Replacing OEM Tires
I still don't know why you are talking about performance tires, all the recommendations here are for all-season tires.
You should have gotten a Prius, btw.
^ignorant statement much like the one you made in the first paragraph of your introductory post.
To each their own on tire selection. I don't like how LRR, eco oriented tires feel and I don't feel comfortable with how they react to direction changes, so I don't use them, I use all seasons. If they are fine for you, good, you can suggest them without talking down to everyone else.
Nobody here is telling the guy to go get 100 t/w tires.
You should have gotten a Prius, btw.
^ignorant statement much like the one you made in the first paragraph of your introductory post.
To each their own on tire selection. I don't like how LRR, eco oriented tires feel and I don't feel comfortable with how they react to direction changes, so I don't use them, I use all seasons. If they are fine for you, good, you can suggest them without talking down to everyone else.
Nobody here is telling the guy to go get 100 t/w tires.
I still don't know why you are talking about performance tires, all the recommendations here are for all-season tires.
You should have gotten a Prius, btw.
^ignorant statement much like the one you made in the first paragraph of your introductory post.
To each their own on tire selection. I don't like how LRR, eco oriented tires feel and I don't feel comfortable with how they react to direction changes, so I don't use them, I use all seasons. If they are fine for you, good, you can suggest them without talking down to everyone else.
Nobody here is telling the guy to go get 100 t/w tires.
You should have gotten a Prius, btw.
^ignorant statement much like the one you made in the first paragraph of your introductory post.
To each their own on tire selection. I don't like how LRR, eco oriented tires feel and I don't feel comfortable with how they react to direction changes, so I don't use them, I use all seasons. If they are fine for you, good, you can suggest them without talking down to everyone else.
Nobody here is telling the guy to go get 100 t/w tires.
~SB
Narrower tires don't mean less contact patch. The contact patch stays the same surface area. You're just changing the shape.
A narrower tire means your contact patch is now longer front-to-back than it is wide. In inclement conditions, some people say a narrow tire is better than a wider tire because the tire gets more forward purchase.
An extreme example is the World Rally Championship. In the Sweden or Finland events, WRC cars have studded snow tires that don't look much more than motorbike tires.
By comparison, a wide tire has a contact patch that is wider side-to-side than it is long...supposedly better in the dry.
Car Bibles : The Wheel and Tyre Bible Page 3 of 4
A narrower tire means your contact patch is now longer front-to-back than it is wide. In inclement conditions, some people say a narrow tire is better than a wider tire because the tire gets more forward purchase.
An extreme example is the World Rally Championship. In the Sweden or Finland events, WRC cars have studded snow tires that don't look much more than motorbike tires.
By comparison, a wide tire has a contact patch that is wider side-to-side than it is long...supposedly better in the dry.
Car Bibles : The Wheel and Tyre Bible Page 3 of 4
Of course with a low-clearance passenger car, real deep snow is out of the question and narrow tires with high pressures to dig down and get traction without trying to push too much snow out of the way would generally work best.
I'm required to use chains here in California so there is also the issue of clearance. Sometimes a tire can be too wide with chains to clear the struts.
i still blame shitty falkens for that accident which the other party paid everything for and i made $1600 since i fixed it all on my own.

tires DO make a difference in avoidance. i remember when i had my MINI, i ran StarSpecs which responded immediately to my reflex when some dumbarse in a camry almost crashed into me from the side trying to make an illegal turn.
that's bullshit right there. if it wasn't for the shitty falkens on my GD years ago, the ABS would not have reacted, and i would've been able to stop in time to avoid a fender bender.
i still blame shitty falkens for that accident which the other party paid everything for and i made $1600 since i fixed it all on my own.

tires DO make a difference in avoidance. i remember when i had my MINI, i ran StarSpecs which responded immediately to my reflex when some dumbarse in a camry almost crashed into me from the side trying to make an illegal turn.
i still blame shitty falkens for that accident which the other party paid everything for and i made $1600 since i fixed it all on my own.

tires DO make a difference in avoidance. i remember when i had my MINI, i ran StarSpecs which responded immediately to my reflex when some dumbarse in a camry almost crashed into me from the side trying to make an illegal turn.
Chances are, Falkens or not, you would've crashed. Reaction time has a FAR more effect on accidents.
Here is a chart for reference on the distances we're talking about:
to each their own, but I was involved with an accident in a previous car where I chose to replace 1 tire with a cheaper replacement and I believe contributed to understeer event that led to a crash. Yes, it is I who pushed the car beyond the safe envelope; but the envelope of performance was compromised by the tires.
Having learned my lesson, I now do consider tires a very important part of the car, and do not hesitate to spend money for better tires. Even if I do not use them to the max, I appreciate having the extra performance "headroom" of the tires, even just as a safety feature.
I do not want to get into situation where I look back over my totaled car and regret buying cheap tires.
So removing that uncertainty is worth it by itself, even if it's just psychological.
Having learned my lesson, I now do consider tires a very important part of the car, and do not hesitate to spend money for better tires. Even if I do not use them to the max, I appreciate having the extra performance "headroom" of the tires, even just as a safety feature.
I do not want to get into situation where I look back over my totaled car and regret buying cheap tires.
So removing that uncertainty is worth it by itself, even if it's just psychological.
Last edited by raytseng; Dec 5, 2012 at 08:20 PM.
My wife has been extremely pleased with her P175/65 R15 84H General Altimax HP tires at a measley $77 per tire from Tire Rack(dot)com. They are pretty fantastic tires and wear like steel (they are warranty-rated for 55,000 miles but 70,000+ miles is reported quite often in the customer reviews
). At $77 per tire, it is tough to beat these tires for price/performance. 
General Altimax HP Tires (Click Here)
). At $77 per tire, it is tough to beat these tires for price/performance. 
General Altimax HP Tires (Click Here)
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