2010 Vibe Tire Choices

[Rhymingmechanic]

Tire rebate season is here, and my Vibe needs a set.

Based on reading here and on some tire sites, I have narrowed my choices down to two, 205 55R16 size:

Cooper CS5 Ultra Touring V-rated

Michelin Defender T&H H-rated

I've seen mixed reviews of both. What does BITOG say?

Thanks in advance.

 

[2010Civic]

I have the Defenders on my Civic. Same exact size. I have 20k on them and like them a lot. Nice quiet tire.

 

[Imp4]

I'm very happy with the CS5 Ultra Touring on my '03 Camry. I'm approximately 10k miles in and they did great last winter.
Good wet traction and no problems with the snow and ice here.
215/60-16 (V-rated) in my case.
Highly recommend.

 

[skyactiv]

I would pick the one that has better wet traction.

 

[Gebo]

Michelin Defender.

With the Coopers you got about a 50/50 chance of getting a good set.
With the Michelins you got about a 90/10 chance of getting a good set.

Please buy from a local dealer just in case you have some problems with either set.

I have the Defenders on 2 of my cars and they are very nice. I will have them on 3 in about 30K more miles.

 

[mrsilv04]

Originally Posted by Gebo


With the Coopers you got about a 50/50 chance of getting a good set.
With the Michelins you got about a 90/10 chance of getting a good set.



And exactly where did this scientific research come from?

 

[slacktide_bitog]

The CS5 is a BITOG favorite. Plus, it can often be had at a great price after rebates. If you can wait about 6 weeks, DT/DTD will have another sale.

 

[NO2]

Continental Purecontact LS, or General RT43 is another option, and almost topped out the latest Consumer Reports tests. The RT43 is about the same as the Cooper after rebates. You can also get the Michelin CrossClimate+ from TireRack, which was the best performance all-season tire they tested and get the Michelin rebate.

We just replaced Michelin Premier A/S with the RT43 on a Subaru, and they handle just as well and have a lot more tread for snow.

 

[CapriRacer]

You should be aware that the Vibe is noted for irregular tire wear issues. That's because of the camber.

When you get your tires, get an alignment. Have the tech dial out as much of the camber as possible - below 1 degree. That might require a camber plate or an eccentric bolt - additional cost! Yes that would make the camber out of spec - but your tires will thank you. Be sure to get the tech to agree BEFORE he touches the car. If he doesn't agree, find another place who does.

And be sure to instruct the tech you want the toe right in the middle of the spec. Excessive toe (on either side) drives irregular wear - and it is aggravated by excessive camber...

 

[supton]

I'm an RT43 fan, and a non-fan of Michelin. So CS5 gets my vote.

 

[Rhymingmechanic]

Originally Posted by CapriRacer
You should be aware that the Vibe is noted for irregular tire wear issues. That's because of the camber.

When you get your tires, get an alignment. Have the tech dial out as much of the camber as possible - below 1 degree. That might require a camber plate or an eccentric bolt - additional cost! Yes that would make the camber out of spec - but your tires will thank you. Be sure to get the tech to agree BEFORE he touches the car. If he doesn't agree, find another place who does.

And be sure to instruct the tech you want the toe right in the middle of the spec. Excessive toe (on either side) drives irregular wear - and it is aggravated by excessive camber...


Thanks for that information, CapriRacer. I wonder what you think about this alignment report. The camber seems to be within your suggested specs, but the toe is just barely out of range.

I will say that this car has done pretty well with tire wear until the current set. I missed a rotation last year, and now the LF is worn excessively on the outside. The tech who did this alignment check said the wear is likely to be a balance problem rather than alignment. Whatever the cause, the tire is worn more than I had realized, so I want to get a new set before winter.


As far as tire selection goes, thanks to everyone for your comments. The negatives I've read are Coopers being out of round and the Michelins wearing faster than expected. I'm leaning toward Cooper because of the price difference, but haven't decided yet.

