I am just looking for some opinions on what kind of tires (brand, type)should I get for my 2001 Taurus? I want something that will last long. I am currently considering any type of all season tires because I already have set of winter tires which I slap on when the white stuff comes down.

So let me know what you guys have on your DD and what do you guys prefer. Also, I don't want to spend a ridiculious amount of money as well, something economical.

Thanks in advance
Osman

General Exclaim UHP on the Talon, got them along with rims years ago from Fai Lee. They are -performance- all season (high-speed rated). Good in all-season, good grip at high speed (don't ask me how i know), and even some light snow (as many rated, and tried it myself, but it's no winter tire, so be careful). Lots of daily driving, and still good thread left.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=General&tireModel=Exclaim+UHP

The other one i would try, but i haven't yet, is GoodYear's Tripletred tires. The are -standard- all season. I'd be putting this on my other vehicles.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Goodyear&tireModel=Assurance+TripleTred

Whatever the cheapest crap Tire World in brampton sells.

x2 to Nigel. It's a TAURUS, for crying out loud!

I'll X3 that.

Walmart has decent tires for your Taurus.

Either that or contact Fai Lee or Rod Nieborowski our local DSM board tire guys, I have dealt with both, most recently Rod, in getting tires for my Rodeo last fall, I was in Guelph, but in contacting him made it worth my while to travel down to Burlington. In the end he saved me almost $100 over every other tire shop I had contacted for my BF Goodrich AT/KO's. Got down to the shop, tires were waiting, bay was clear, and I was on my way in probably less than 1-1 1/2 hr.

Well, regardless of the car I would still want something that will last a good amount of time and also has some quality.

For long lasting all-season's you can't go wrong with Michellins, but they are not cheap. The taurus is fairly heavy, and no speed demon (not counting the SHO), so T-rated X-Radial/Harmony or something along that line would do the job. Costco sells a few Michellin models with roadhazard warranty and free rotation every 10 or 15K (if you care). They go on sale twice a year, usually in the spring and fall. I have a set of X-radials on my minivan and Primacy MXV4's on my DD Accord. The Primacy's could use a stiffer sidewall for my taste. You can expect any of the above to last 100K km under normal use.

Wow, Mike thanks for the great information. I was also looking into the Michellins as a lot of other people have said the samething about them as you are stating. For the winter, I have Michellin X-ice, I have had no problems and have been using them for the past two winters. I am going to drop by Costco and see what they have. Any other opinions?

Regards
Osman

Well like I've said to others, you'll have to define what 'economical' means to you. When someone asks me for an 'economical' tire, I tend to think of $80ea or less.

But it sounds like you've got your mind made up already, so why did you even ask? I've run $84 tires (Dean Quasar) on my Talon, and even Auto-Xed them... They held up well and lasted a LONG time. They didn't grip as well as the BF/G tires I had that cost 3x as much, but it's not like they'd kill you if you had to make an emergency maneuver. I've also run $50 tires (Talon 2000) on a Golf and Sonata. Heck, these tires were rated 'B' for Temperature and Traction (the worst you can get) but I drove rather quickly through bad snowstorms with them...

If you want long life, try to get a tire with a UTQG rating of over 500. Used to be those tires handled like rocks (Michelin X-1) but, like the Primacy, they've got them so they handle and sound alright, too.

Ah, no I don't have my mind up, thats why I asked and thanks for the information Troy.

I think a source of confusion to some people who are trying to offer advice is what's the point behind the "last a long time" idea. Presumably the idea is to save money, correct? The idea being that if a tire lasts a long time, there's no need to buy another set for a long time, and therefore it should save money, right? But that's not necessarily true. If for example, you had a set that lasted 200,000 klicks and cost $200 per, but another set that lasted 100,000 klicks but cost only $75 per, even buying two sets of the cheapies will still cost you less for the same distance, no?

I think if you do the math, you'll find your best bet is to find a reasonably long laster for as little as possible.

Of course, if the reasoning behind the "long last" thing is that you have some repulsion to changing tires, then the above advice is invalid.

That's also why I mention the Taurus as being a factor. It's not known as a sharp-handling car, and that's where the big confusion in buying decisions come from.

