It's time once again, the changeover from those muddy, salty winter tires for their all-season counterparts. There are so many tire manufacturers and tire models of tires to choose from. So what is more important value for the money or performance and quality, let's analyze the competition.
Since the majority of sedans sold today are compact to mid-size I have chosen 195/65/15 as the base tire size. Prices for larger and smaller size tires should increase and decrease proportionally.
PMC Canada Top 10 rated: (
Canadian Dollars taxes not included,
mail in rebate in red)
Michelin Defender (T speed rated) (820 AB) $131.79-
$17.50=$114.29
Michelin Primacy MXV4 (H) (620 AA) $135.32-
$17.50=$117.82
Bridgestone Turanza Serenity Plus (H) (600 AA) $129.44-
$17.50=$111.94
Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S (H) (400 AA) $107.94-
$17.50=$90.44
Bfgoodrich Advantage T/A (H) (560 AA) $121.19-
$12.50=$108.69
General Altimax HP (H) (440 AA) $103.61-
$8.75=$94.86
Goodyear Assurance TrpleTredAS(H) (740 AB) $145.02-
$15.00=$130.02
Yokohama Avid Touring S (S) (620 AB) $103.98-
$12.50=$91.48
Pirelli P4 Four-Season (T) (760 AB) $105.04-
$10.00=$95.04
Some tires offer H or T rated versions, one version has not been posted.
Bargain value tire rated just at 10th spot:
Kumho Solus KR21 (T) (680 AB) $85.68-
$8.00=$77.68
The Kumho KR21 seems like such a bargain at $77.68 per tire, yes it may not be the best handling or most durable but the value for the money is incredible. The Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S will probably be the "drivers" best choice in tire at $90.44, even though the durability falls a little short. The best well rounded tire will be the Pirelli P4 at $95.04 blends the best of all the categories with long life treadwear. (also available in H speed rating)
Which tire is best for you is your choice, just remember that most cars that are fitted with this size tire are NOT sports cars. Therefore no matter how good the tire is these vehicles are generally victims of their own chassis and suspension limitations.
* Speed ratings in the first bracket next to tire are: S up to 180km/h (112mph), T up to 190km/h (118mph) and H up to 210 km/h (130mph)
Second brackets will contain durability, traction/handling and heat resistance of the tire. The higher the number the longer the tire will last, as an example a tire with 820 rating will last twice as long as a 400 rated tire. The higher the first letter (AA and A being best) the better the traction and handling. The higher the second letter (AA and A being best) the higher the speed that tire can handle (temperature basis).
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Now in the US prices are often 20 to 40% cheaper than in Canada. Blame the weak dollar, a smaller population, whatever the manufacturers want you to believe are the reasons. Maybe since Canada is more north there is more
hot air they are trying to sell us Canadians.
Here are the prices from TireRack.com: (All prices in US dollars taxes not included)
Michelin Defender (T speed rated) (820 AB) $107.00
Michelin Primacy MXV4 (H) (620 AA) $119.00
Bridgestone Turanza Serenity Plus (H) (600 AA) $88.00-
$17.50=$70.50
Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S (H) (400 AA) N/A
Bfgoodrich Advantage T/A (H) (560 AA) $75.00
General Altimax HP (H) (440 AA) $59.00
Goodyear Assurance TrpleTredAS(H) (740 AB) $99.00
Yokohama Avid Touring S (S) (620 AB) $71.00
Pirelli P4 Four-Season (T) (760 AB) $85.00
Kumho Solus KR21 (T) (680 AB) $63.00
Rebates are available for Bridgestone Turanza Serenity Plus ($17.50 each). Rebates do play a big role in tire decisions.
Speed rating information provided from tire rack.com web-site:
In 1997, the UTQG Traction Grades were revised to provide a new
category of AA for the highest performing tires in addition to the
earlier A, B and C grades. Previously the A grade had been the highest
available and was awarded to tires that offered wet coefficients of
traction above 0.47 g on asphalt and 0.35 g on concrete. Today the
grades and their traction coefficients are as follows:
Traction
Grades | Asphalt
g-Force | Concrete
g-Force |
|---|
| AA | Above 0.54 | 0.41 |
| A | Above 0.47 | 0.35 |
| B | Above 0.38 | 0.26 |
| C | Less Than 0.38 | 0.26 |
Temperature (Resistance) Grades
The UTQG Temperature
Grade indicates the extent to which heat is generated/ or dissipated by a
tire. If the tire is unable to dissipate the heat effectively or if the
tire is unable to resist the destructive effects of heat buildup, its
ability to run at high speeds is reduced. The grade is established by
measuring a loaded tire's ability to operate at high speeds without
failure by running an inflated test tire against a large diameter
high-speed laboratory test wheel.
Temperature
Grades | Speeds
in mph |
|---|
| A | Over 115 |
| B | Between 100 to 115 |
| C | Between 85 to 100 |
Treadwear Grades
UTQG Treadwear Grades are based on
actual road use in which the test tire is run in a vehicle convoy along
with standardized Course Monitoring Tires. The vehicle repeatedly runs a
prescribed 400-mile test loop in West Texas for a total of 7,200 miles.
The vehicle can have its alignment set, air pressure checked and tires
rotated every 800 miles. The test tire's and the Monitoring Tire's wear
are measured during and at the conclusion of the test. The tire
manufacturers then assign a Treadwear Grade based on the observed wear
rates. The Course Monitoring Tire is assigned a grade and the test tire
receives a grade indicating its relative treadwear. A grade of 100 would
indicate that the tire tread would last as long as the test tire, 200
would indicate the tread would last twice as long, 300 would indicate
three times as long, etc.
The problem with UTQG Treadwear Grades
is that they are open to some interpretation on the part of the tire
manufacturer because they are assigned after the tire has only
experienced a little treadwear as it runs the 7,200 miles. This means
that the tire manufacturers need to extrapolate their raw wear data when
they are assigning Treadwear Grades, and that their grades can to some
extent reflect how conservative or optimistic their marketing department
is. Typically, comparing the Treadwear Grades of tire lines within a
single brand is somewhat helpful, while attempting to compare the grades
between different brands is not as helpful.
