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Car Forum / Saturn Cars / August 2006Best tires to buy for SW2
About a year or so ago I read a thread on here that mentioned a tire that some drivers wanted to buy for their Saturns. Seemed the consensus was that brand was the best and helped make for a real smooth ride. Considering how low my SW2 sits I'd like to get tires that would help make riding in it as comfortable and safe as possible. Seems like it may have had the word Mountain in the name, or at least something rugged sounding. I'm about to get new shocks and tires so I'm researching this now. Thanks for any advice. Jeff >About a year or so ago I read a thread on here that mentioned a tire >that some drivers wanted to buy for their Saturns. Seemed the consensus [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > >Jeff I put a set of Goodyear Allegra's in 185/65 size on my daughter SC2 a few months ago and I have been very pleased with their traction even on slick pavement and great handling too. I also "tested" a set of them on my wifes car last fall because they looked promising and they did a superb job in winter driving too hence the reason for my selection for my daughter car too. I got them at Sams Club. ----------------- TheSnoMan.com Thanks SnoMan. I'm planning on renewing my Sam's Club membership soon myself, so that's one of the places I'll be pricing them at. Appreciate the info. Jeff I had a 2000 SW2. I replaced the awful stock Firestone tires with Goodyear Aquatred 3's. They were awesome. In the winter, I used Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50's with an extra set of steel wheels. I'd do the same again if I still had an SW2. >I had a 2000 SW2. I replaced the awful stock Firestone tires with >Goodyear Aquatred 3's. They were awesome. In the winter, I used >Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50's with an extra set of steel wheels. I'd do >the same again if I still had an SW2. You want some awesome winter tires, try studded ones. I use them on my plow trucks, they are a bit noisy at times but the traction is ice and snow is incredible. ----------------- TheSnoMan.com Thanks for the info guys. It was the Blizzak's I remember reading about on here about a year or so ago. Don't know why I was thinking it had "Mountain" in the name. My location at present time is Omaha, but will be moving probably next spring or sooner. Not sure exactly where to yet, but it'll probably be one of these three places: Casper, WY; Billings, MT; or Salt Lake City, Utah. So no matter what my new tires will be seeing alot of snow & ice. Thanks, Jeff >Thanks for the info guys. It was the Blizzak's I remember reading about >on here about a year or so ago. Don't know why I was thinking it had [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > >Thanks, Jeff Billing would be my first choice with Casper a close second and Salt Lake a distant 3rd. I have been all three places and spent a lot of time in first two. Casper get a bit more snow than Billings and Billing can be a lot stormier and colder at times (more wind) Slat Lake just does not suit my fancy at all. BTW studed tires are real populars in Billings and you can buy them at warehouse clubs in any common size prestudded too. You get up into the high country were roads can bi iced covered for months at a time, studs rule big time. I know I lived out there for a spell. ----------------- TheSnoMan.com Snoman, I've received negative feedback from family and friends about my idea of moving to SLC, so I'm seriously thinking of either Casper or Billings a little more lately. I was in Helena for 4 months about 3 years ago. Had trouble finding work and came to Omaha where I thought I'd be for about a year tops. I'm really getting the itch to move ASAP. Nothing against Omaha, but I like the country in and around the Rockies. Peaceful and beautiful. Thanks for the input, Jeff >Snoman, I've received negative feedback from family and friends about my >idea of moving to SLC, so I'm seriously thinking of either Casper or [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > >Jeff If you plan to look for work, Billings has a far bigger playing field to look for work in. If you are going cold turkey, Billings would have a edge over Casper. Helena has a very limited job market and it nothing like Billings in this regard. People travel for 300 miles and more to shop in Billings as it is the "hub" for this and has the biggest selection of goods north of Denver and Salt Lake to canada. Billing climate is not too extreme in that while it can get to 30 below in short order and blow snow big time it can be mild in winter sometimes too since it is about 3400 feet above sea level and yet you can drive to the mountains and snow in but a few hours at most. It is a little over 2 hours to Bozeman which is in a higher vally and has snow more often but a very tight job market their. I used to spend a lot of time in billings and sometimes I really miss it. Good luck on your choice. ----------------- TheSnoMan.com Thanks again Snoman. When I left Montana I remember seeing smokestacks on the edge of Billings but couldn't see the town from the highway. It was real early in the morning and I had just driven through a bad snowstorm so maybe it was just my eyes, but all's I remember is seeing those smokestacks and thinking it was probably more of an industrial town. If nothing else I'll be taking a drive up through Casper and Billings just to check out the area. A lady told me Casper has grown to about 3 times the size it used to be over the last couple of years. Not sure why or if it's even true. Anyways, thanks everyone for the advice. Jeff >Thanks again Snoman. When I left Montana I remember seeing smokestacks >on the edge of Billings but couldn't see the town from the highway. It [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] >Jeff > It has been several year since I have been there but there is a refinery on the north east end of Billings which they keep pretty clean and there are really no house really down wind for it. There is another one in Laurel which is about 18 miles west of billings on I-90 and you may have seen them because they are right next to interstate. From Billings central to the northwest going sout to the south side of billings is the area that is booming with stories and such and there is no other big manufactures in billings stack wise. THen there is billings heights to which is north of town past airport. They had a nice mall there, RimRock Mall. ----------------- TheSnoMan.com Couple of more questions for you gents: What are your opinions on Kumho Touring A/S 795 (Standard Touring All-Season) tires? Have any of you ever used Kumho tires before? My original tires are size 185/65R15. The Kumho's I can buy are 185/65SR15. I'm wondering what that 'S' stands for. Apparently it's fine