For my Talon, and now my Passat, the pain comes from wanting a tire that performs like a race tire dry AND wet, rides like a pillow, lasts forever, AND only costs $50 a tire. Even considering I'll be setting my Passat up for handling, I was shopping Z-rated performance rubber for my Talon. Anything H to V-rated will be fine for the Passat. If I owned a car like an Accord or Taurus as a DD'er only I wouldn't put as much of an onus on high-speed performance. (Heck, did you see how I got ripped for saying I can drive fast in that other thread? )

I didn't mean to take your head off, but it rubs me sometimes when someone says, "I need to save money," and when you tell them what the best buy is they say, "That's nice, but I still want these expensive ones..." Like cars these days, even the bad ones are pretty good compared to what we had a decade or more ago.

If you're sticking with Michelins, I've heard good things about the Pilot Exaltos (might be pricey) and was definitely impressed with the Energy MXV4+ that were on my Passat. So any of the MXV4 series will do the trick. I love Michelin and Bridgestone. I just can never seem to be able to afford the ones I want when I go to buy them.

No sweat Troy. With gas prices the way the are these days and are going to be, you have to factor in every cost of a motor vehicle, atleast thats how I see it.

I checked out Costco, and got a quote for a set of BFG Traction T/A's. Tirerack.com seems to rate them pretty good amongst the competition. Read some reviews on them and haven't heard anything negative about them. Costco quoted me $480.00 installed with all the warrenty stuff and rotation every 15K. Stupid sales guy for some reason could not quote me prices on Michelins because of some order issue they had. I am going to try another Costco for the Michelins but heck, BFG and Michelin, same company anyways. If anything I guess Traction T/A's I'll settle with.

Regards
Osman

I got my General Exclaim UHP's for $400 installed and balanced, 215/45 ZR17. Excellent tread wear and good wet traction. For the price they are much better and cheaper than the traction T/A's. Check em out on tire rack, they have a better review than all other tires in its class. I have been beating on them for over 2 years now, and they are about 50% done now. They also take the DSM low 11's down the track, possibly high 10's soon
Also a very soft sidewall which is good for drag racing, and they are about 2-3 lbs lighter than all other tires in the same size.
Overall an excellent cheap tire, just what you want for you DD, as you already have snow tires.

BF/G tires are a different 'feel' than the Michelins. Marketed more to the 'average Joe' American as opposed to the 'high end' Michelins with a world market. Nothing wrong with the Traction T/As.

The tires I bought for our Vibe are UniRoyal TigerPaw Touring. 205/55R16 cost ~$125ea during CDN Tire's buy one get the second for 1/2 price sale. Impressive tire. Handles well, great in the rain, and doesn't suck in the snow. Good wear rating means they should last awhile as well.

I don't have the privilege of having a CostCo membership.

I actually ran the UHP's on my Eclipse and I don't have anything bad to say about them. I never really tested them in the rain as the Spyder didn't see much water and nor did i rip it down the 1/4 mile like you do Reza but overall I was satisfied. I can get same price as the one you stated Reza but I guess I just have to make up my mind.

Troy you are right about that BF/G's as I have read samething on other websites. I am going to try calling another Costco or visit another location and get quote for a set of Michelins. I am really hooked on the free rotation as the Costco is not to far from my place. I could do the rotation myself but whenever school and job are combined, I seem to never have time. I'll get the quote and go go from there.

I appreciate all the help guys!

P.S Good luck with 10's Reza and Mike Angeli should not be too far behind you with the new snail he has.

Over the past few years, everytime me or another family member needed some new rubber we always ended up going to Tire World in Brampton. Didn't matter the brand or type of tire, they always had the best price when we phoned around. I ran BFG tires (I believe they were called Precept, got from Crappy tire) on my Z24 winter beater. They were resonably priced & ran them for 3 winters & they still had a good amount of tread left when the car got traded (easily over 50%). Don't really know about summer but they actually were a pretty descent tire in the snow.

+1 for Tire World

When I'm looking for tires, I check the reviews and prices on the web (1010tires.com; tirerack.com etc..)
Then compare prices with local shops.