Michelins, Kumhos....What else?!

[hopsing]

Hello all, need tires and I'd appreciate any thoughts/opinions. I had Michelin Pilots and they were okay. V rated and sort of noisy...plenty expensive. I'm looking for better wear and am considering 'H' rated Michelin Primacy MXV4 and Kumho KH16. The shop says that the Kumhos are great and that he puts them on Porsches, Mecredes and everything else. So....what say everyone here? Thanks and all the best. Oh yeah I've got a 1999 9-5.

[SaabScott]

I would stick with V rated or higher ... the car really does benefit from the addional sidewall strength.

I am currently running Copper Zeon Sport A/S.
They are Z rated and feel great on the car ... no noisier than the P6 and MXV4's I had been running.

[SaabKen]

There's are a lot of tire-related threads, esp. in the Lounge. Type "tires" or any particular brand or model in the Search Engine and you'll find tons of discussion on the topic.

I just went through same process myself. Took me months to decide what I wanted, and price and tread wear were major factors. Michelins are good but more expensive, not necessarily giving you the best bang for buck. I looked at the Primacy MXV4s (I had two very old Energy MXV4s in rear, Yokohama Avid V4s in front .... size 205-55/16) and they were close to Cdn$200 each. Other V or H rated tires I looked at in the Cdn $100-175 range included:

• Toyo Proxes FZ4
• Kumho Ecsta AST
• Bridgestone RE960 Pole Position
• Bridgestone RE950 (predecessor to 960)
• Fuzion HRi and VRi (Fuzion is a sub-brand of Bridgestone)
• Pirelli P6

In the end I went with the Bridgestone RE950s due to best combination of price, specifications and availability. Each cost me Cdn$130 incl. all fees but except taxes. I'm very happy with them at 3000kms so far.

[SaabKen]

Originally Posted by SaabScott

They are Z rated and feel great on the car ... no noisier than the P6 and MXV4's I had been running.

I actually bought the P6s originally. I drove home, then went to do some errands-running. During that brief 2 hrs of no more than 20 kms driving I felt the P6s were AWFUL. Soft, wallowy, not much steering accuracy nor feedback. I felt I had to change them immediately so next day I went right back to the tire shop and asked for a direct replacement. Ended up with the RE950s, which although are only "H" rated, felt about 90% like my old Yoko Avid V4s. But I didn't choose the Avids this time around because they didn't perform to my expectations in the rain during the 6 years/80,000kms I had them, and we get a lot of rain here in Vancouver.

Be careful with the P6s. I've yet read any favorable reviews on them. And I know the 9-5s came with them stock for awhile, but that they're also fitted on a LOT of American cars, esp. the fleet vehicles, so that kinda tells you something.

IMHO, unless you often drive at or close to the mid- to upper-end of speed range of V-rated tires, H- tires will do you nicely with little or no perceptible difference in performance, but perceptible difference in the range of brands & models to choose from, as well as better pricing.

[Wulf]

Searching through all the tire threads can take quite some time. I started this thread a while back to attempt to get many reviews in a single thread but it hasn't done too well. There are still some useful reviews so check it out.

http://www.saabcentral.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=121321

[i want an aero]

only ever run conti sports on my tuned 9-5. but michelin primacy's are great on standard 16's. make sure the tyre is 94w rated for load and speed

[SaabKen]

Originally Posted by i want an aero

make sure the tyre is 94w rated for load and speed

Especially if you were doing this .....

[Jssaab]

I'm never going to do Kuhmos again ( and the shop I got them from is no longer selling them due to complaints) I had 4 go bad prior to the warranty ( v rated with 30 K wnet at 20 K) on the 2000- at least I got reduced price on the replacement set.

and I just had another set go bad with Tread seperation, very dangerous condition, on my 03. Maybe I'll psot a few picutres. They gave me Hankook Ventus es? I think it was. Love them so far but have not has much chance to drive on em since my summer tires are on the car. They have 40K mile warrnty and slo z rated. We'll see

[fwish21]

I am not a fan of the Kumhos. I have had some of the higher priced tires from them on my performance cars and have had a couple of blow-outs (due to a bad tire build) and fast tread wear (could be due to my driving, but they shouldn't have gone away as fast as they did). I have real good luck with Michelins or BF Goodrich VR tires. Just my 2 cents.

[Aerocraft67]

I'm considering the Primacys, too. If you want Kumho, I think there are more appropriate options than the KH16, such as the new Ecsta LX Platinum, which is also on my short list.

