Looking for good A/S tires for the 13 Sonata P205/65R16

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Feb 19, 2009
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The Woods of NY
As the title states, i'm looking for recommendations on a good A/S tire in the 205/65R16 size for the 13 Sonata. We "only" got about 30K miles out of the Cooper A/S that are on it. They did wear perfectly though, even without tire rotations, but all 4 are just about down to the wear lines. Alignment is spot on, as we have it done once a year or so, so it never gets "bad" and never has been bad because the 16" tires have a pretty good sidewall so it takes ALOT to mess up the alignment. Even now, the tires are pretty quiet, grip great, and are smooth even though they are just about done.

Not looking for a UHP tire or anything like that. This is not the 2.0T version... Unfortunately... or fortunately depending on outlook lol. its only the 2.4L. but has been rock solid reliable and for BITOG curiosity - zero oil consumption in the 5W20 Synthetic flavor @ 6K OCI... but minus tires that we are now looking for set 3 in under 50K miles. It seems Hyundais in general are harder on tires then other manufactures as i've owned ALOT of hyundais, and tire wear seems to be higher, even with perfect alignment, and gentle driving.

So, what would fellow members recommend for this 13 Sonata with 16" rims? A 45K tire would be amazing, but that may be asking too much? Im looking for good A/S grip, and decent snow grip also as we don't drive it in heavy snow, but the uphill driveway after getting it plowed could give us issues. So good snow bite, and good rain traction. This car is not used for high speed turns or anything like that minus off ramps and merging.

I will try anything as we got about 17K out of factory tires, and 30K out of the Coopers

Thank you all!.
 

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Humm, they look great on paper gotta say. 60K mile tread life? and only $71 a tire. I feel like the coopers that are on it ran over $90-$100 a tire from what i recall.. Any one have real life usage of this tire? Like i said even if we got 45K out of it i would be thrilled, so as long as they have good grip under all conditions.. Thanks for the link, it looks like they are out of stock at WM, but maybe the rack has them.
 
BITOG's go-to tire is(DRUM ROLL PLEASE):
General AltiMAX RT43.

Also depending on your budget and exactly what you are looking for in your tires, I also recommend these all season tires:

Pirelli Cinturato P7 AllSeason PLUS II or Pirelli P4 AllSeason PLUS
Continental True Contact TOUR
Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrack
Good/Year Assurance ComfortDrive

Make sure you use their^^^ rebates.
 
BITOG's go-to tire is(DRUM ROLL PLEASE):
General AltiMAX RT43.

Also depending on your budget and exactly what you are looking for in your tires, I also recommend these all season tires:

Pirelli Cinturato P7 AllSeason PLUS II or Pirelli P4 AllSeason PLUS
Continental True Contact TOUR
Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrack
Good/Year Assurance ComfortDrive

Make sure you use their^^^ rebates.
Nice tire! I did not know this was the BITOG'S Go to! Looks even better on paper, and reviews are fantastic! I will look into all the tires that are listed, as im going for best dollar / performance while not sacrificing safety and performance..
Off topic:
I have Firestone directional A/S UHP W rated tires on the Elantra. I know OVERKILL for an Elantra, and i also know the sonata might not need a tire like that LOL. They were expensive, and i feel dollar / performance they would not be worth it for the Sonata, as a DD. They probably are not even worth it on the Elantra TBH, being all of 143HP @ 6200 RPMS, but they made the car corner amazingly for off ramps and are smooth and yet firm, also they NEVER slip, all grip so it gives the elantra a sportiness feeling it did not have from the factory on the 15" wheels with T rated tires.

Back in topic: i said all of that to say this... Should i look for a higher speed rating tire? grip and tread wear is what im worried about, i will pay more per tire now, so as long as they last longer then the 30K while not giving up grip/traction.

There are just so many tires out there, that one could easily buy the wrong tire for their vehicle, and be disappointed.

Thanks!.
 
I had a very similar size in an H on my late Taurus
Continental TrueContact Tour
They were very good for the 6 months I had the car
Had the earlier non tour version on a 300 we had (several sets)
If there's a rebate on, they are an excellent value
 
Humm, they look great on paper gotta say. 60K mile tread life? and only $71 a tire. I feel like the coopers that are on it ran over $90-$100 a tire from what i recall.. Any one have real life usage of this tire? Like i said even if we got 45K out of it i would be thrilled, so as long as they have good grip under all conditions.. Thanks for the link, it looks like they are out of stock at WM, but maybe the rack has them.

I think the Goodyear Viva 3 has been replaced by the Goodyear Reliant. Both are likely 'Wal-Mart only' tires.

$5 more per tire, 5,000 mile longer treadwear warranty.



Another option is the Goodyear MaxLife with an 85,000 warranty for $115 per tire. However, not as good of a deal.

 
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Back in topic: i said all of that to say this... Should i look for a higher speed rating tire? grip and tread wear is what im worried about, i will pay more per tire now, so as long as they last longer then the 30K while not giving up grip/traction.

There are just so many tires out there, that one could easily buy the wrong tire for their vehicle, and be disappointed.

