Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
For the replacement market, that fuel economy emphasis isn't there. In that arena, wear, wear and wear are the 3 most important properties.
I'm getting ready to replace the tires on my secondary "fun" car. The tires are at least 20 year old(manufacture code 106, meaning they are from before the year 2000) and probably have 60-70% tread remaining on them. The look fantastic, but I DON'T trust a tire that old.
Unfortunately, the car takes a skinny, tall sidewall 14" tire that's not too common, but is shared with a lot of economy cars. Performance tires in the size are almost non-existent, although some are better than others(I've been listening to a lot of advice from other owners of the same make/model). When I call tire shops to get a quote, I say "I don't care about the wear rating but do care about performance" and invariably will say "I have a (make)(model) rated at xx,0000 miles."