Time to replace tires ?

[mlandusk]

I still have over 6mm on my tires although mileage wise i have 45,000 on my 2009 Aura XE (yes I drive like grandpa) and I'm looking aorund for sonme decent all season tires. The Firestones that came with the car were ok but nothing to write home about in the snow.
Any suggestions on what folks out there have used? I live in the northeast and we have moderate snow and fins ourselves driving in the bad stuff from time to time.
I think the tires are starting to slip a little more inthe rain and i want to have something good for the coming winter.

[onefunkar]

this may sound dumb but make sure they give you the correct size tire. 09 xes came with two different size tires.one for rental cars built in 2009 and one for customer cars.most tire places list the rental size and not your size...

[davek128]

I went to the local BJ wholesale club and purchased 4 Michelin tires, about $150 a tire.

[golftango]

Originally Posted by mlandusk

I still have over 6mm on my tires although mileage wise i have 45,000 on my 2009 Aura XE (yes I drive like grandpa) and I'm looking aorund for sonme decent all season tires. The Firestones that came with the car were ok but nothing to write home about in the snow.
Any suggestions on what folks out there have used? I live in the northeast and we have moderate snow and fins ourselves driving in the bad stuff from time to time.
I think the tires are starting to slip a little more inthe rain and i want to have something good for the coming winter.

I'm thinking about trying the Kumho Ecsta 4Xs. You get a $50 Visa card if you purchase before 11/30/11.

http://www.kumhotireusa.com/Tire.asp...at=24&rebate=1

I had a set of Kumho Ecsta's before and they were a pretty decent tire. Lots of grip, traction (wet & dry) and were quiet.

[golftango]

Another option might be the Continental ExtremeContact DWS. They are getting great reviews over on Tire Rack.

[lgodave]

Per onefunkar and golftango's posts:

I'd recommend looking over at Tirerack.com

Can give you some good research/prices/rebates/customer surveys on specific tires before checking local shops.

Onefunkar, Tire Rack suggests 225/50-17 as the OEM tire size. Can I assume the Rental places used a 225/55-16 (Tire Rack's Recommended size for a Winter tire on the XE)?

mlandusk: At 6mm that's just shy of 8/32nds which should be enough for both Snow (6/32nds) and Rain (4/32nds) Traction. First thing you may want to check is your Tire Pressure. If it's significantly higher then what is recommended for the vehicle... it can negatively affect handling.

If adjusting pressure does the trick... you might get some extra time out of those tires before upgrading. If not... see if Tire Rack carries your specific tire. They may have some Customer/User Ratings on how well it handles Snow/Ice/Rain/Dry pavement.

[GR898SL2]

I thought four cylinder Aura tires were S-rated Hankooks. Perhaps that's just for the Malibu now.

What Firestones are being used on rental grade XE-4s? FR710s?

[onefunkar]

they are both 17 inch. 09s used firestone low rolling resistance in a different size than the 08 and 07s. can remember size off the top of my head. later rentals had 225/50/17 like the 07 and 08s. i just looked at tire rack and they show 07/08 size for 09s and not the correct size for a customer car.

[golftango]

Originally Posted by GR898SL2

I thought four cylinder Aura tires were S-rated Hankooks. Perhaps that's just for the Malibu now.

What Firestones are being used on rental grade XE-4s? FR710s?

Rental/Fleet XEs get the Hankooks. All others get the low rolling resistance Firestone FR710s.