Tire recommendations? Cheap & quiet!

[hallcp]

Usually when I look for tire recommendations on a forum the discussion is dominated by folks who mount snow tires in the winter. Down here in North Carolina that's not a thing.

It's about time to replace all four tires on my car. I've been studying tire seller websites and there are a ton of options for this size tire. I see Michelins at $160 (45k warranty), Falken at $130 (65K warr.), Sincera at $125 (75k warr.) and some other even cheaper brands.

My goal is a quiet, low rolling resistance tire that'll last 30k miles or so. The current Michelins are almost done at 26k miles, which seems poor to me.

I don't quite get the run-flat thing. This is an around town car and the TPMS system would surely alert you before a slow leak took you down. (Am I missing something? I don't know much about run-flats.)

I put Sinceras on my previous car (Fiat 500c) but sold it on before I had many miles on them. Before that I always bought Michelin. Local dealers here always push Yokohama, but in my experience they're noisy.

Too many options! Help!

 

[JeffRay]

Charles,

I always mount Michelins on my cars as I find them to be soft riding and reliable. That being said, I do not put more than 8K miles on my cars combined.

No tire, run flats or not, would likely survive a blow out like I experienced back in the day driving on a highway at speed. Kinda scary but I was able to pull over to the service lane without any damage to mine or another car.

I did get a nail in a run flat and the TPMS informed my low pressure and sure enough a puncture. With a regular tire, I would have had to reinflate the tire before rolling to the tire shop. Now, since I have regular tires (yes, snows, hope I am not being dominant), I carry a portable inflator that doubles as a battery charger.

One of my run flats also had a cut in the sidewall. The MB dealer said it was not repairable so needed to be replaced. I had gotten the rim/tire insurance so the new tire including install cost me $50.

I agree as a runabout, especially in an urban area, no need for run-flats or a spare tire. I have AAA, the TPMS, and my air compressor.

Did I mention that the car rides so much quieter and smoother once I replaced the run flats? BTW, mine are unused and I intend to return them when my lease runs out.

 

[Mzteaze]

I live on the other side of the bridge from JeffRay (Northern NJ here).

The best reasons to consider run flats IMHO is if you live in:
1) An area with lots of potholes and/or new construction. On my ICE car, I had several tire replacements due to both.

2) You frequently drive in areas where tow services are restricted or regulated. In NJ, I-95 and the Garden State Parkway limit which tow services can provide assistance to stranded motorists, so services like AAA and MB Connect are useless because although your membership offers inexpensive or free service, you MUST use the state authorized tow instead.

3) You don't have a spare or donut in the car. My B250e did not have either so I might be limited to run flats.

 

[hallcp]

So I bought Riken Raptor ZR A/S SL tires from Tire Rack, $78 apiece (inc. shipping). Installation for all four was $128 at Mr. Tire, one of their participating installers. Here's link https://www.tirerack.com/tires/riken-tires.jsp

These tires got really great reviews and were about half the price of the competitors. They're Japanese and part of the Michelin Group.

Total cost $440. I'll try and report back on these after a few thousand miles...

 

[WantOne]

How are the tires? I’m about due for my tire and are actively looking for one. Either thanksgiving shopping or right after winter.

Urban driving for mine as well as these are electric cars that have 82 miles range. Quiet and comfort are the primary goal.

 

[hallcp]

So far the new tires are great! Slightly quieter than the old Michelins and a lower pitched sound. In dry conditions in E-mode (my 2014 only had E and S) I cannot spin the front tires. I could consistently break traction with the old Michelins. In damp conditions or in S mode, they can still lose their grip, but it's definitely an improvement. I can't tell any difference in the ride quality.

I am very pleased with this purchase. The Tire Rack process was pretty painless. The tires arrived here within a day or so. I don't know how they sent them that fast from Pennsylvania. Local installer tacked on a few charges and kept the car all day, but that's par for the course I guess.

 

[WantOne]

Thank you. This gives me some good options going with none run flat ones!

 

[JeffRay]

WantOne,

I also bought online from TireRack and had them deliver to my mechanic. He installed the four Michelins and stored the OEM runflats for me. Charged me only for labor at hourly rate. Took maybe one hour.

 

[Cardonman]

Hi all!!
What’s the tire situation currently?

In my case, I’ve replaced the run flats once. ($190 per) Almost two years now and it’s coming close to putting on another set. After reading all the comments I’ve decided to skip run flats this time around. After shopping extensively I found a good deal. I checked on eBay and came across a good fit. A tire vendor out of Pittsburgh had 4 Nokian tires. (Nokian is from Finland.) As you know they are known for their Hikapalita snow tire series. (Bjorn Nyland did a test in Norway with this tire brand on his Model X).

Anyway, I got all four brand new for less than 1.2 of the Michelin’s(!). The UTQ rating is Treadwear 560, Temp A, Traction A compared to the OE’s. (Plus a 60, 000 mile warranty)
These are directional so I’ll have to watch closely the tire rotation service. Lastly, there Made in Russia. Who would of thunk it!! Once mounted I’ll post an update.

My $.02,
C

 

[Cardonman]

Well...just as I was about to install the tires I sold the car. Returned the tires and bought a Model 3. My goodness what a difference compared to the B Class. The ride in the B Class is slightly better - I think but that’s about it. The tech in the 3 is like driving the “iPhone 20”. I had a glitch with the FM radio and Tesla sent an OTA update. In addition, the update Included a few extra goodies like an extra 5% bump in horsepower, better AutoPilot, etc. Coming from a B Class I’ve had plenty of experience to help move to the Model 3 vs coming from an ICE vehicle. Yes, it’s not cheap. Say what you want but the “future has arrived!”