Summer Tire Recommendation for the South

I'd appreciate any comments or recommendations on some new tires for my 2005 Legacy GT. I've been searching and reading all I can and will continue to do so, but I would appreciate any thoughts specific to my situation.

 

First of all, I live in South Mississippi. It snows once every 5 years or more here and it seldom sticks. We do, however, get a good bit of rain.

 

I am looking for a tire with good dry and wet performance, but I would also like something that I can get decent mileage out of (I got about 44K out of the crappy stockers with some tread but very little grip left) and isn't ridiculously noisy. I know it's hard to combine all of that into one tire, but can anyone offer any suggestions? I understand if I can't get 45-50K out of them. But 20K miles or less isn't enough. I'll put that on them in just over a year.

 

Thanks so much for the help, and Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all.

Do temperatures drop below 40-45 is South Mississippi?

 

Krzys

Goodyear Eagle F1 ....

 

WOW

Do temperatures drop below 40-45 is South Mississippi?

 

Krzys

 

Yes, but not for long. The coldest temps we'll see will be in the 20's, and that is typically only a few nights. Our coldest temps during the day are usually 40's, with a very few days getting into the 30's and the really, really rare day where it stays below freezing (once every 3-5 years or something I'd guess).

 

"Normal" highs and lows look something like this:

 

-Jan.----- Feb.---- Mar.----- Apr.---- May---- Jun.----- July---- Aug.---- Sep.----- Oct.---- Nov.---- Dec.

58/35---63/38---70/44---77/50---84/60---90/67---93/70---93/70---88/64---78/51---66/43---58/37

 

The average low for the year is 36 degrees. The record low is 4 degrees, in 1985 apparently...

I have read about the F1's. My dealer said about $160 a tire and advised me that they won't last long. Anyone have some time on these to give an idea of treadwear? Isn't his price a bit high? I don't mind paying it if they are worth it.

I just got mine and they're great no clue on thread wear yet though. I've heard good things about the falken 462 I think they're called

Thanks. May I ask what you paid for them? Is $160 too high?

I got them ok the tires I bought but I know I can get new ones for 200. Mind you they're 225/40/18. So of course theyll be more. Check citytireonline.com. They have good prices and ship them I believe

Goodyear Eagle F1 ....

 

WOW

 

Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R

 

EVEN BETTER

(best street tire I've ever driven)

I got my RE-01Rs for $200 245/40/18

I got them ok the tires I bought but I know I can get new ones for 200. Mind you they're 225/40/18. So of course theyll be more. Check citytireonline.com. They have good prices and ship them I believe

 

Gotcha, I am looking at stock size for $160.

 

 

I will look into the Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R. Tire wear ok on these?

i love my bridestone potenzas Re070s.

aren't those tires possesing even a lower treadwear rating

Gotcha, I am looking at stock size for $160.

 

 

I will look into the Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R. Tire wear ok on these?

 

I'd say pretty decent considering the amount of grip they offer. 15k+ miles with 4-5 track days.

Goodyear Eagle F1 ....[GS D3]

 

WOW

The Lord's Own Perfect Tire.....

jon i will hit u up soon for some rubber

I'm near Atlanta, GA, and I got a set of stock-sized F1 GS-D3s in the spring of '06 after taking out a wheel and tire by hitting a pothole. I have been very impressed by their performance, in both wet and dry conditions.

 

In doing my research before I bought them, I was told more than once that they absolutely would not do good in any kind of snow, which I didn't think would really be problem here. But I also found out they weren't recommended for use when the temperature got below 50 or so. Not that I didn't believe that, but sure enough, I found out that was very true. I was coming home from work one day the next fall, and the temperature was in the low 40s, and the tires didn't have much grip at all. So, I picked up some all-season tires for a good price from tirerack, and run those once the weather turns cooler.

 

So, I would highly recommend the F1s, but be careful during the winter months. I paid around $170 per tire at my local Goodyear store. A little steep, but at the time I needed them fairly quickly. I don't remember offhand what they're rated at for mileage, but mine have about 17,000 miles on them with very little wear showing.

 

Oh yeah, and I think they ride very well, and in my opinion are very quiet. And I've had no vibration issues or anything like that.

I would follow the suggestion of csaari. In winter the temperatures that you see warrant AS tires but for the rest of the year use summer tires.

The ones I will be buying, probably, are Kumho Ecsta SPT.

 

Krzys