Best tires to buy for SW2

About a year or so ago I read a thread on here that mentioned a tire
that some drivers wanted to buy for their Saturns. Seemed the consensus
was that brand was the best and helped make for a real smooth ride.
Considering how low my SW2 sits I'd like to get tires that would help
make riding in it as comfortable and safe as possible. Seems like it may
have had the word Mountain in the name, or at least something rugged
sounding.

I'm about to get new shocks and tires so I'm researching this now.
Thanks for any advice.

Jeff

 

I put a set of Goodyear Allegra's in 185/65 size on my daughter SC2 a
few months ago and I have been very pleased with their traction even
on slick pavement and great handling too. I also "tested" a set of
them on my wifes car last fall because they looked promising and they
did a superb job in winter driving too hence the reason for my
selection for my daughter car too. I got them at Sams Club.

 

Thanks SnoMan. I'm planning on renewing my Sam's Club membership soon
myself, so that's one of the places I'll be pricing them at. Appreciate
the info.

Jeff

 

On Sun, 13 Aug 2006 12:52:05 -0500, in rec.autos.makers.saturn

I put a new set of stock Firestones (I forget the model name, starts
with an "A") on my '95 SW2 when I bought it used about five years ago.
They've held up through highway, local and limited off-road
(construction site) use. I did buy the road-hazard coverage, and I've
used it a couple of times for nail repairs. Ride is smooth, traction
is good. And this is in south Texas heat (99 deg. as I type this).

 

Thanks for the info William. At least I'll have a good idea of a couple
of brands to check into when I price tires.

Jeff

 

check out www.tirerack.com

marx404

 

One defining factor we havent a clue about is location (climate). If you
dont get snow you dont need an aggressive tread obviously. Just about
any tire these days will give you a good ride unless its some sort of
hard crap made to last more than 100k+ miles. Personally I like Cooper
Tires as they offer about the only real American made tires anymore.

http://www.coopertire.com/us/en/selectorVehicle1.asp

 

Allegra's are not agreesive and my daughter SC2 will do about 40 MPG
with them on a trip so they roll nice. THere is a cooper tire main
warehouse near here and while cooper makes a lot of tires, they are
only a "B" tire at best when it comes to top end radials.

 

I had a 2000 SW2. I replaced the awful stock Firestone tires with
Goodyear Aquatred 3's. They were awesome. In the winter, I used
Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50's with an extra set of steel wheels. I'd do
the same again if I still had an SW2.

 

You want some awesome winter tires, try studded ones. I use them on my
plow trucks, they are a bit noisy at times but the traction is ice and
snow is incredible.

 

Thanks for the info guys. It was the Blizzak's I remember reading about
on here about a year or so ago. Don't know why I was thinking it had
"Mountain" in the name.

My location at present time is Omaha, but will be moving probably next
spring or sooner. Not sure exactly where to yet, but it'll probably be
one of these three places: Casper, WY; Billings, MT; or Salt Lake City,
Utah. So no matter what my new tires will be seeing alot of snow & ice.

Thanks, Jeff

 

Billing would be my first choice with Casper a close second and Salt
Lake a distant 3rd. I have been all three places and spent a lot of
time in first two. Casper get a bit more snow than Billings and
Billing can be a lot stormier and colder at times (more wind) Slat
Lake just does not suit my fancy at all. BTW studed tires are real
populars in Billings and you can buy them at warehouse clubs in any
common size prestudded too. You get up into the high country were
roads can bi iced covered for months at a time, studs rule big time. I
know I lived out there for a spell.

 

You want some awesome winter tires, try studded ones. I use them on my

....And not legal in some areas. I think we have a certain "season" for them
here in NJ.
--


Joe in Northern, NJ - V#8013-R

Currently Riding The "Mother Ship"

Ride a motorcycle in or near NJ?
http://tinyurl.com/5apkg
http://www.youthelate.com

 

In some areas they are only legal for 4 to 6 months a year but they
are quite legal in snowy areas and even if it has a restriction on
usage this is not big deal because I used extra rims for them and put
them on in winter and switch back in spring and this way get many
years of service from them (Next winter will be 6th winter for studded
tires for wifes car)

 

Snoman, I've received negative feedback from family and friends about my
idea of moving to SLC, so I'm seriously thinking of either Casper or
Billings a little more lately. I was in Helena for 4 months about 3
years ago. Had trouble finding work and came to Omaha where I thought
I'd be for about a year tops. I'm really getting the itch to move ASAP.
Nothing against Omaha, but I like the country in and around the Rockies.
Peaceful and beautiful.

Thanks for the input,

Jeff

 

If you plan to look for work, Billings has a far bigger playing field
to look for work in. If you are going cold turkey, Billings would have
a edge over Casper. Helena has a very limited job market and it
nothing like Billings in this regard. People travel for 300 miles and
more to shop in Billings as it is the "hub" for this and has the
biggest selection of goods north of Denver and Salt Lake to canada.
Billing climate is not too extreme in that while it can get to 30
below in short order and blow snow big time it can be mild in winter
sometimes too since it is about 3400 feet above sea level and yet you
can drive to the mountains and snow in but a few hours at most. It is
a little over 2 hours to Bozeman which is in a higher vally and has
snow more often but a very tight job market their. I used to spend a
lot of time in billings and sometimes I really miss it. Good luck on
your choice.

 

Thanks again Snoman. When I left Montana I remember seeing smokestacks
on the edge of Billings but couldn't see the town from the highway. It
was real early in the morning and I had just driven through a bad
snowstorm so maybe it was just my eyes, but all's I remember is seeing
those smokestacks and thinking it was probably more of an industrial
town.

If nothing else I'll be taking a drive up through Casper and Billings
just to check out the area.
A lady told me Casper has grown to about 3 times the size it used to be
over the last couple of years. Not sure why or if it's even true.

Anyways, thanks everyone for the advice.

Jeff

 

It has been several year since I have been there but there is a
refinery on the north east end of Billings which they keep pretty
clean and there are really no house really down wind for it. There is
another one in Laurel which is about 18 miles west of billings on I-90
and you may have seen them because they are right next to interstate.
From Billings central to the northwest going sout to the south side
of billings is the area that is booming with stories and such and
there is no other big manufactures in billings stack wise. THen there
is billings heights to which is north of town past airport. They had a
nice mall there, RimRock Mall.

 

Couple of more questions for you gents:

What are your opinions on Kumho Touring A/S 795 (Standard Touring
All-Season) tires? Have any of you ever used Kumho tires before?

My original tires are size 185/65R15. The Kumho's I can buy are
185/65SR15. I'm wondering what that 'S' stands for. Apparently it's fine
to use them for my car because it's listed as such.

I'm wondering about these tires because I read very good reviews about
them and the price is 'nice' also. I'd have to pay for shipping and I
don't know how much that would be yet. But if I buy these I'm guessing
I'd save at least $100 on what I figured I'd have to spend for new tires
just walking into a shop.

Also, I noticed other options listed for sizes of tires for my car as
being 16 & 17 (besides the original 15). How much better would 16's or
17's be for driving? I'm pretty sure that's the width of the tire. As
you can see I'm not an expert on this stuff.

Thanks, Jeff

 

THe S stands for a max speed rating of 99 MPH and the next most common
one is the "T" rating which is rated at 116 MPH. THe "S" rating is
basically a standard tire.