Tires and proper alignment on a calibrated rack. Plus a periodically calibrated balancer. And a tech who actually tightens lug nuts in a star pattern and doesn't go to sleep on the impact wrench on the first lug nut. Hard to find a shop with good "techs", as they are called these days. Getting ready to spend a pile for the Evo X and HD.
I shop Tire Rack.
Made my decision on a set of Continentals for the car. Based on not just 'racks reviews but others.
Important to me is treadwear figures. Treadwear warranties are crap. They always find a way to weasel out of them.
So what's the UTQG rating of the Goodrichs? That's the treadwear rating? What about unbiased customer feedback?
I can only offer a few things. If the tires are new and you happen to see 3 of them with an ounce or so of weight and one with a lot more. Reject it. I had a piss and bitch session with a Goodyear store in Florida for that issue.
They blamed it on a wheel. So I said prove it. They dismounted the tire and spun up just the wheel with no weight.
That was after breaking the beads and spinning it on the wheel several times. 2.5 ounces of weight when the 3 others took 3/4-1 ounce.
The wheel was dead nuts. "They didn't have another tire in that size". They ended up bringing one from another store. And it balanced right up. Bastards.
I know people who swear by Goodriches and very few if any who swear at them. Had very good luck with Uniroyals. Had a set that would not wear out. And believe me, I can wear them out! Haha.
Got 65,000 out of a set of Eagle GT's.....in Florida.
After the big Firestone fiasco some years ago. Hard to say you don't surprise me. We call them Maypops up here.
Buy them, don't. I won't.
My sport compact came with Yokohama Advans. It also still has a sticker on the door trim under the window notifying you that they will wear out fast. When I was in Florida in 90+ degrees. The tread was like bubblegum. You could actually sink a fingernail in it. Asphalt parking lots sounded like corduroy. Their UTQG was below 200.
12k, they were done for.
The second set of Advans were still pretty grippy and rated 280 A AA. Not as grippy. 25k mi. warranty.
I got that out of them. But as tread got lower they got loud as hell.
So, Continentals it is.
It was a toss up with Goodyear but kept thinking of the sour balancing denial thing.