any suggestions!

Many people on this forum check this site out  

http://www.tirerack.com/

'I have a firend who needs new tires for her 2003 Santa Fe. What do
folks here recommend, based on their experiences? Is there agreement in
this group on which tire(s) are best? We're talking about a 4x4 in the
New York metro area. Some snow driving, but no off-roading.
Thanks for any suggestions!
Regards,
Anthony Giorgianni'

REPLY:  I have a full set of LongTrails that came with my 2002 SantaFe
which im trying to sell. They have approx. 5,000 miles on them .
Excellent condition. Had no problems with them except just wanted wider
ones for maximum road grip.  If youre friend is interested, Ill sell
them cheap and can send them thru the USPO like ive done before with
tires.  Im in Northern Illinois.
Email me if interested....
Dave.

While they may be a little too new to draw any conclusions, Goodyear has
three new tires, all of which look like they may be some of the better ones
ever made (something that previously could never be said of Goodyear SUV
tires - good and safe, but never the best ones made).

For all-season type tires, both the Goodyear Fortera TripleTred and Fortera
SilentArmor are worth a long look.  You would need to decide which features
you value more to decide between those two, though overall, I would give the
edge to the TripleTred.

For all-terrain tires, the Goodyear Wrangler SilentArmor is definitely the
best tire ever made under the Wrangler moniker.  And the best set of tires I
have ever had on any of my vehicles is the Bridgestone Dueler APT III, which
is available at Sears.  If you want those kinds of tires, look long and hard
at these.

Do not know which (if any) of these are available in your size, but assume
that you should be able to get at least two or three of the four.

By the way, considering that a number of new auto tires are coming on the
market, almost all of which have moved to the leading edge of tire
technology, I am disappointed that so many of the truck and SUV tires
(outside of these Goodyears) are getting so long in the tooth.  Some more
new choices would be welcome.

I've been very happy with the tire selector and opinions from
consumers on http://www.tirerack.com. I've bought both for my own
Sonata and my wife's Toyota and the comparison between performance we
get versus what people on the site said they got was fairly accurate.
I'd have your friend do some research there first. Although I can't
say much about the OEM 2003 Santa Fe tires or the way a Santa Fe
drives as compared to my 02 Sonata, I've been VERY happy with the
Yokohama brand I have on there now. My OEMs Michelins were garbage.

According to Tirerack the OEMs on the Santa Fe (4WD) were BFGoodrich
Radial Longtrail T/A (Highway All-Season) and consumers rate them a
6.6 overall. That's slightly above average but not terrible. Here's a
listing of the top rated tires in the Highway All-Season category for
a Santa Fe 2003 4WD:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=HAS&tireSearc
h=true&width=225/&ratio=70&diameter=16&speed_rating=S&speed_rating=T&speed_ratin
g=U&speed_rating=H&speed_rating=V&speed_rating=W&speed_rating=Y&speed_rating=Z&s
peed_rating=S&speed_rating=T&speed_rating=U&speed_rating=H&speed_rating=V&speed_
rating=W&speed_rating=Y&speed_rating=Z&autoMake=Hyundai&autoYear=2003&autoModel=
Santa%20Fe%204wd&vehicleSearch=true&filter=y&autoMake=Hyundai&autoYear=2003&auto
Model=Santa%20Fe%204wd&vehicleSearch=true

The OEMs rank 25th in that category. I'd say that listing is a good
starting place and then have your friend narrow it down based on price
and performance. Good luck.

- Thee Chicago Wolf