Tires which one to go with...
 

It's time to buy new tires for my 1998 Monte Carlo Z34. My question is what tires should I buy? I've always been a Goodyear guy but my Dad who was a mechanic back in the day and always helps work on my car says Michelin tires are the way to go. He claims that Goodyear tires are sh#t and they won't ride as smooth or last half as long. The tires I have on now have lasted pretty long but I haven't been impressed with them. They are Uniroyal Tiger Paws. I've never had Goodyear Eagles on my Monte but I know that is what it came from the factory on. I'd love to see actual data and performance test results to see which truly are better. I'm from Virginia so I get a good mix of all types of weather. The Monte is also my dd.

No one can tell you what tires are best for you. I Love my No Name Brand, A-1 tires. Sooth ride, low road noise, good grip in all weather conditions.
I reviewed the reviews of many tires. I did not have a lot of $$$ to spend and wanted the most for my $$$, And I think I got it.
My point is to read the reviews on the tire brands and models you are interested in. Then choose your tire!!!!!

That's a really open ended question as there are tons of options out there. The bad thing is, it's hard to get a lot of good A-B comparisons, especially on normal street tires, since the majority of people don't go through tires that fast. There are also numerous variables that go into how a tire performs (vehicle maintenance, road conditions, weather, age of tires, etc)- and your overall opinion of a tire includes numerous subjective criteria that you can't really measure reliably due to the uncontrolled environment.

What I've found to work best is to go on a tire website (like tirerack.com), and plug in the size tire you want. See what your options are, and read reviews. Once you've settled on a specific few models of tire- then you can expand your search to car forums for your specific vehicle, and elsewhere across the web.

In my opinion, that's a rather silly statement to make. Goodyear probably has 10 different main types of tires for cars alone, plus all of the different sub-categories in the same tire type- that seems like an enormous over-generalization.

You also have to consider how many OEMs go with Goodyear when the cars are new. If they really wore out that dramatically quicker, and rode that much worse than other tires, then why do the OEMs still put them on their cars?

Personally, I've got Goodyear Eagle GTs on my Camaro and I've got Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar EMTs on my Vette and have very few complaints about either. I'm not trying to specifically advocate Goodyear and put down Michelins, I'm just saying that you should have an open mind going into your search.


What are you specifically not impressed with? Maybe that can help guide you in selecting what is important in your next tire (longer life or more traction, etc).

That's part of the problem is that it is difficult to get a reliable A-B comparison given how you will use the car. Tire wear is dictated a lot by alignment settings and how the driver drives. Performance comparisons of tires on a smooth, dry track (be it lap times, 0-60, etc) are hard to compare when you've got ruts, bumps, debris etc on the road and half of the year the road is either wet or snowy.

I have Goodyear Viva 2's on my Monte and they work good for me, rides smooth and they're quiet from what I can hear.

I agree with bumpin, go to a site like tire rack. Put in your info and see what tires you can get, and then read reviews. That's how i got tires for my 04, read reviews for a while and found what i felt was the tire with some of the best reviews. They were goodyear eagle f1 asymmetrical all season tires.

It all boils down to tread type, and ply thickness. For example, a softer ply tire will ride smoother, but wear quicker, and a harder ply tire will wear longer but ride rougher. I like both Goodyear and Michelin so I can't really say which is best. BF Goodrich is also a good tire brand.

i have pirelli Pzero Neros and i love them!

I can't not stand idly by and let anyone badmouth Goodyear anymore than I'd let them badmouth Budweiser. But its more than okay to have a preference.

Bumpin' always has good answers and advise and its good to see him posting on here some more...