Need help selecting aftermarket 17" tires for 09 Camry V6

[Paul3637]

I am replacing the 16" tires and wheels on my LEV6 with 215/60R16 Turanza EL400 tires that are wearing out prematurly, albeit evenly. To stay within factory specs, for the whees and tires, I am going with what comes on the SE. I am buying a set of aftermarket 17x7 Motegi US7 Hyperblack wheels with factory spec 5.114 bolt pattern (which are on backorder and will arrive in two weeks) and 215/55R17 tires.

Based on lots of research I want all season V or H rated all season grand touring tires with at least a 50,000 mile tread wear warranty with low road noise and high handling scores. I had boiled my choices down to the two top rated tires tested by tirerack.com as follows:

• Michelin Primacy UTQG A A 560 94H & 60,000 tread warranty.
• Bridgestone Serenity UTOG AA A 440 94V & 50,000 tread warranty.

Now I find BF Goodrich came out with a new Advantage T/A UTQG A A 560 94V in February 2009 which Tirerack has in stock. The Goodrich website makes them sound great but there are no independent test or reviews by independent organizations or consumers that I can find that tell how they perform in the "real world."

I'd like some advice here on a tire choice - and if there is another tire I should consider, let me know. Thanks in advance for your help.

[MJZ]

If you are buying aftermarket wheels, why not buy larger 18 or 19"?

[Paul3637]

I want to stay within factory specs but with an appearance upgrade - so I went with the size that comes on the SE. I am not an agressive driver so I don't need sportier handlilng. To be honest, I never even thought of 18 inch wheels in the context of a flashier appearance so I just looked up the additional cost.

It's already costing me almost $1,500 for this change even with Internet pricing on both tires and wheels. The difference in cost for the tires and wheels going 18 instead of 17 is between $360 to $440 depending on the brand of tire. Going to 18" Michelins drives the price for a set of four up by $280. 18" Bridgestones would drive the price up $360. The increased price of four 18" wheels is $80. The Bridgestone does not even come in a size that would fit 18 inch wheels on a Camry or an Avalon. It just wouldn't be worth the extra money even if there was an enhanced differential in the appearance.

Further, I imagine the treadwear warranty is diminished or eliminated with 18" wheels - although I did not take the time to look.

[Pawel062]

Originally Posted by Paul3637

I want to stay within factory specs but with an appearance upgrade - so I went with the size that comes on the SE. I am not an agressive driver so I don't need sportier handlilng. To be honest, I never even thought of 18 inch wheels in the context of a flashier appearance so I just looked up the additional cost.

It's already costing me almost $1,500 for this change even with Internet pricing on both tires and wheels. The difference in cost for the tires and wheels going 18 instead of 17 is between $360 to $440 depending on the brand of tire. Going to 18" Michelins drives the price for a set of four up by $280. 18" Bridgestones would drive the price up $360. The increased price of four 18" wheels is $80. The Bridgestone does not even come in a size that would fit 18 inch wheels on a Camry or an Avalon. It just wouldn't be worth the extra money even if there was an enhanced differential in the appearance.

Further, I imagine the treadwear warranty is diminished or eliminated with 18" wheels - although I did not take the time to look.

if you want factory style but want 18s and at a low price then go for the trd camry 18" rims. they are about 200 bucks a pop each and about same price for tires. should cost you about 1600 total.

[Tobeit]

Originally Posted by Paul3637

I want to stay within factory specs but with an appearance upgrade - so I went with the size that comes on the SE. I am not an agressive driver so I don't need sportier handlilng. To be honest, I never even thought of 18 inch wheels in the context of a flashier appearance so I just looked up the additional cost.

It's already costing me almost $1,500 for this change even with Internet pricing on both tires and wheels. The difference in cost for the tires and wheels going 18 instead of 17 is between $360 to $440 depending on the brand of tire. Going to 18" Michelins drives the price for a set of four up by $280. 18" Bridgestones would drive the price up $360. The increased price of four 18" wheels is $80. The Bridgestone does not even come in a size that would fit 18 inch wheels on a Camry or an Avalon. It just wouldn't be worth the extra money even if there was an enhanced differential in the appearance.

Further, I imagine the treadwear warranty is diminished or eliminated with 18" wheels - although I did not take the time to look.

You can get a nice 18" set of rims/tires for $1500 as well.

[Punks_Not_Dead5]

i agree 18's will look better, and it's not extreme.

