I buy a lot of stuff online, but tires are something I won't buy online, just not worth the hassle, shipping charge kills the deal and if you have any issues, good luck trying to ship it back or get a retailer take care of your problem.
now you see why I refuse to buy a new car or car with big wheels.
Both of my cars have 15' rims and I spend about $500 mounted. I also don't like big wheel look or big arches SO many new modern cars have.
BLEH
$700-800 for 18" is not bad though....
The BEST all-season tires, bar none - http://tires.tirerack.com/search?asug=&view=list&w=continental+dws (unless you want run-flats, which then I'd go with the P7)
For my non performance vehicles....used tires have always served me just fine. Just a thought.
Currently my 2001 TL-S has 4 mismatched used tires from TireZone ($35 dollars per 17 inch balloon profile tire, mounted and balanced. Probably 30,000 miles left on them. YMMV, literally).
Now, on my previous BMWs and WRX, I obviously wouldn't have gone that route but using used tires is a great way to cut costs even further on your beater. (Unless your beater is for inclement weather).
We put a set of these on the wifes Altima last year and so far they've been pretty decent for us in northern Illinois.what region are you from? Do you get snow? Ice?
For B&M places, I've had an ok experience with Mavis. You can check their site for full cost with tires+mounting. Otherwise if I get then from tire rack, I'll just have our mechanic mount them on the car. He usually charges cheaper per tire to mount.
Wifes car has 17's and I'll spend anywhere between 110 to 180 per tire depending on sales. Picked up a set of Continental CWS's for about 130 per.. Prior to that pick up a set of Michelins MXM4's for a fraction of their list price.
On my station car, I've given General AltiMAX RT43's a shot and so far they get the job done. Paid under 90 per tire.
I sometimes buy used tires as well. But you have to calculate out the remaining tread depth, the value of the tire per 1/32, you add in the mounting costs and then you try to figure out which is cheaper, new or used. On cheaper tires like less than $75 a piece, going used doesn't make sense unless you're mounting them yourself and the tires are nearly free. But on some more expensive tires, if you get ones with lots of tread and you save $50+ a tire, if you know it's a good make of tire with a decent warranty, then going used can make sense.
Uh... your second chart with shows the ExtremeContact DWS tires consistently perform better than the others in all category. The first chart was linked to the wrong tires.Those continental tires aren't even that good, and they certainly don't last that long at all! The OP is complaining about the cost of his tires and the length of mileage he is getting out of them, the tires I recommended have excellent traction and good warranties. They're also higher rating in the traction dept. compared with those continental tires anyway.
Just look at these charts:
Cost efficient tires:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/chartDisplay.jsp?ttid=188
Cost inefficient tires:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/chartDisplay.jsp?ttid=194
The performance of the tires overlap in the two different categories yet one category of tires last half as long. Those continental tires are rated at 50K mile warranties yet a lot of customers are complaining about tire life being half as long. That's non an uncommon issue as I had that issue with some Michelin Energy MXV4 S8 tires which are stupidly priced and lasted maybe 20K miles before being bald. They also started off at only 9/32 so they didn't exactly have a great start to life.
Hydroplaning Resistance 9.4
Wet Traction 9.4
Cornering Stability 9.0
Dry Traction 9.3
Steering Response 8.8
Light Snow Traction 9.1
Deep Snow Traction 8.6
Ice Traction 8.2
Ride Quality 9.0
Noise 8.9
Treadwear 9.1
Those continental tires aren't even that good, and they certainly don't last that long at all! The OP is complaining about the cost of his tires and the length of mileage he is getting out of them, the tires I recommended have excellent traction and good warranties. They're also higher rating in the traction dept. compared with those continental tires anyway.
I was looking at the category as a whole. In both categories, there were tires that had better performance than the other. For example, the Extreme contact in wet pavement had the same stopping distance as the Pirelli Cinturato and higher stopping distance than the Pure Contact and Premier A/S which are "grand touring tires". I don't like the Extreme contact tires because going by the reviews, the tires wear out very quickly, sometimes as quick as 20K miles which reminds me of the Primacy MXV4 S8. For a tire with marginally better performance 86Ft stopping distance in the dry vs. 88-90 for the Premier A/S, Pure Contact, Turanza Serenity Plus, and 94ft for the Pirelli Cinturato, that to me isn't enough to justify the wear penalty of those tires. The Cinturato, based upon the reviews is an extremely comfortable, quiet tire with decent handling.Uh... your second chart with shows the ExtremeContact DWS tires consistently perform better than the others in all category. The first chart was linked to the wrong tires.
As for the OP, I sized up his tires and the UTGQ ratings are better than a lot of other tires. (ExtemeContact DWS)
Size: 235/40ZR18
Sidewall Style: Blackwall
Load Range: XL
Serv. Desc: 95Y
UTQG: 560 AA A
Yes, I understand that there are tires out there that perform better in certain conditions, but for the money, these are the most well rounded all-season tires. I like them.
Performance ratings:
Code:Hydroplaning Resistance 9.4 Wet Traction 9.4 Cornering Stability 9.0 Dry Traction 9.3 Steering Response 8.8 Light Snow Traction 9.1 Deep Snow Traction 8.6 Ice Traction 8.2 Ride Quality 9.0 Noise 8.9 Treadwear 9.1
I also run the Pirelli P7 RFs, like them as well, but cost a bit more.
Jesus man, you have no idea what the fuck you are talking about. The number you are probably quoting is subjective aggregation only within a category of tire. The DWS beat the purecontact in the objective tests. Stop posting outright wrong info.