Tires......

Ordered some new tires today for the HHR.
Continental Conti Pro Contact 91H - 215/50R17's (stock size)
60,000 mi tread wear guarantee

Was going to order some Michelin Primacy MXV4's from Costco until I did some checking on the HHR forum - some guys had wet traction problems, in spite of the tire store manager saying they were excellent in the wet.

I've always has good results with Continentals, going back to the early 80's

 

Looks like both those tires are pretty high rated by Consumer Reports.

 

Costco often offers coupoins for "$70 off on a set of Michelins" which, I was told by a tire retailer the the tread design on the costco tires is not the same as that sold to other tire sellers.

 

I just don't see a company with the high quality rep Michelin has messing around with different tread patterns on the same Michelin model tire just because its sold by different retailers?? :confused:

 

No, I presented that wrong. Example the Michelin X Radial lt is only sold by Costco , and Sams Club, the folks at Michelin call them "alternative tires" .
Alternative to their (Michelin's) pricier tires sold at other retailers.

http://www.michelinman.com/tires/light-truck/x-radial-lt/?tsn

 

discount tire direct would get my vote customer service is awesome. as i said previousely they gave me an awesome deal on 4 new tires .well low and behold when they went to mount the tires one of the front tires blew up . called discount they said no problem and a new one is on the way

 

Discount Tire / America's Tire Co. is where I ordered them....

 

KK, unless I'm missing something here, how come you are not after a winter ice/snow tire? Your climate is very close to mine and by the sounds of it you are on the ice/snow/rain alot. Why a all season and not a winter tread?
Our laws where I live are getting "sticky", if your tires are not winter rated with the 'snow flake/mountain" on the side wall and your in a accident in snow/ice insurance may be void because of.

Just wondering....

 

Tedy, I've never heard that before, that your insurance could be voided if you didn't have the correct rubber on your car. Granted, I live way south of you guys, but I do go up to Vermont alot in the Winter. I know that's still very south of where you live, but definitely, I'm going to have to check into that. Thanks for the heads up.

 

We will probably see that if Obama gets a second term.! LOL

 

Yeah, they are getting pritty anal in BC where I live (the island anyway), and I sorta like it in a way when it comes to the 'proper tires' for the conditions. Even though we had a milder than normal winter last year there were several ugly days on our steep windey Malahat highway. It's common on extra bad days the police have road blocks and if you don't have winter tires they don't let you through and make you turn around........

 

Came down to practicality....
Tires on it now are almost bald and it's starting to rain....
I can't afford to buy a regular set and a studded winter set right now.
Rarely get snow down here in the Willamette valley where I live. I mainly need a tire that's good in the rain. For the time being, I figure I can just take it easy going over the mountains. After buying the HHR, I made it through the whole winter and spring season without having to put chains on once - and I was going over the mountains to Bend and Redmond at least once a week. I'm just going to plan on using the chains if I need to. I'll practice putting them on in the driveway.

Also - I'm still a 'Southern California' guy - I've never had to have 2 sets of tires for once vehicle.

 

You do know the chains go on the front on the HHR....

If it snows here we stay home.

 

The highest point on Hiway 101 between Mexico and Canada is right at my front door ... when it snows or heavily ices the CHPcloses it down ... this place turns into a ghost town, pretty nice.

But I have never heard of a snow tire requirement in the USA ... but periodical chain requirements are common .... I hate those miserable thangs !!!

Same as Tbird ... if it snows here I stay home .... pee on the fresh powder then stroke the woodstove and grab a book.

 

I know it's factory spec but a 215 sounds awfully wide for a car listed at about 3200 lbs. All my cars are 185 stock width and are about that weight. Even my van which is nearly 4000 lbs is a 205 stock width. A wider tire is good for the track but horrible in bad weather. Cars have improved but physics still is what it is.

No laws here about tires or any other vehicle inspection for that matter.

Best all around tires I ever had were the Viva Touring from Walmart (same as Goodyear Regatta). I did that for a lot of years.

Roads around here aren't cleared very well or at all sometimes. They'll leave a main highway a sheet of ice for days on end, or until somebody gets killed, whatever comes first, then they can't clear it fast enough. Some nights we will get a foot of snow and for most people that's considered nothing around here. Rare that anything closes for the weather. Business as usual.

So lately I run cheap tires in the summer and Winterforce in the winter. On separate wheels so I can change them for free and when I want to. Best performance for the price in my book. Blizzaks are good too but way high in price. When I have to go downstate and back in the middle of the night, I need to get through whatever's out there, without driving a gas sucking SUV. The fuel savings, along with weight balance of the wagon, is a great thing to have.