I ran Tiger Paw Tourings on my 2005 Accent for about two years and they were probably the best tires I ever put on it. It came with Kumho Solus KH16s which were alright and went to Nexen CP672s which were complete [censored] (awful wet grip, noisy, etc.) I put the Tiger Paws on it as a cheap option and was really amazed with them.
Question about Uniroyal Tires
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JHZR2
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Uniroyal is a sub brand of Michelin.
In the size mentioned, Is look for Cooper CS5 as a good option.
In the size mentioned, Is look for Cooper CS5 as a good option.
Thanks for all the input, I have some info and options to make a somewhat informed decision.
Moneywise, $60 over the life of the tire/vehicle is piddly compared to potential safety. Both sons complained about winter driving in that vehicle and IMO a FWD should be pretty good in the snow so the wet/snow performance is kind of important.
Moneywise, $60 over the life of the tire/vehicle is piddly compared to potential safety. Both sons complained about winter driving in that vehicle and IMO a FWD should be pretty good in the snow so the wet/snow performance is kind of important.
Originally Posted By: turboseize
With Uniroyal, it depends which Uniroyal you get. American Uniroyal is owned by Michelin, Belgian Uniroyal belongs to Continental. I only have experience with the latter.
Belgian/European Uniroyal have for ages had the marketing the claim "the rain tyre", and this is one of the very few times advertising and marketing hold true. I drive their Rain Expert in 195/69R15 88V on my Saab 900 turbo in spring and autumn. This Tyre is very good in the wet and plain insanely impressive regarding aquaplaning. It also rides very comfortably.
This comes at a price: wet traction requires a soft rubber compound, so they wear fast (even by european standards). Aquaplaning resistance means lots of negative space in the very deep profile, which means dry traction and handling suffers. (A lot!) Comfortable rides means soft sidewalls, which impairs steering response and thus high-speed* stability.
If you drive a lot at highway speeds and live in a cold-wet climate, they are excellent. If you want a crisp handling, sticky tyre for spirited drives on funny mountain roads on a hot summers day, they could not be worse. Yes, on a hot summer day and some windy mountain road, they feel worse than a winter tyre. But in the wet, on the other hand, they're [censored] brilliant. Just make sure you know what you are getting yourself into. This is a rain tyre. A full wet. (And like a full wet racing tyre, a few laps at a racetrack in the dry will kill it. It is that soft. I know a guy who relied the weather forecast, showed up to a track day with Uniroyals on, but then the clouds drifted away and they had a sunny day. Ruined a new set of tyres in less than 300km.)
I have written an extensive review on them on my blog. Articles are in German, but google translate might help. In case it doesn't, feel free to ask me for clarifications.
first impressions: https://turboseize.wordpress.com/2016/04/18/winterreifen-sommerreifen-regenreifen/
after 15.000km: https://turboseize.wordpress.com/2016/09/17/reifenerfahrungen-uniroyal-rain-expert/
*not legal anywhere on the planet except certain roads in Germany. But in case you are interested, the delayed steering response makes the driver exaggerate his steering inputs when keeping in his lane at speed around and above 200km/h. The driver makes a slight correction, the car does not follow, so he turns in more. Then, the car reacts, but steering input was to great, so the driver has to counteract. And as again, the input is delayed, he is likely to overcorrect, meaning the car will start to sway... There is only one remedy: keep cool, aim grossly for a line and then let the car dance around that line. Do not get seduced to try to drive a nice line.. you can't, and you will make it worse. Stay cool and just ride it out.
This perfectly mirrors my experience with Rain Expert, albeit in 185/60 r14. Mounted on wife's Sporting they lasted 18K km. Guess 4 months of dry +30 weather didn't help. They do make excellent winter tyre for us southerners though.
With Uniroyal, it depends which Uniroyal you get. American Uniroyal is owned by Michelin, Belgian Uniroyal belongs to Continental. I only have experience with the latter.
