What makes a $130 tire better than a $70 tire?

[numberforty1]

Need to get new wheels all around...98 Camry CE V6.

So, really, what makes the $129 Michelin Primacy MXV4 (94V and 620AA) so much better than the $69 Goodrich Advantage T/A (94H and 560AA), other than the slight difference in speed rating (as if I'm ever gonna take my Camry to 150mph)?

Just don't quite understand the concept behind tire prices.

Thanks

[Chris Crash]

The name.

I always go for Uniroyal Tigerpaws.

I think they're about $70-80 and they're really nice.

Hold up through all my burnouts!

Plus they have a cool tiger paw print on them.

[numberforty1]

I got this more thorough answer from a guy on Yahoo -

"Slight" differences in speed rating can make a very large difference in how a vehicle drives even at normal speeds. This past summer Bridgestone Tire sent me to a clinic where we got to drive 4 identical BMW's each fitted with a Bridgestone tire of a different speed rating, some lower, some the same and some higher than the cars original factory H (130mph) rating. Going from the H down to a T (118mph) it was shocking how sloppy, loose and imprecise the car felt on the handling course - and our speeds never exceeded 50-55mph. Tires are the most important aspect of how a car drives the way it does. Toyota put V-speed rated tires on the car because they wanted it to drive a certain way. Presumably you agree because you liked how the car drove enough to take it home.

As for the tires themselves, The Michelin MXV4 Primacy is Michelin's premium all-season passenger tire, engineered for maximum wet and dry traction, low noise and comfortable ride. Everything Michelin knows about building a great tire is in that product. BF Goodrich is Michelin's mid-range "value" brand. It's tires use less technology and engineering to achieve a lower price point - but also lower performance in most area's. Perfectly safe mind you, but the two are not going to drive the same. Trust me, if you had the opportunity to drive a car just like yours with the Michelin's and the BFG's back-to-back you would go for the Michelin's in a heartbeat. If money is not a deciding factor, go with the Michelin's. I believe that is what is probably on the car now and Toyota chose that tire for good reason."

[haux]

I used to buy the cheapest Goodyear tires Wal-Mart had available for my car. My car would HEAVILY hydroplane in tough rains at higher speeds. Tread wore down pretty quickly too. I switched over to BF Goodrich Touring TA (can't remember if they're H Rated or T Rated). These have a slightly higher mileage warranty for the tread, and I can much more confidently drive at high speeds in heavy rains. Those are the only differences I've had experience with.

[Dick Tuck]

I have been running BG Goodrich TA's from Sam's club on three Camrys for the last 10 years and on SAABs before that. Good tires. Face it, the Camry is not a "sports sedan" and should not be used as one. That being said, I run 15x7 Borbet wheels on my 99 four cyl and 205-60 15 TAs and KYB struts and the car handles very well. I run 205-65 15 TAs on my wife's four cyl upgraded with Avalon 15 inch wheels. Not as "tight" in the handling department but still very good and the last a LONG time. I just don't see paying for "fat guy" tires on a Gen 4 unless you are going to do enough handling mods to be able to take advantage of the "benefits". I suspect many "fat guy" tires sold here now are made in Goodrich plants and are just rebranded Goodrich. Just my opinion.

[Brand]

costco has a promotion on Michelin Primacy MXV4 tires, buy a set of 4 tires at $109 per tire, get $70 discount which makes it about $91 a tire. i got this deal about a month ago.

http://tires.costco.com/?whse=BC&lang=en-US

[PortugalFocus]

I used to sell tires at a Michelin store. There is tons of technology in tires you'd never think of.

All I can say is, buy the best tire you can afford. It's the only thing between you and the road. I am a Michelin guy for life.

[Retrospekt]

I also use the BFG TA's. Be careful though, they come in different speed ratings. The T's can cause a bit of a loud ride if you get near 90-100 mph on the freeway. The H are rated for higher speeds and technically our cars should have H rated tires.

The BFG's are GREAT though. The previous owner of my car ran them for 70,000 miles, just like the warranty said. They stick to the road great and the ride is quiet.

[LynchburgCSI]

At under $100 a tire for Michelin... BUY THEM. I skimped on tires anddddddd lost traction and well... look at my sig. Michelin all day...my dad runs LTX M/S's and my mom just got MXV4's to replace her Hydroedge's.

[quangtran89]

You can get SA4 for $50. lol

[bigbird]

advertising

i just ordered Nitto Neogen blablablas and every where i looked they had a good rating in every catigory. got 225/17s for 94 a piece, that was a lot cheaper then of the ohter tires with similar ratings.

[Dick Tuck]

Fat guy isn't they ONLY high tech tire company around, Pirelli, Conti, Bridgestone and Yoki come to mind. INHO Bridgestone makes the best snow tires around though that little Finnish company makes some good ones for THEIR conditions. Expensive Goodyear European tires are also pretty good, they have to be considering the market they compete in. I get my BFGs at Sam's Club. They fix flats on the stuff they sell for free, dismount, remount, and rebalance included. They still do road hazard adjustments as well IN FAVOR of the customer. They always use a Torque wrench on my Borbets without being asked.
Remember, a Camry can be a fast, good handling sedan, but it ain't no Bust My Wallet and doesn't need those kind of tires in regular drive it to work service.

[whip_cracker]

After going from a standard Goodyear tyre here to a set of Michelin "Energy" tyres... I can see why they cost over $300 each. They handle better, I can steer better, brake better and the best thing is that they'll last a long time too. Handle awesome in the rain too... beats aquaplaning across the roads!!

[flyeri]

I have usually bought Bridgestone because the set for my truck or SUV was about $100-$120 less than Michelin. Now that I have the Michelin on the SUV I don't know why I did that. My past experience is that Michelin's give me 60K miles and the Bridgestone's go about 35K. Any way you do the math Michelin is a better deal and the ride is much better, smoother, and quiter.

[JohnGD]

I use only Michelin unless it's not available. It's about superior technology going into the tire.

Sure, Toyotas aren't performance cars, but only Michelin runs on the world's fastest production cars (>250MPH Bugatti Veyron) and they came up with an aviation tire solution after the Concord accident in Paris that every other company is now using. (That Concord was using GoodYear).

Why would anyone want anything less than a Michelin??

"Almost a year since the supersonic Concorde's first-ever crash, the
Michelin Group said 113 lives might have been spared had the delta-winged jet been outfitted with the kind of technology in new radial tires the company has developed."

http://www.swampfox.ws/michelin-push...aircraft-tires