[Paul3637]

Originally Posted by Pawel062

if you want factory style but want 18s and at a low price then go for the trd camry 18" rims. they are about 200 bucks a pop each and about same price for tires. should cost you about 1600 total.

***************************
Hey, I appreciate all you guys trying to get to put on 18 inch wheels but going with the 17's and here is why. While I agree the TRD's are great looking, I like the look of the Motegi Racing Hyper Black wheel I have on order from the Hub Cap & Wheel store here in Kansas City just as well. The company meets or beats Internet prices and its employees are very knowledgeable.

I just called them and the guy that sold me my wheels said he would be glad to sell me the TRD's instead for $209 each - a good price in my opinion. However, he said "DON'T DO IT, it will destroy your ride quality and you won't be able to get any tires for it with the 50,000 mile warranty you want."

I am buying my new tires from TIRES PLUS - the local discount store that meets Interent pricing and checked their website to confirm the warranty problem. Here are the tires they have available for the 18inch rims. They are all high performance tires and all have no treadwear warranty as follows:

Name Brand Size SpeedRating/Sidewall/MileageWarranty/ Price
Potenza RE92A† Bridgestone P215/45R18 W Black Letter/Black Wall None 186.99
Potenza RE050A† Bridgestone 215/45R18 Y Black Letter/Black Wall None 226.99
Potenza S-02A† Bridgestone 215/45R18 Z Black Letter/Black Wall None 232.99
Potenza RE050A† Bridgestone 215/45R18 XL Y Black Letter/Black Wall None 234.99

[it didn't copy and paste very well but you get the idea]

So to those that make future posts, please just offer advice that helps me find the best tire for my new 17" wheels. Thanks.

[MJZ]

My friend, I didn't recommend you the 18" TRDs because I have them... and the fewer on Camrys on the road with them, the better for me

But I run Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus Z-Rated Ultra Performance tires. They come with 45,000 mile warranty, and they were $215 each on Tirerack.

Ride quality is the same as my 16" Steelies. What did kill my ride were TRD Lowering Springs, but I love the car now... with the Lowering springs it is a completely different car.

The TRD wheel price you were quoted is less than I paid for mine.

[Tobeit]

Originally Posted by Paul3637

***************************
Hey, I appreciate all you guys trying to get to put on 18 inch wheels but going with the 17's and here is why. While I agree the TRD's are great looking, I like the look of the Motegi Racing Hyper Black wheel I have on order from the Hub Cap & Wheel store here in Kansas City just as well. The company meets or beats Internet prices and its employees are very knowledgeable.

I just called them and the guy that sold me my wheels said he would be glad to sell me the TRD's instead for $209 each - a good price in my opinion. However, he said "DON'T DO IT, it will destroy your ride quality and you won't be able to get any tires for it with the 50,000 mile warranty you want."

I am buying my new tires from TIRES PLUS - the local discount store that meets Interent pricing and checked their website to confirm the warranty problem. Here are the tires they have available for the 18inch rims. They are all high performance tires and all have no treadwear warranty as follows:

Name Brand Size SpeedRating/Sidewall/MileageWarranty/ Price
Potenza RE92A† Bridgestone P215/45R18 W Black Letter/Black Wall None 186.99
Potenza RE050A† Bridgestone 215/45R18 Y Black Letter/Black Wall None 226.99
Potenza S-02A† Bridgestone 215/45R18 Z Black Letter/Black Wall None 232.99
Potenza RE050A† Bridgestone 215/45R18 XL Y Black Letter/Black Wall None 234.99


[it didn't copy and paste very well but you get the idea]

So to those that make future posts, please just offer advice that helps me find the best tire for my new 17" wheels. Thanks.

I guess you like to have advice but don't really like opinions. Oh well. Looks like your local dealer has you focused on the ol' tire brands like Bridgestone, Micheline. Check out Kuhmo, Toyo, Sumitomo, Yokohama...or even save more on a decent tire from Nexen or Nitto. I personally would stay away from the two tires you listed.

Oh btw, 215/45-18 would be too small in diameter - 225/45-18 is more appropriate (Kuhmo Ecsta SPT is $107 on tirerack).

[MJZ]

I wouldn't put the Bridgestones at the top of my list. Yokohamas for middle of the pack, Michelin or Pirelli for high end.

[Paul3637]

Originally Posted by jzh

I wouldn't put the Bridgestones at the top of my list. Yokohamas for middle of the pack, Michelin or Pirelli for high end.