Belgian/European Uniroyal have for ages had the marketing the claim "the rain tyre", and this is one of the very few times advertising and marketing hold true. I drive their Rain Expert in 195/69R15 88V on my Saab 900 turbo in spring and autumn. This Tyre is very good in the wet and plain insanely impressive regarding aquaplaning. It also rides very comfortably.
This comes at a price: wet traction requires a soft rubber compound, so they wear fast (even by european standards). Aquaplaning resistance means lots of negative space in the very deep profile, which means dry traction and handling suffers. (A lot!) Comfortable rides means soft sidewalls, which impairs steering response and thus high-speed* stability.
If you drive a lot at highway speeds and live in a cold-wet climate, they are excellent. If you want a crisp handling, sticky tyre for spirited drives on funny mountain roads on a hot summers day, they could not be worse. Yes, on a hot summer day and some windy mountain road, they feel worse than a winter tyre. But in the wet, on the other hand, they're [censored] brilliant. Just make sure you know what you are getting yourself into. This is a rain tyre. A full wet. (And like a full wet racing tyre, a few laps at a racetrack in the dry will kill it. It is that soft. I know a guy who relied the weather forecast, showed up to a track day with Uniroyals on, but then the clouds drifted away and they had a sunny day. Ruined a new set of tyres in less than 300km.)
I have written an extensive review on them on my blog. Articles are in German, but google translate might help. In case it doesn't, feel free to ask me for clarifications.
first impressions: https://turboseize.wordpress.com/2016/04/18/winterreifen-sommerreifen-regenreifen/
after 15.000km: https://turboseize.wordpress.com/2016/09/17/reifenerfahrungen-uniroyal-rain-expert/
*not legal anywhere on the planet except certain roads in Germany. But in case you are interested, the delayed steering response makes the driver exaggerate his steering inputs when keeping in his lane at speed around and above 200km/h. The driver makes a slight correction, the car does not follow, so he turns in more. Then, the car reacts, but steering input was to great, so the driver has to counteract. And as again, the input is delayed, he is likely to overcorrect, meaning the car will start to sway... There is only one remedy: keep cool, aim grossly for a line and then let the car dance around that line. Do not get seduced to try to drive a nice line.. you can't, and you will make it worse. Stay cool and just ride it out.
This perfectly mirrors my experience with Rain Expert, albeit in 185/60 r14. Mounted on wife's Sporting they lasted 18K km. Guess 4 months of dry +30 weather didn't help. They do make excellent winter tyre for us southerners though.
Uniroyal tires are not the greatest. Even though Michelin owns them, that doesn't make them good tires. Conti would be much better than Uniroyal.
The RT43 and Cooper CS5 are good tires and very popular on here.
If you want something with more snow performance, consider the Vredestein Quatrac 5.
The RT43 and Cooper CS5 are good tires and very popular on here.
If you want something with more snow performance, consider the Vredestein Quatrac 5.
I'd go with Cooper for that car.. then again, I'm running Coopers on my Fusion, and I love them, so I'm a little biased.
Nonetheless, they make good tires, and they're an American company.
Cooper CS3 Touring in your size
Nonetheless, they make good tires, and they're an American company.
Cooper CS3 Touring in your size
I want to thank all who responded!
I am going with the Continental True Contact tires. I looked at all the tires that were recommended and kept coming back to the True Contacts because I just kept seeing mostly great things said about then even in the Tire Rack video on them. I was able to get them from a local tire store for $78.95 each as they matched Walmart's price and I'll be getting a $70 rebate for them so they come out pretty cheap. Hopefully they live up to the reviews I saw.
Thanks again!
I am going with the Continental True Contact tires. I looked at all the tires that were recommended and kept coming back to the True Contacts because I just kept seeing mostly great things said about then even in the Tire Rack video on them. I was able to get them from a local tire store for $78.95 each as they matched Walmart's price and I'll be getting a $70 rebate for them so they come out pretty cheap. Hopefully they live up to the reviews I saw.
Thanks again!
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