3rd & 4th Generation (1992–1996 & 1997–2001)Toyota Camry Discussion for years: 1992-1996 & 1997-2001
Topics of discussion range from fuel economy, safety, modifications, performance all involving America's favorite family car, the Toyota Camry.
The tires seem like a good choice. Factor in the cost of local installation also.
If you are a Costco member, you may want to check out the deals in their tire department. They usually have good prices on Michelins, BF Goodrich tires.
If you live in the Pacific Northwest (No Cal, Oregon, Washington), Les Schwab sells Toyo Tourevos. I have them on my 2000 LE and they are great tires - quiet, grips well in all weather, and comfortable. It's rated Traction AA and Temp A, like the Bridgestone RE960AS Pole Position.
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Tom
2004 Prius Touring Edition
2003 Corolla Luxel
2000 Camry LE - Lunar Mist Metallic
I always buy my tires through Tire Rack. Even after shipping, and paying WalMart to mount and balance them, the Tire Rack route has saved me hundreds! P.S. don't fall for WalMart's ridiculous added charges like "valve stem" replacement....tell them straight mount and balance.
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1993 Camry LE 5SFE AT, 2006 Nissan Armada LE 4x4, 1971 Cadillac Coupe DeVille "pimp juice"
Toys: 2007 Coachmen 19FLB, 2007 Regal 1900 V6
I'm the biggest boss thatchu seen thus far! Baby, that's muh wi'zzard!
Last edited by eurohazard; 11-14-2007 at 10:41 PM.
I always buy my tires through Tire Rack. Even after shipping, and paying WalMart to mount and balance them, the Tire Rack route has saved me hundreds! P.S. don't fall for WalMart's ridiculous added charges like "valve stem" replacement....tell them straight mount and balance.
How are the Kumhos doing for you? How is the balance, handling, traction in wet and dry and snow?
And i was also checking walmart prices for the mounting and balancing.
Is it true that they charge $3.50 per tire mount and $7.50 per tire lifetime balance? http://www.walmart.com/catalog/catalog.gsp?cat=495845
How are the Kumhos doing for you? How is the balance, handling, traction in wet and dry and snow?
And i was also checking walmart prices for the mounting and balancing.
Is it true that they charge $3.50 per tire mount and $7.50 per tire lifetime balance? http://www.walmart.com/catalog/catalog.gsp?cat=495845
Please let me know thanx
The Kumhos are doing very well. LOL...sorry I didn't mention that before. I think they are a quiet tire that rides well. They are less sporty than I thought they would be....but really the Camry is....well just a Camry after all. The sidewalls seem soft when you press on them, but when properly filled (I like 32-34 psi personally) they do well in corners. They don't squeal like "cheap" tires normally do in hard corners. Wet traction is very good. Dry traction is hardly a problem as the 5SFE is no powerhouse, but cornering is good for a non-performance tire. Treadwear is looking pretty good too; I haven't measured it, but they still look new after a year or so of use. I also have 205/65/15 wheels/tires from a 2002 Camry. I don't recall what the stock tires were, but they sucked bad compared to these Kumhos.
WalMart charged me the same prices as you noted. I honestly only paid $5 per tire for the "One-Time" balance, and I made sure they did it right. If you have aluminum wheels and they are using "stick-on" weights....make sure they clean the inside of the wheel. If you have steel wheels and they use hammer-in type weights, then they should never go out of balance unless you curb check the weight off. Maybe I am being a little toooo cheap with this one!
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1993 Camry LE 5SFE AT, 2006 Nissan Armada LE 4x4, 1971 Cadillac Coupe DeVille "pimp juice"
Toys: 2007 Coachmen 19FLB, 2007 Regal 1900 V6
I'm the biggest boss thatchu seen thus far! Baby, that's muh wi'zzard!
Last edited by eurohazard; 11-14-2007 at 11:56 PM.