Discount Tire has Continental Control Contact Tour A/S Plus, priced between the Cooper and the Michelins. Is that a comparable tire to the Purecontact LS?

 

[CR94]

Originally Posted by CapriRacer
You should be aware that the Vibe is noted for irregular tire wear issues. That's because of the camber. ...
Thanks! I suspect that also applies to Vibe's cousin, my Prius, which I assume uses substantially similar suspension. On the tires, I see signs of excessive front camber and rear toe-in.

 

[CapriRacer]

Originally Posted by Rhymingmechanic
……. Thanks for that information, CapriRacer. I wonder what you think about this alignment report. The camber seems to be within your suggested specs, but the toe is just barely out of range. ……


First, my experience says that the published alignment tolerances - not the target, the allowable range - is too wide by half. So anything outside the published range - IMHO - is bad, bad!!

Second, toe is the easiest thing to adjust in the alignment. Why anyone can't (or won't) adjust the toe to the middle is ….. well, I'm not sure I have words!

Third, look at the rear camber. It's over a degree. That's problematic. The good news is that the toe is not terrible, but could use a bit of adjustment.

 

[Rhymingmechanic]

Just to clarify, this report is an alignment check that was done with rotation and balance. I decided to hold off on getting an actual alignment until the new tires go on.

And I forgot to pay attention to the rear specs. What would you suggest as a target for rear camber?

Thanks again!

 

[CapriRacer]

Originally Posted by Rhymingmechanic
……. What would you suggest as a target for rear camber? ….. !


Anything lower than a degree.

This might take a camber plate or an eccentric bolt to do (additional cost) - and you need to be sure the alignment tech knows you want this to happen. If he doesn't agree, find another place.

 

[Rhymingmechanic]

I want to make sure I'm reading my report right. Camber at all four wheels is a negative number, which fits your less than one degree recommendation, right?

I assume moving the toe could change camber, so they'll have to readjust if that happens.

Thank you again. I don't really have a good sense of how all of these specs work together.

 

[CapriRacer]

Originally Posted by Rhymingmechanic
I want to make sure I'm reading my report right. Camber at all four wheels is a negative number, which fits your less than one degree recommendation, right?

I assume moving the toe could change camber, so they'll have to readjust if that happens.

Thank you again. I don't really have a good sense of how all of these specs work together.


I think I've not been sufficiently clear. You want the camber near zero, but no more than 1 degree off zero. Since negative camber (top tilting in) is the common way camber is specified, you want the value to be between zero and negative one degree.

And I am not sure about what happens to toe when you adjust the camber. On some suspensions, the toe is affected and on some it is not.

 

[SatinSilver]

The Vibe and Matrix come from the factory with negative camber especially in the rear for better handling and cornering. I'd keep it the way it is and sacrifice a little bit of extra tire wear for the increase in performance. I have an 05 Matrix and had the dealer do an alignment last year. It looks much like your report. I debated on getting the camber bolts but decided it against it. Previous tires were some cheap Hankook all seasons and I was able to get 65k miles out of them. A local shop said the tread was low but wearing evenly when the tires had about 63k on them. Just kept them rotated every 5-6k and drove pretty easy. No speeding tickets.

 

[CR94]

I think conservative Toyota likes positive front camber and negative rear camber to be extra-double certain the car doesn't get tail-happy in any imaginable circumstance. I can see the results on tire wear.

 

[Rhymingmechanic]

Originally Posted by CapriRacer
Originally Posted by Rhymingmechanic
I want to make sure I'm reading my report right. Camber at all four wheels is a negative number, which fits your less than one degree recommendation, right?

I assume moving the toe could change camber, so they'll have to readjust if that happens.

Thank you again. I don't really have a good sense of how all of these specs work together.


I think I've not been sufficiently clear. You want the camber near zero, but no more than 1 degree off zero. Since negative camber (top tilting in) is the common way camber is specified, you want the value to be between zero and negative one degree.

And I am not sure about what happens to toe when you adjust the camber. On some suspensions, the toe is affected and on some it is not.


That makes sense. I think I've got it now.