My choice is to make a decision now or wait 6 months with my new wheels stored in the garage and hope someone finally comes up with a half meaningful choice. jzh, your comment made me make a final decison to go for the Michelins unless I can find testimonials that are consistent with a different tire on a V6 Camry or Lexus ES350. The Michelins are American made and I don't want to award Bridgestone cheap & poorly American produced Turanzas by replacing them with the Japan made Serenity.

The real problem is lack of industry or government enforcement of UTQG (Uniform Tire Quality Grading) standards that are not enforced by the industry even half as well as the API puts out oil quality guidelines. These tire standards while set by the Feds are not enforced by Feds. Further, there is no rolling resistence standard for fuel economy despite a law requiring such standard to be in place by 2009.

Independent lab tests on an 07 Camry produce the exact opposite wet surface hard stop breaking distance of the tirerack.com tests of the same tires on an 08 BMW. The same tire can handle different on different vehicles. My downside risk in making the wrong choice is a couple hundred bucks in tire wear or crashing into someone from the rear and injuring them in a sudden thundershower with fog at 20 mph. At least I have good maximum insurance coverage.

In a few years, I project that there will be a new set of Internet computer programs that will select the right tire for a specific vehicle based on your driving habits and priorities (ie - what is your vehicle? then select: price, treadwear, handling, traction on dry pavement, traction on wet pavement, traction in ice or snow, noise level, etc).

I am a CPA. The cost to value of my time to make this who knows how many hours of analysis has been close to 1 cent on the dollar. The only reason I spent so much time on every Internet posting available is because I am phobic about my cars .... kind of a hobby.

Best wishes to everyone and remember to fasten your seatbelts !!!!!

************************************************** *********** YIKES*******************************
SO MUCH EMAIL OVER THIS THAT AOL BEGAN PUTTING ALL USER REPONSES FROM THIS FORUM INTO MY SPAM FOLDER. Look at the time and date of the posts and I get a nastygram from THIS forum that had to be auto generated. It is toyotanation telling me it won't forward anymore email unless I sign in within 24 hours. WHAT FOLLOWS BELOW BEGINNING WITH Dear Paul3637 IS AN EXACT COPY AND PASTE OF WHAT I GOT AT MY AOL EMAIL ADDRESS: My AOL account is my legal name but anyone can reach me at Paul3637@gmail.com. My gmail account is solely for postings to public forums so if anyone gets my IP address despite the fact I have a hardware firewall through my Linksys router, high quality anti virus on three computers, and use 9 different anti spy - anti malware - for the the gmail account, cookies are only enabled on my 6 month old laptop which has VISTA - which - despite a dual core processor and 4GB of RAM / is so slow as to make a 1997 138HP Camry CE feel like a BMW. Windows XP & Diskeeper defragmenter on the other computers - and they run faster on older hardware than the newer laptop does.

Dear Paul3637,

jzh has just replied to a thread you have subscribed to entitled - Need help selecting aftermarket 17" tires for 09 Camry V6 - in the Gen 5 & 6 forum of Toyota Forums :: Toyota Nation.

This thread is located at:
Need help selecting aftermarket 17" tires for 09 Camry V6

Here is the message that has just been posted:
***************
My friend, I didn't recommend you the 18" TRDs because I have them... and the fewer on Camrys on the road with them, the better for me

But I run Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus Z-Rated Ultra Performance tires. They come with 45,000 mile warranty, and they were $215 each on Tirerack.

The TRD wheel price you were quoted is less than I paid for mine.
***************


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[Paul3637]

Originally Posted by jzh

My friend, I didn't recommend you the 18" TRDs because I have them... and the fewer on Camrys on the road with them, the better for me

But I run Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus Z-Rated Ultra Performance tires. They come with 45,000 mile warranty, and they were $215 each on Tirerack.

Ride quality is the same as my 16" Steelies. What did kill my ride were TRD Lowering Springs, but I love the car now... with the Lowering springs it is a completely different car.

The TRD wheel price you were quoted is less than I paid for mine.

**************************
Here is my car with the Avalon 17" 9 spoke wheels and new Michelin tires. Thanks for your help. My new wheels ended up costing as much as the new internet price for the 18" TRD's (had to buy plastic centercaps for the Internet priced wheels at dealer price which drove the price up). Nonetheless; am happy with my purchase. Thanks for your suggestions.

[jayrguidaben]

can't see the pics

[GT-R]

[Redline_Me]

Upload the pics on photobucket and then post them here.