to use them for my car because it's listed as such. I'm wondering about these tires because I read very good reviews about them and the price is 'nice' also. I'd have to pay for shipping and I don't know how much that would be yet. But if I buy these I'm guessing I'd save at least $100 on what I figured I'd have to spend for new tires just walking into a shop. Also, I noticed other options listed for sizes of tires for my car as being 16 & 17 (besides the original 15). How much better would 16's or 17's be for driving? I'm pretty sure that's the width of the tire. As you can see I'm not an expert on this stuff. Thanks, Jeff >My original tires are size 185/65R15. The Kumho's I can buy are >185/65SR15. I'm wondering what that 'S' stands for. Apparently it's fine >to use them for my car because it's listed as such. THe S stands for a max speed rating of 99 MPH and the next most common one is the "T" rating which is rated at 116 MPH. THe "S" rating is basically a standard tire. ----------------- TheSnoMan.com SnoMan wrote: "The S stands for a max speed rating of 99 MPH...". I try not to drive over 100 mph in my SW2 so that would suit my purposes I guess. hah At $41/tire (+ shipping), and a shop in town here with reasonable fees for mounting & balancing that Tirerack deals with, that's not bad. Depending on what shipping would be. I'll be checking around in town to see if anyone carry's them or another decently priced good tire. I hate the idea of paying for shipping if I can avoid it. I was actually checking out the other brands that were suggested to me when I ran across the inexpensive Kumho's. After reading the reviews I decided to check them out at least. So thanks to whoever it was that gave me the tirerack website. I'm still planning on checking out the other website or two that were given to me. Thanks guys. Jeff >I was actually checking out the other brands that were suggested to me >when I ran across the inexpensive Kumho's. After reading the reviews I >decided to check them out at least. > I know a few people that like Kumho's (mostly because of price) but they are not a long wearing tires from what I have seen. WHen I pice a tire I use tread design as a factor because I like big open grooves for good wet road traction and lots of sipes in tread for good performance on ice. If they do not have these features, I do not look at them long. ----------------- TheSnoMan.com > Couple of more questions for you gents: > [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > > Thanks, Jeff 15, 16, 17 inch refer to the wheel size. Unless you want to buy new wheels, stick with the 15 inch. I'd stay with the 15" anyway, but that's my personal preference. Ken Thanks Ken. I will be sticking with the 15's. Renewed my membership at Sam's Club this evening and checked out their tires. I've narrowed it down to the Goodyear Allegra's and I think the other was Goodrich Touring T/S Pro or something like that. The Allegra's are about $4 more per tire so not enough to make a difference. Not that I can really tell just by looking but to me the Touring T/S Pro's 'looked' a little nicer, although the Allegra's were AOK also. Whatever I decide on I'll be getting them after September 7th after a couple more paydays. Tirerack would be a little cheaper if I went with the Kumho's but I haven't seen them in person, but I did see another Kumho tire (Solis?) at Sear's that looked really cheap to me. So Sam's Club it is. After seeing the new tires there I realized how little tread I really have left! A little scary to say the least. Jeff > You want some awesome winter tires, try studded ones. I use them on my > plow trucks, they are a bit noisy at times but the traction is ice and > snow is incredible. ...And not legal in some areas. I think we have a certain "season" for them here in NJ.  SignatureJoe in Northern, NJ - V#8013-R Currently Riding The "Mother Ship" Ride a motorcycle in or near NJ? http://tinyurl.com/5apkg http://www.youthelate.com >> You want some awesome winter tires, try studded ones. I use them on my >> plow trucks, they are a bit noisy at times but the traction is ice and >> snow is incredible. > >...And not legal in some areas. I think we have a certain "season" for them >here in NJ. In some areas they are only legal for 4 to 6 months a year but they are quite legal in snowy areas and even if it has a restriction on usage this is not big deal because I used extra rims for them and put them on in winter and switch back in spring and this way get many years of service from them (Next winter will be 6th winter for studded tires for wifes car) ----------------- TheSnoMan.com >About a year or so ago I read a thread on here that mentioned a tire >that some drivers wanted to buy for their Saturns. Seemed the consensus [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >I'm about to get new shocks and tires so I'm researching this now. >Thanks for any advice. I put a new set of stock Firestones (I forget the model name, starts with an "A") on my '95 SW2 when I bought it used about five years ago. They've held up through highway, local and limited off-road (construction site) use. I did buy the road-hazard coverage, and I've used it a couple of times for nail repairs. Ride is smooth, traction is good. And this is in south Texas heat (99 deg. as I type this). SignatureMoney can't buy happiness, but it can let you rent it for a while... Thanks for the info William. At least I'll have a good idea of a couple of brands to check into when I price tires. Jeff check out www.tirerack.com marx404 > About a year or so ago I read a thread on here that mentioned a tire > that some drivers wanted to buy for their Saturns. Seemed the consensus [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > Jeff One defining factor we havent a clue about is location (climate). If you dont get snow you dont need an aggressive tread obviously. Just about any tire these days will give you a good ride unless its some sort of hard crap made to last more than 100k+ miles. Personally I like Cooper Tires as they offer about the only real American made tires anymore. http://www.coopertire.com/us/en/selectorVehicle1.asp >One defining factor we havent a clue about is location (climate). If you >dont get snow you dont need an aggressive tread obviously. Just about >any tire these days will give you a good ride unless its some sort of >hard crap made to last more than 100k+ miles. Personally I like Cooper >Tires as they offer about the only real American made tires anymore. Allegra's are not agreesive and my daughter SC2 will do about 40 MPG with them on a trip so they roll nice. THere is a cooper tire main warehouse near here and while cooper makes a lot of tires, they are only a "B" tire at best when it comes to top end radials. ----------------- TheSnoMan.com |
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