Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Wheels & Tires What do you guys have against Goodyear?

BTW, did you even bother to read what I said, or look at the tires I linked to?

What IS a good tire? I want something that has GOOD grip (meaning I dont chirp the tires on a 20-mph 90 degree curve going into the subdivision, as I do on these WONDERFUL (read: CRAPPY) Ultrex tires) But I want to have good wet/dry grip, and they MUST be good in snow. So far, I have looked at Michelin somethings ($560 for all 4) Continental, Goodyear, Perelli, basically, it HAS to be a name-brand tire, with a good balance of performance/comfort. I know my moms BMW has Continental, and its has a good balance, but what would be good on my Mystique?

Moonlight, the Dunlop SP Sport A2 has the best feedback and is pretty cheap. I think $55ea from Tirerack in 205/60R15.

I've owned a set of Eagle HP's in the past and found that while they provided fairly good grip, they were also very loud.

On the ZX2 we have a set of GS-C's. They suck. On dry pavement the car squirms left and right with torque steer, it drifts through corners at only moderate speed and they transmit tons of road noise.

For the Contour, we ride on Kumho tyres for the winter (732 touring) and find them to be excellent. Very little noise, excellent grip, good fuel economy. In the summer we ride on BFG Comp T/A's and they are quite simply the best tyre we've ever driven on. I've never even heard a chirp from these in the corners, no matter how hard I push. These tyres are simply the best!

When Goodyear makes something that compares to the T/A IMO, I'll buy a set. But they'll also have to be priced the same. Given the poor performance of the ZX2's tyres, I don't see much to look forward to.

On a side note, I had to replace by rear winter tyres on the Contour soon after buying it. Since the 732's weren't available locally I bought a set of Goodyears (can't recall model). Since then, I've noticed the rear end of the 'tour likes to slide around a lot more. It did not have this problem with the original Kumho's.

All tires have trade-offs, i.e., better grip usually means higher wear/less life.
I've got about 40K on my Contour's Goodyear Eagle HPs (which are performance, NOT touring tires); they grip well IMHO, and have been a very good value overall. I remember several years back when my brother had Mickey Thompson's on his hot rodded Mustang. The tires gave super grip compared to the stock type tires, but they only lasted about 8K miles.

I also have a ZX2 that came from the factory with stock Goodyear Eagle RSAs. I only have about 15K on this car, but haven't driven the car to the limit to test the tires. Otherwise they seem good to me.

...all else being equal which it is not. However, R&D has figured out ways increase grip and make tires last longer. Take the OEM G-Force on SVT's. Most people have said it has some very high performance limits, yet people are getting 25-35k miles out of them. An older design tire with similar performance would last 10-15k miles under the same conditions, like the yok AVS intermediate, another tire I really liked when I ahd them. The compounds and tread designs have improved over time and will continue to. Companies that stay stagnant will not last and should not be subsidized to do so. Whether the two competitors are based in the US or not, the better company prevails.

It is all relative. If you are used to average touring tires that get 40k miles, check out some new tires that equal or better performance and last twice as long. Or, you may continue to buy the same tire for the next 10 years. But what if you tried some tires to one that had more grip, better steering response, and lasted longer all for the same price? Would you really want the old set back?

Yeah, I'm sure Kumho has better technology than Goodyear!

Ugh, someone used the "K" word... I hate the Kumho 712's in 235/40/17 on my car... The worst part is they're lasting FOR EVER even though I burn them off every chance I get. My Firestone Winterfires have better straight line traction than those bricks do.

As for foreign vs. domestic tires, it's a world economy to me when Yokohoma can put out a tire for less than half the price of a comparable Goodyear.

They seem to right now. They make the ultra popular Ectsa V700 and Victoracer V700 tires for example. The popular one that Brad has everyone knows isn't the best performance tire, but it's not bad, especially for its price. At least Brad said they last a long while.