The Kumhos are doing very well. LOL...sorry I didn't mention that before. I think they are a quiet tire that rides well. They are less sporty than I thought they would be....but really the Camry is....well just a Camry after all. The sidewalls seem soft when you press on them, but when properly filled (I like 32-34 psi personally) they do well in corners. They don't squeal like "cheap" tires normally do in hard corners. Wet traction is very good. Dry traction is hardly a problem as the 5SFE is no powerhouse, but cornering is good for a non-performance tire. Treadwear is looking pretty good too; I haven't measured it, but they still look new after a year or so of use. I also have 205/65/15 wheels/tires from a 2002 Camry. I don't recall what the stock tires were, but they sucked bad compared to these Kumhos.
WalMart charged me the same prices as you noted. I honestly only paid $5 per tire for the "One-Time" balance, and I made sure they did it right. If you have aluminum wheels and they are using "stick-on" weights....make sure they clean the inside of the wheel. If you have steel wheels and they use hammer-in type weights, then they should never go out of balance unless you curb check the weight off. Maybe I am being a little toooo cheap with this one!
So did i waste money on the bridgestones? Should i cancel & get kumhos?
what is ur honest opinion?
You've done your tire research, just go with what you feel most confident with.
As for the alternator, I would get a remanufactured alternator. It's the best balance between new, used, or rebuilt. All reman. parts start as used parts. Then all the worn bits are replaced with better than new components. Basically, all the weak components prone to breaking are replaced with stronger, more durable ones. A rebuilt part uses all oem components, so all the weak points are still there, so it would be just like a new oem part, just not as expensive. And of course, used is used. It's the cheapest option, but you'll never be sure if that part will last long enough to be worth the money.
My friend who is a Toyota master tech always recommends Bridgestones. He's a no nonsense kind of guy, and wouldn't recommend something unless he really believed in them, and he has a lot of experience with them on various vehicles. I just asked him for a recommendation for my '95 Camry XLE and he recommended 3 different Bridgestones including the ones you're looking at.
Here are the other two that he recommended. He was giving some options on pricing and tire type. The one you're looking at already is categorized as Ultra High Performance All Season. The two below are High Performance All Season and Grand Touring All Season respectively. The G009 has a little more bite in snow, but not as good dry performance as the Pole Position. The Turanze is a touring tire, so quieter and smoother, but not as good of performance.
My friend who is a Toyota master tech always recommends Bridgestones. He's a no nonsense kind of guy, and wouldn't recommend something unless he really believed in them, and he has a lot of experience with them on various vehicles. I just asked him for a recommendation for my '95 Camry XLE and he recommended 3 different Bridgestones including the ones you're looking at.
Here are the other two that he recommended. He was giving some options on pricing and tire type. The one you're looking at already is categorized as Ultra High Performance All Season. The two below are High Performance All Season and Grand Touring All Season respectively. The G009 has a little more bite in snow, but not as good dry performance as the Pole Position. The Turanze is a touring tire, so quieter and smoother, but not as good of performance.
eddie, thanx for the reply.
I just found out that the tires i ordered (pole position) 205/65/15 are the wrong size tires for my toy camry 4-cyl xle!
I was happy that im gonna get good tires for my car but unfortunately my tire size is 195/70/14, and pole positions are not available in this size.
Please tell me what to do.
I am looking for QUALITY tires and not cheap $50 tires.
Thank you, your previous response was very helpful.
eddie, thanx for the reply.
I just found out that the tires i ordered (pole position) 205/65/15 are the wrong size tires for my toy camry 4-cyl xle!
I was happy that im gonna get good tires for my car but unfortunately my tire size is 195/70/14, and pole positions are not available in this size.
Please tell me what to do.
I am looking for QUALITY tires and not cheap $50 tires.
Thank you, your previous response was very helpful.
Well, your selection goes WAY down in that size from the online places. TireRack only has 4 tires in that size that I'd consider. Of those 4, I'd probably go with one of these...
I had a set of Dunlop D60 A4s on a previous vehicle. They handled well under all conditions except serious snow, and these A2s are closely related. They didn't last as long as some tires, but I drove harder back then. The other drawback is that they were noisier than some tires I've owned. I was all about performance then though, and if you're tires were noisy, you just turned your stereo up.
