'98 Outback - new set to replace Mich. Harmony

[mrsilv04]

Sis has decided that it is time to replace the Michelin Harmony tires (P205/70R-15) that she has on her 200,000+ mile Outback.

She's big on Michelins, but just can't justify another set on a car that is only worth about $2000 at this point.

Wanting to keep the price under $75 per tire.

Right now, I'm looking at the Yokohama Avid TRZ ($69 per tire) and the BF Goodrich Traction T/A ($72 per tire).

Since this is Illinois, it will need to be a four season tire, and she drives hard (that characteristic seems to run in the family... for four generations now.)

The local Subaru dealer is really big on the Yokohama tires. It is almost exclusively what they put on customer's cars and trade ins.

I have a set of Traction T/A's on my niece's Grand Am, and they've done an excellent job of keeping an 18 year old on the road (and out of the ditch).

The biggest problem is that she's used to Michelins, and the only set of non-Michelin tires that she had on this car... she really didn't like, a cheap-o set of Douglas Xtra-Tracs.

 

[daves87rs]

Traction TAs are great, the only downside is that they wear faster....the price you pay for fun.

I like the Cooper CS4s...great all season traction...

 

[hate2work]

Look into the Pirelli P4 tire. Just put them on the Corolla and they are working very good. Not sure if you could get them at your price point, but I know they are quite a bit cheaper than the Michelins.

 

[Drew99GT]

Another option is the Yokohama Avid Touring S - very highly rated and cost effective.

 

[mrsilv04]

Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
Another option is the Yokohama Avid Touring S - very highly rated and cost effective.


I considered the Avid Touring S, but decided that the TRZ was a better tire, for just a few bucks more.

Plus, after reading up on Yoko's site, I got the impression that the Touring S is more designed for "ride"... with the terms "smooth" and "luxury" used in the description.

 

[Nick R]

General Altimax.

 

[mrsilv04]

Originally Posted By: rudolphna
General Altimax.


Lower snow traction rating on Tire Rack.

If we were south of the Mason Dixon line, then it would be a strong contender.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Kumho eco Solus HM KR22 is a Low Rolling Resistant tire and only $2 more than Yokohama Avid TRZ. It has one of the highest UTQG at 800 A B.

 

[Hollow]

I believe that Goodyear is currently running a rebate but the Michelin one just ended.

http://www.goodyeartires.com/cfmx/web/gy...rce=GoodyearWeb

Could get $40 to $80 off on TripleTreds, which we had on our old 96 and liked them except for noise.

Also:

http://www.tirerack.com/specialoffers/specialoffers.jsp rebates

http://www.discounttiredirect.com also has a rebate page

 

[FordFocus]

I'd go with the traction t/a's over the yoko's.

 

[daves87rs]

Originally Posted By: FordFocus
I'd go with the traction t/a's over the yoko's.


+1


Not a fan on how hard the sidewalls get here in the winter...

 

[Hokiefyd]

+2

My former '07 Corolla had Yokohama Avid TRZs, and they were great in the summer, but the whole tire just seemed to harden up like a rock in cold weather. The Michelins we have on our van don't do that, and I was planning on swapping those TRZs out on my Corolla at Christmas, for a set of Michelins.

But then a traded it for a new Camry, that does have Michelins. So I paid about $17,000 for a set of Michelin tires. Yeah, that's how much I like 'em.

Seriously, I've found that you can spend less on a tire, but you never get more. In other words, the few dollars extra that the Michelins cost now won't make a hill of beans if you get another tire that you don't like.

 

[teddyboy]

If she's going to keep the car for a decent amount of time, I'd tell her to just go ahead and bite the bullet for Michelins. Say shes spends $20 per tire more or $80 for the set. If she keeps the car for 20,000 more miles, that works out to only $4 per thousand miles. Given her strong preference, it would seem worth it to me. If you have access to Discount tire, they usually have a very competitive price on the Michelin Destiny, a Discount Tire exclusive that is very comparable to the Harmony that she's run in the past.

 

[97tbird]

General Altimax HP:
Nothing but good experiences so far - brilliant in wet weather.
#2 in its category at Trirerack.com - by a hair.

 

[mrsilv04]

Originally Posted By: 97tbird
General Altimax HP:
Nothing but good experiences so far - brilliant in wet weather.
#2 in its category at Trirerack.com - by a hair.

It would be a serious contender if we were south of the Mason Dixon line... But we have snow here 4 months out of the year, and lots of it.

 

[jeepman]

Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
Sis has decided that it is time to replace the Michelin Harmony tires (P205/70R-15) that she has on her 200,000+ mile Outback.

She's big on Michelins, but just can't justify another set on a car that is only worth about $2000 at this point.


That may be the blue book value, but the car is worth whatever value she put's on it. If she intends to use it as a daily driver for 3 years or more (which should be doable with that car), I say put Michelins back on it and be done with it.

I just put a $9 oil filter, synthetic oil, and $40 worth of wiper blades on a $9500 car. I intend to drive it into the ground, so it's worth as much as a new Lexus to me.

Some things in life are worth spending a buck or two on, like tires or good peanut butter!

 

[JT1]

Originally Posted By: jeepman


That may be the blue book value, but the car is worth whatever value she put's on it. If she intends to use it as a daily driver for 3 years or more (which should be doable with that car), I say put Michelins back on it and be done with it.

I just put a $9 oil filter, synthetic oil, and $40 worth of wiper blades on a $9500 car. I intend to drive it into the ground, so it's worth as much as a new Lexus to me.

Some things in life are worth spending a buck or two on, like tires or good peanut butter!


+1

It's not really how much the car is worth, more how long she plans on driving it for. If she is going to keep it around for a while than why not go with the harmony's?

 

[teddyboy]

I just paid Peach Auto painting around $800 for some body work and their best paint job on a 206,000 mile 97 Camry. The car was driven by my daughter through college and looked really bad. However, I cared for the car mechanically and know that it's a great, reliable call. I call it my football car, it's actually the extra car. The paint job was probably close to as much as someone else would pay me for the car (before it was painted). That's irrelevant, it's what the car is worth to me and that amount clearly justified getting it painted. I've always said I'd drive that car to California (from NC). Now it would just look a lot better getting there. And when the time comes, I won't hestitage to put a set of Michelin Destiny's on as replacement tires.

 

[fdcg27]

If she drives the car another couple of years, at her rate of use, that would be another 30-35K.
It would be worth another few dollars to put Michelins on the car.
You just don't save very much when you penny-pinch tires.
Been there, done that, got the tee-shirt, have returned to Michelin.
You get what you pay for.