Camry needs some tires. Yoko Avid Touring

Joined
Jun 25, 2009
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948
Location
Chicago
The Camry is my father's daily driver for the next two years until he retires. We are in the city of chicago, for the most part, snow is normally cleaned pretty quickly. But parking on the street is an annoying problem.

Car is driven only in the city 45mph max. 15 miles each way.


215/60/16 is the tire size. Looking for budget models. Any other suggestions.

Discount tire had Yokohama Avid Touring S for $74/each. $430 installed after taxes.

Toyo Extensa are $96/tire $530 after taxes.
 
Costco has $110 off a set of 4 Bridgestones.
About $500 out the door.
They alternate between Bridgestones and Michelin. Probably Michelins will be on sale next week. They have the X Tour A/S and the Defender for a tad less than Bridgestone and I think sometimes the discount is greater on Michelin. I like how Costco gives you a free 5 year road hazard but I think Discount Tire charges extra for it.
 
I know you want budget tires, but as guy that used to be all about “budget tires”, let me suggest something different: Michelin Defender.

Definitely not a budget tire but we have them on our Sequoia and they are AMAZING in every aspect over any other “budget tire” I’ve owned over the years. Not to mention they’ll last a really long time.

One thing to take note of in tires is how deep the sipes run. Budget tires have shallow sipes so you don’t get the the same performance/traction over the entire life of the tire - it usually drops off pretty quickly in fact. On Michelin’s, the sipes go all the way through the tread so the performance/traction stays the same for the life of the tire.

And don’t forget, tires are a safety feature first and foremost. There’s such a small “contact patch” that keeps your car on the road, is it really worth saving a couple hundred bucks over 60k+ miles?

Now that I’ve experienced a premium tire, I’ll never go back to budget tires.
 
I just put a set of Yokohama tires on my truck and am Very pleased. Whereas it seems most manufactures have a couple of great tires all the way down to things nobody wants, I’ve not heard of a bad tire from Yokohama.
 
I know you want budget tires, but as guy that used to be all about “budget tires”, let me suggest something different: Michelin Defender.

Definitely not a budget tire but we have them on our Sequoia and they are AMAZING in every aspect over any other “budget tire” I’ve owned over the years. Not to mention they’ll last a really long time.

One thing to take note of in tires is how deep the sipes run. Budget tires have shallow sipes so you don’t get the the same performance/traction over the entire life of the tire - it usually drops off pretty quickly in fact. On Michelin’s, the sipes go all the way through the tread so the performance/traction stays the same for the life of the tire.

And don’t forget, tires are a safety feature first and foremost. There’s such a small “contact patch” that keeps your car on the road, is it really worth saving a couple hundred bucks over 60k+ miles?

Now that I’ve experienced a premium tire, I’ll never go back to budget tires.


I understand your angle. Part of the reason why I want budget tires is in 2 years, we might dump the car.

Most of time our tires dry rot or have sidewall damages. Being in the city, every corner has construction so nails and etc. So it would be a waste of nicer tires. Also pothole season is all year round.

I will consider the Defenders, if i can get them around $550 OTD. Can costco program TMPS and etc?
 
I understand your angle. Part of the reason why I want budget tires is in 2 years, we might dump the car.

Most of time our tires dry rot or have sidewall damages. Being in the city, every corner has construction so nails and etc. So it would be a waste of nicer tires. Also pothole season is all year round.

I will consider the Defenders, if i can get them around $550 OTD. Can costco program TMPS and etc?
I understand your point too, but no matter when I plan to get rid of a car, I'm always going to put good tires on it, after all that's the only thing touching the road and I'm the one driving it until I get rid of it and I don't value my life that cheaply. Had cheap factory tires on a car once, they slid out in the rain, smartened up and got rid of them.
 
I don't believe that the Yoko Avid Tour is a budget tire though they've been around for a lone time and their performance has been eclipsed several times over by the competition. They may have been top notch at one time and they may be a low(er) priced tire however, they're not a budget tire by their brand name. They may not be a GREAT tire but, they're probably OK!

What I look for in tires are the ones that can get me through the toughest weather that I may encounter, even if it's just for the next 2 yrs...along with some other personal things that I prefer in tires such as, decent handling(doesn't have to be awesome) and a reasonably quiet ride.

My issue with budget tires(private label tires) is that they show their true colors in the foul weather. Maybe not in their first year but, shortly after(e.g. 10K-15K miles). Any new tire will be nice on a sunny day in July but, often it seems to be one or more things(often more) that I didn't like with private label tires when I really needed them to be my friend. For example:

*Radial pull
*Get loud over time
*Can't keep'em balanced/annual balancing(RFB may help)
*One or more tires wear differently(poorly) compared to the others
*White knuckle driving when you need them most to get you through the tough weather.

Good tires are important to me. I'm at the age where I don't want to(4 letter word) around. Ain't no time for that!
 
i replaced the original conti set on my 2013 passat at 42k. i chose cheaper kelly edge because i planned to sell the car at 60k. fast forward i’ve kept it and had to replace the kellys at 90k. the kellys were less grippy, noisier and got poorer gas mileage than the contis. i got a good deal at discount tire on new contis just by asking to keep my replacement tires at $100 each. whenever i sell the passat later i am much happier riding on a great set of tires now. don’t skimp on shoes for your feet or car.
 
I've had a couple of sets of the Yoko Avid Touring.
While they may not necessarily be cutting edge, they are a solid performer.
They handle well, wear well, and are fairly priced.
I would not hesitate to purchase another set.
I need to put tires on the Accord before winter, and these are on the short list.
 
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