I bought new tires today, they should be mounted tomorrow. I had a friend of the family get me a good deal on Nexen SB702 tires. The four cost me $272. After reading some posts about wider tires, I decided to go with 225/70/16 instead of the 215/70/16. I decided not to spend my money on Yokohama, Michelin, etc..and went for the cheaper set. These have a good looking solid center, which should make them somewhat quiet. I'll report back with my findings concerning noise, traction, appearance, ego! :rolleyes:

Here are some photos of the tire, I'll take photos of them mounted later:

Profile
http://www.nexentireusa.com/images/products/3D3F94E6AC1BADA46B8A52B3F8AACE45.jpg

Tread
http://www.nexentireusa.com/images/products/25EFD5718AEC0CBF8169EC9F495F769A.jpg

keep an eye on them, they're made in china and usually do not last that long. rotate them regularly to try to get the best out of them, and check for irregular wear.

They should be 50,000 mile tires. They are rated 400 for treadwear, but those ratings aren't accurate IMO.

I'm sure routine rotation is a common tool in extending the life of every tire. I don't have anything against the chinese. And for the $$ I'll probably get just as many miles as a 100$+ tire. (as in - $/mile)

Thanks for the advice. I'll keep an eye on them, but in the meantime - I'm excited about my new tires.

the treadwear, traction, and temperature ratings are DOT mandated and also quite obsolete. they're ratings based on that manufacturers line of tires. for example, if a company made two tires: a 00 treadwear DOT race compound tire, and a normal all season tire only, that tire could possibly be a 1000 treadwear and wear quicker than a 200 treadwear from another company. same with the temp and traction, it's all subjective and useless. mileage claims are futile also, tires wear out, brakes wear out, everything has a useful life. Cooper and Goodyear are terrible in this respect. they claim 80,000+ mile tires and that's crap. yeah the tire might last that long, but at what cost? take a pool ball and a racketball and roll them on a countertop, one will never wear out but slides around like it's on ice. for every claim they make, there is a compromise. lifetime brakes SHOULD throw up a red flag also, i don't need to wish for a dollar every time i got paid to remove Duralast ceramic lifetime brake pads b/c they made terrible noise and replace with a quality part.

not trying to knock your tires, i just like to babble sometimes. i'm very in tune with anything i operate as it's what i do on a daily basis. my boss put a set of Nexen 7000 tires on his jetta and they're garbage. piss poor grip and noisy as sin. i won't put them on customer cars b/c i can't stand behind them if they aren't happy with them and people typically are not satisfied with them for various reasons. i just don't want to hear it...

rotate regularly, check pressures monthly and have bi-annual alignments done at a reputable shop and report back when they're ready for replacement.

By 45000 miles all the good tread compounds that helped the car handle and brake in the dry and the wet have been used up from heat cycles. If you want to buy a tire that lasts 60000+ miles great but after 45000 miles it and tires on the Flintstone mobil have something in common. They are as hard as rocks.

Fred