Hi:
I'm new here.
Last year, my daughter acquired a 2010 Xterra SE AWD, and it is time for new tires. The climate she lives in dictates M&S tires, so I'm asking for recommendations from all. Price is a consideration as always, but not the sole criteria for sure. Performance, durabilty or length of service, and quiet ride are also important.
For reference, her Xterra came with BFG 265/65R17's. While more service can probably be extracted from these tires, they are not suitable to enter the upcoming winter season.
Any strong recommendations out there, pro or con? I have used Les Scwabb Tires and Discount Tire before, both with usually good results.
Thank you for your help.
Trueheart
I assume that because her MOM is looking for tires for her, that she is very young, or, perhaps, overwhelmed by tasks such as this, etc....
So, that means some questions to the driver might not be available for an answer....
But you might know, so, here goes:
The criteria you listed are generic and what anyone would want....with the problem being that some of the criteria are mutually exclusive.
Tires that last a long time often have hard rubber with poor grip, tires with soft grippy rubber wear out faster, and tires with longer lasting grippy rubber are more expensive.
The fact that you want M&S type function means that generally, the BETTER its M&S performance is, the noisier it will be...as the more aggressive the tread pattern is to maximize M&S performance, the more noise the tread generates....and, again, to make a quieter more aggressive tread means more $, and so forth.
So, its like walking into the sporting goods store, and asking for the best pair of shoes they have, and you'll be using them to play basketball on a hard court, and also to hike the entire Appalachian Trail carrying a 70 lb backpack.
They will need to know how much of either venture you're willing to trade off performance on, as the sturdy hiking boots are not going to work well for basketball, and the sneakers on the trail will leave your ankles in pieces, etc.
So, if you tell them, well, the trail is more important, its just a pick-up game with some friends for an hour before we start the hike...you get full on hiking boots.
If you say you're in a b-ball league, and will play 3x a week for a few months very competitively, and the hike is just a short stint to take some pictures by the road, you're getting basketball sneakers.
If you say you play once in a while with some friends in regular but friendly, pick-up games, and will only hike a few miles once in a while, you might get a set of sturdy cross trainers, and so forth.
So, if the tires are great in deep snow, they will generally be noisier than ones that are terrible in deep snow...and, not handle a dry road as well as the quieter, less aggressively treaded tire.
A tire that is good in the rain is less good when its dry.
And so forth.
What it all boils down to is a PRIORITIZATION.
In order, what are the top priorities?
You can't just say I want a tire that is cheap, lasts a long time, is quiet and good in mud and snow, as it doesn't exist.
You CAN say you want, in order of priority:
1) Dry performance
2) Wet Performance
3) Wear
4) Snow Performance
5) Mud Performance
6) Price
7) Off Road performance (Adds durability, such as more puncture resistance, more aggressive tread blocks, etc...)
Or whatever actually reflects your (Her) priorities. There's no WRONG answer, its whatever you actually WANT.
Its just a realistic way of reflecting what's AVAILABLE.
Otherwise, everyone just tells you to get whatever THEY got.
(Its human nature...)
