I have been lurking in the background, but this made me have to register and post.

I have gone through 6 tires in the 67,000 miles I have owned my Element, 4 original Goodyear and then two more OEM Goodyears. I had a fast leak on my front driver's side tire and figured I would get four new tires rather than replacing just two and running different front and rear tires.

After looking at the forum and reading two hours worth of posts, I made my choice. I bought four new Kohum KR21 215/60R16 tires to replace all the Goodyears on my E. I made this decision based on the price to longevity ratio. Also, the reviews on these tires usually said they were quiet and not huge affect on the MPG. After a trip to the tire shop, and $446 later (no road hazard or valve stems), I am extremely glad that so many of you took the time to post about your tire experience. The amount of information on this website alone pertaining to Elements, is light-years above anything that Consumer Reports can even comment on.

The tires turn the Element into a different car altogether. The Element is my wife's car, and I generally don't like driving it. I prefer the ride and comfort of my 09 Subaru Forester. That's not to say that I don't love the Element...just when given the choice, I would rather drive the Subaru. That has changed now.

The Element handles so much better. I had no idea that I could drive it without chirping the tires in first gear. The ride has improved so much more as well. Bumps now feel less like curbs and more like what I would expect from a car. Steering is so different, I'm not saying it is a sport-tuned vehicle, but so much more responsive than the Goodyear tires.

Overall, I don't have a whole lot of miles on the tires, but I am happy so far. I had no idea that tires could do so much to the driving characteristics of the car. Thanks to all that posted before and helped my decision making process. I hope that those who have posted take my appreciation to heart, in order to realize that even though a few words on the item that you have, good or bad, have an impact on so many that read this forum and never register.

Thanks for letting me rant.

Welcome, Natemart, and thanks for the thoughtful introduction!

I have been lurking in the background, but this made me have to register and post.

I have gone through 6 tires in the 67,000 miles I have owned my Element, 4 original Goodyear and then two more OEM Goodyears. I had a fast leak on my front driver's side tire and figured I would get four new tires rather than replacing just two and running different front and rear tires.

After looking at the forum and reading two hours worth of posts, I made my choice. I bought four new Kohum KR21 215/60R16 tires to replace all the Goodyears on my E. I made this decision based on the price to longevity ratio. Also, the reviews on these tires usually said they were quiet and not huge affect on the MPG. After a trip to the tire shop, and $446 later (no road hazard or valve stems), I am extremely glad that so many of you took the time to post about your tire experience. The amount of information on this website alone pertaining to Elements, is light-years above anything that Consumer Reports can even comment on.

The tires turn the Element into a different car altogether. The Element is my wife's car, and I generally don't like driving it. I prefer the ride and comfort of my 09 Subaru Forester. That's not to say that I don't love the Element...just when given the choice, I would rather drive the Subaru. That has changed now.

The Element handles so much better. I had no idea that I could drive it without chirping the tires in first gear. The ride has improved so much more as well. Bumps now feel less like curbs and more like what I would expect from a car. Steering is so different, I'm not saying it is a sport-tuned vehicle, but so much more responsive than the Goodyear tires.

Overall, I don't have a whole lot of miles on the tires, but I am happy so far. I had no idea that tires could do so much to the driving characteristics of the car. Thanks to all that posted before and helped my decision making process. I hope that those who have posted take my appreciation to heart, in order to realize that even though a few words on the item that you have, good or bad, have an impact on so many that read this forum and never register.

Thanks for letting me rant.


Glad you finally decided to post! I hope that your post gets others that do the same as you have been doing to post. It's good for us to see that the forum is still useful, and being used for what it was intended to be. An information repository, and experience exchange.

Thanks for taking the time.

Dom