Thanks!.
Grip and treadwear are inversely related. If you want a stickier tire, you're usually going to give up treadwear. The lower the treadwear number is, the grippier the tire is generally going to be and faster it will wear. However, since Drifting and Autocross took off, tire companies have made huge strides in being able to make sticky tires last longer.

I've actually been in the market for a 205/65/15 tire and I am leaning towards the GT Radial Champiro Touring A/S for the value per treadwear warranty. They're a 540 treadwear tire with a 60k warranty for $70 each. These are already rated better than the Viva 3's.

If you can budget closer to $120/tire, my recommendation would be for Falken Sincera SN250's. These are a 320 treadwear tire with a 75k mile warranty, which is pretty incredible. They're going to make your Sonata feel like its rotating the Earth.

I wouldn't look at the speed rating much. For your tire size, they're all going to be around 130mph.
 
If you can budget closer to $120/tire, my recommendation would be for Falken Sincera SN250's. These are a 320 treadwear tire with a 75k mile warranty, which is pretty incredible. They're going to make your Sonata feel like its rotating the Earth.

I wouldn't look at the speed rating much. For your tire size, they're all going to be around 130mph.
Falken would be losing a lot of money on those tires. They can't be a 320 treadwear tire with a 75k mile warranty. It's more like a hockey puck 720 treadwear tire.
 
I am fascinated that you are able to achieve even treadwear without rotations. This is uncommon for a FWD car.

Are you able to get any treadwear warranty adjustment for the Coopers?

It seems like your driving conditions wear out tires very quickly. Maybe you should buy something with a long treadwear warranty so that you can maximize your warranty adjustment each time.
 
Falken would be losing a lot of money on those tires. They can't be a 320 treadwear tire with a 75k mile warranty. It's more like a hockey puck 720 treadwear tire.

It looks like in the process of researching the treadwear for the SN250, I quoted the treadwear numbers from a Tire Rack-specific(?) version (SN250a) not available in OP's needed size. The SN250a would be a good deal where applicable.


Falken itself does list the SN250's as 720 treadwear. I rescind my nomination for the SN250's, since they would be hockey pucks

But I would still recommend the GT Radial Champiro Touring A/S if OP is looking for a budget-conscious tire with a higher treadwear, but still decent grip.
 
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Consider a 3-peak all-season such as:
Vredestein Quatrac 5
Nokian WRG4
Toyo Celsius
Goodyear Weatherready
General 365AW
Milestar AW365
Kumho Solus HA31 or HA32
Hankook Kinergy 4S2
 

It looks like in the process of researching the treadwear for the SN250, I quoted the treadwear numbers from a Tire Rack-specific(?) version (SN250a) not available in OP's needed size. The SN250a would be a good deal where applicable.


Falken itself does list the SN250's as 720 treadwear. I rescind my nomination for the SN250's, since they would be hockey pucks

But I would still recommend the GT Radial Champiro Touring A/S if OP is looking for a budget-conscious tire with a higher treadwear, but still decent grip.
The "A" version is for the vehicle manufacturers factory tires. I've seen them on the Golf Alltrack
 
I had Pirelli P4 Seasons Plus on my 2015 Camry LE. I drove 2 winters in Syracuse, NY with zero traction issues. When I traded the car in with 125k+ miles on it, the treads were at 4/32. I had well over 60k miles on those tires. I would have changed them before the next winter. You can get them for under $100 per tire.
 
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I am fascinated that you are able to achieve even treadwear without rotations. This is uncommon for a FWD car.

Are you able to get any treadwear warranty adjustment for the Coopers?

It seems like your driving conditions wear out tires very quickly. Maybe you should buy something with a long treadwear warranty so that you can maximize your warranty adjustment each time.

The Michelin Energy Saver AS on my accord hybrid have worn absolutely even and smooth. They’re six years old now, 70k, and about half tread.


So OP, Ive been very pleased with that tire, and would recommend it if still available.,, otherwise it’s replacement.
 
IDK if anyone can answer for tire tread wear on your particular vehicle, climate, driving style, daily commute etc., as there are just too many variables in each of us.

And I wouldn't particularly go with a higher speed rated tire as its tread wear is usually lower than the lesser speed rated brethren(same tire family), e.g.,... RT43 "T", "H", "V" speed ratings. I would at least stick with the speed rating listed on your door jamb placard.

I guess that I would first look for a tire that, meets your particular criteria in terms of YOUR everyday-ness and how you drive/commute, the worst weather you'll encounter, the particular ride & handling balance that YOU prefer in a vehicle, quiet/comfort(or not), and then build around that (in your mind) some other important factors to you. Such as that "longer mileage tire".

I mean, I've purchased 90,000 + mile rated tires, and only got ~40,000-45,000 usable life(for me) miles out of them here in NYS. As I've mentioned before, I'm not looking to bring my tires to 2/32nd as I encounter poor weather and value my safety.

Tire mileage ratings are(I think), based on bringing the tire down to that 2/32nd(all 4) and I've never been able to do that. I don't like tires much past the 1/2 tread area although I have been able to take a brand/model tire further. But you'll never know this going in and it all remains to be seen. Which is also why some people prefer 2 sets of tires and wheels(A/S & Winter).
 
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