, and...u r right...not soccer momish but theyn still look a little too beefy for me...I like the 50's a LOT better...but then again..that is my opinion, it is not as if they look sacreligious or anything lol...just too beefy for me.

Obviously its a preference thing, but the 245-55-18's are no where near "soccer momish".

They are IMO only a hair taller as you only get about an extra half inch on each side of the wheel (about an inch added to the total diameter of the wheel and tire). Not only do they still offer the excellent grip of the stock tires as they have the same 245 width, but you also get a better ride because of the higher sidewall. It's not like they are monster truck tires...the 55 sidewall is still pretty stiff. They are also much better looking IMO because, even with the Redline package, the Vue has HUGE wheel well gaps from the factory with stock size tires. Going with a huge wheel and a low pro tire that still maintains the factory wheel/tire diameter will not fix this issue. The slightly higher sidewall fills those gaps much more effectively than the stock tires and makes the Vue look MUCH better IMO. Add in the low price compared to the stock 245-50-18s and you have a great all around tire.

Again just my 2 cents