I've never owned any Yokohamas, but I can't recall ever hearing anyone say anything bad about any Yokos. They're usually a very safe bet.
Of course, this is just TireRack's selection. But, they're generally considered one of the premier online dealers. If you call them, their reps are really helpful. I'm sure they could give you some additional guidance.
One other thing to consider, are you going to drive on the 14" wheels for the long run, or are you likely to get custom wheels at some point in the future? If the former, buy the best, if the latter, you might want to buy a "get me by" tire until you get new wheels? Just a thought cause that's where I am right now. I'm considering custom wheels next spring, but need at least 2 tires to get me through this winter.
Can't really comment on those Good Year's. I have a friend who swears by Good Year, but I think his main love for them is because you can get them, and get them serviced, in every city in America.
As an afterthought...
My son's had these on his '95 LE for about 9 months and they've been good...
They're just a standard touring tire, but ride nice and seem to handle well enough. Definitely not designed for performance driving though. And, I'll have to say they LOOK GOOD. We got them at the local Bridgestone/Firestone place. They're only $49 at this web site, but don't let that throw you. It's a quality tire, just not a "performance" tire.
Also, TireRack has these if you just wanted a good touring tire.
Can't really comment on those Good Year's. I have a friend who swears by Good Year, but I think his main love for them is because you can get them, and get them serviced, in every city in America.
As an afterthought...
My son's had these on his '95 LE for about 9 months and they've been good...
They're just a standard touring tire, but ride nice and seem to handle well enough. Definitely not designed for performance driving though. And, I'll have to say they LOOK GOOD. We got them at the local Bridgestone/Firestone place. They're only $49 at this web site, but don't let that throw you. It's a quality tire, just not a "performance" tire.
Also, TireRack has these if you just wanted a good touring tire.
Again, it depends on what level of performance you're looking for. All you really said was that you wanted all season, and quality tires.
I live in NJ and the winter is approaching already. I want a all season tire, a tire that is good through the winter season and is quiet and has a long tread life.
I want something like the Pole Position. The goodyear i posted earlier look good to me. But i dont know what you think about those?
I am thinking of getting new rims, but then everything will cost me around 900 bucks and im not willing to spend that much right now, cuz 2 days ago i got all the struts changed.
I live in NJ and the winter is approaching already. I want a all season tire, a tire that is good through the winter season and is quiet and has a long tread life.
I want something like the Pole Position. The goodyear i posted earlier look good to me. But i dont know what you think about those?
I am thinking of getting new rims, but then everything will cost me around 900 bucks and im not willing to spend that much right now, cuz 2 days ago i got all the struts changed.
Well, as I said, I can't really comment on Goodyear's. I've never bought any. My personal opinion, and that's all it is, is that Goodyear is overpriced. You're looking at $79 a tire for those where you could get the Yokohamas that I linked to for $59 each or the Dunlops for $64 and they're rated higher on performance. I'd buy either of those over the Goodyears at that price point, but that's just me. Ultimately, you have to decide. If you like the looks of the Goodyears better, then give em a try, they might be great. Maybe someone else can chime in that has Goodyear experience.
Well, as I said, I can't really comment on Goodyear's. I've never bought any. My personal opinion, and that's all it is, is that Goodyear is overpriced. You're looking at $79 a tire for those where you could get the Yokohamas that I linked to for $59 each or the Dunlops for $64 and they're rated higher on performance. I'd buy either of those over the Goodyears at that price point, but that's just me. Ultimately, you have to decide. If you like the looks of the Goodyears better, then give em a try, they might be great. Maybe someone else can chime in that has Goodyear experience.
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The sidewalls seem soft when you press on them, but when properly filled (I like 32-34 psi personally) they do well in corners. They don't squeal like "cheap" tires normally do in hard corners. Wet traction is very good. Dry traction is hardly a problem as the 5SFE is no powerhouse, but cornering is good for a non-performance tire. Treadwear is looking pretty good too; I haven't measured it, but they still look new after a year or so of use. I also have 205/65/15 wheels/tires from a 2002 Camry. I don't recall what the stock tires were, but they sucked bad compared to these Kumhos. 
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