I've really researched a lot about this and continue to do so. I guess it's so compelling because there are several mutually exclusive factors that you have to trade off (basically comfort, performance, and price) and no definitive comparison data to go on. I mean, there's lots of data on TireRack and Consumer Reports, but it often conflicts--for instance, the Continental ExtremeContact looks like a winner on CR but a loser on TR.

There's a fresh thread on the 9-5 tuning forum that seems to suggest that the more performance you chase with price the more disappointed you're likely to be. So the strategy would be to spend a reasonable amount on reasonable performance. The Primacy is expensive in the "grand touring" category but quite reasonable compared to premium ultra-high-performance tires (per mile). The Kumho Platinum has less data available but should fare well. The thread I mentioned started with the Dunlop SP Sport Signature which also fits this strategy well, especially with the rebate promotion.

The only reason I'm still considering an UHP tire over GT is that I have 16" wheels, and maybe the stiffer sidewalls of the UHP will compensate for the taller sidewall on the 16" wheel, compared with larger wheels. If I had 17" wheels I'd probably go with the Primacy straightaway. But I'll probably go through several more iterations of a final decision before buying. Luckily I still have some tread left on the current tires.

[robw]

Originally Posted by Aerocraft67

There's a fresh thread on the 9-5 tuning forum that seems to suggest that the more performance you chase with price the more disappointed you're likely to be.

The thread of which he speaks:
http://www.saabcentral.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=136086

[petewill228]

I've got Primacys on my 2.0lpt and after just over 20,000 miles there is still over 3mm tread all round.They are quiet,OK in the wet and I am well pleased with them. I cannot recommend them enough. I also concur with the comments on the P6,which were on the car when I bought it.Noisy,terrible in the wet and impossible to balance. A lousy tyre IMHO.

Pete

[trollhattanperformance]

Dunlop, Fulda, Pirelli, Michelin, Kuhmo, Yokohoma, BFGs. Been down those roads....

My new and best choice: You won't believe it - General AST. I cake 25K miles/year on my '01 9-5. Awesome ride, low noise, sporty, great tread pattern, looks hot with the lowered Eibachs and Konis too. Just my $0.02 on a Wednesday...

[Siren]

Originally Posted by SaabKen

• Toyo Proxes FZ4

I had a set of these on my former Volvo 850R. They were very good and grippy. They were uncomfortable tires - lots of road noise, and not a very good ride - but fantastic for high speed performance.

• Bridgestone RE960 Pole Position

These are what I'm running on my Saab now. I like them. Good ride quality, fairly grippy. Only thing I really haven't liked about them is that they have a real tendency to grab into road grooves and such, and yank the steering wheel out of your hand - way more than the Falkens I was running prior.

[MainLineSaab]

I have General Exclaim UHPs on my 9-5. Made in France by Continental.


Good tire, good handling, quiet, great value, ect.

[SaabKen]

Originally Posted by Siren

Only thing I really haven't liked about them is that they have a real tendency to grab into road grooves and such, and yank the steering wheel out of your hand - way more than the Falkens I was running prior.

Funny there's a local highway where a stretch of about 1/2 mile has had grooves for years. I was on it recently with my new RE950s and found they hardly grabbed onto the grooves. Whereas the Yokohama Avid V4s grabbed onto them like there's no tomorrow

[Hooligan]

Let's just muck things up with another vote for a different tire...

Bridgestone G009 Grid... or the new version, the G019 Grid.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....+Grid&x=21&y=9

I'm absolutely thrilled with these tires. Have about 12k on them now. They show no wear (this should be expected). Grip wonderfully, ride beautifully, are quiet (surprising given the fairly good size space between the tread blocks) and are good in the wet. Never needed to drive the 9-5 in the snow with these tires, so I can't comment there.

They're also quite reasonably priced, as you'll see.

[MacNoob]

Originally Posted by Hooligan

Bridgestone G009 Grid... or the new version, the G019 Grid.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....+Grid&x=21&y=9

They are a little cheaper because they're just H speed rated (130mph) - some shops wouldn't sell you those for a 9-5 as the originals are V (149mph).

Even if you're not planning on driving 130+, the H will have a little softer sidewall and ride.

[bkrell]

If you are looking for a cheap but long wearing tire, stay away from the summer tires. Go with an all-season or grand touring. The best cheaper grand touring tires that tirerack.com stocks for the 9-5 are the Kumho Solus and the General Altimax HP. I went with the Generals b/c I kinda liked the tread pattern better. I've had them since early spring and put around 500 miles a week on my car. They look brand new. Cornering grip is fine as well.

[bkrell]

Of note, I just went back to tirerack and took a look. It looks like they have the Kuhmo Ecsta LX Platinum on sale for $86. This is a better, W-rated all-season than even the previous two I mentioned.