Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Wheels & Tires I need help with tire selection

-Winter-
Looking for tires that are excellent in snow and ice as well as on wet surfaces. Also good in all of the other categories.

-All Season-
Looking for tires that are excellent on dry and wet surfaces as well as in handling. Also with good comfort, noise, and treadwear.

Im looking for both and dont know what kind of tire to get for them. I have a 96' Contour GL 2.5 V6. For winter tires I am gonna use 14" steels and as for the all season tires Im thinking of 16" wheels.

Have a look at Continental ContiExtreme's

for your winter 14inch steelies... i would look at the Hankook W401 They are a fairly good tire.... As for you 16 inch wheels... Pirelli P3000 Im kind of new to the tire market, but these look like some damn good tires. You may want to try looking at www.whalentire.com and/or www.discounttire.com Very good prices at both of those places. I had some Kumho tires on my Steelies and they were AWESOME in the winter. My contour handled better then my mom's grand prix on the snow.

I have Pirelli P3000 for my summer tires mount on my stock 15'' alloy wheels and i like them. I never try other summer tires on my tour, got it with these tires. They handle pretty well on dry surfaces. Maybe slip a bit on wet surfaces but still great.

Nic.

Here's my critique of my last tire purchase..

I went from a dedicated summer tire, the Firestone SZ 50 EP's to an h-rated all season, the BFGoodrich Traction T/A's. The handling, well not as precise feeling as the SZ 50 EP's, is nice and predictable. The wet traction is nearly as good as the Firestones, the ride is quieter and not as harsh, and the breaking seems to be sharper. I would get these tires again. Luke at Tire Rack recommended these to me during our conversation. They were $83 for the 205/55/16's. They come with a 60 K mile warranty. There is also some good track test info on these tires at the Tire Rack. www.tirerack.com

Luke is a good person to talk to, he knows his stuff.

And then this..

Update on the BFGoodrich Traction T/A's. Yesterday I drove in a heavy downpour with standing water on the road at near highway to highway speeds and these tires hydropane resistance was right up there with the SZ 50 EP's they replaced which were excellent in that area. It was my visibility or the cars in front of me keeping my speed down, these tires took all mother nature could dish out. I am very happy with these tires.

That was last month. Now I have about 2k miles on these tires and still like the noise and comfort level, these are great tires!

Ive decided (I think) on Toyo Proxes 4 (205/50-16)for non-winter tires but I am having a hard time looking for 16" wheels for them. Im trying to find something that looks like Enki ZR2 wheels, with spokes about that thick for about $100/ea or less with a 4/108 bolt pattern and everything. If I cant find anything Im gonna have to get rage breaker's or mb motoring rev wheels.

I gotta replace my tires by the end of Oct in order to pass state inspection.

I'm in the process of getting my second set of Dunlop SP Sport 5000s. Very nice.

Ok after searching days online, here are some of my choices.

Tires:
Toyo Proxes 4
Nitto Neo Gen

Wheels:
Enkei DM5
Team Dynamics Mirage

I think Iam getting the Enkei wheels and the tire I am not sure. The TP4 is excellent in wet and dry and really good in other fields but has no rim protection. As for NNG it has rim protection but dont know how it compares with TP4 in wet and dry traction and all. Any body ever use nitto tires before?