time for new tires already
 

so, it looks liek after only 20k miles, its time for new tires... ive dont alot of work that cause the alignment to kept getting thrown off, so im not blaming the tires too much...

I also just started working at the walmart tire center so im looking into getting tires there just for ease so i can have them put on while im at work.... they dont have anything in stock for my size (195/60r14) so anything will have to be ordered... heres what comes up:

General tire Altimax HP (86H)
Hannkook Optimo H724 (85T)
Kumho Solus KR21 (85T)
Kumho Solus KH16 (85H)
Uniroyal TR TP touring (85T)

are any of those any good? not alot of snow here, but it does rain quite often... and im lookign to start doing some light track time. I also just went with that tire size last year because that what the PO had on there... Is there a different tire size i should be going with? i have ~2" drop and using 14" steelies

in another post ChristianL says he has had good luck with kumhos, dont mean to speak for him but its right under your post so figured id save him from posting it again.

edit: im gonna let you finish but cowboy bebop and samurai champloo are two of the best animes of all time.

right, but from the reviews ivee been able to find for those 3 in that size are well... fairly bad


starting to wish i have 15s... much wider selection

Wow - I'm flattered that someone reads my posts! :cool:

Actually, I've never had experience with the Solus line of Kumhos, so I can't really comment either way. I'm currently running the ASX in a 16" size on my EK, and have had a few other sets of ASXs and Victoracers (a track-only tire). They've been good value for the money. Not sure about the rest of the lineup, though.

However, if you're running 14" steelies, that 195/60-14 is waaaaay too wide for what you have. Do some research - I'll bet the proper tire size is something like a 185/65-14, which would open up a wide array of tire choices for you.

But if you're looking to do some "light track time", you'll want a dedicated set of wheels/tires. Narrow all-seasons with your stiff suspension will make for hairy experiences at track speeds.

didnt know that was too wide for steel wheels. However with the way i drive, im not really wanting to go narrower... lots of twisty back roads... also deer are heavy in my area, so getting a much rubber on the road is nice to not total your car.

Do you know what your wheel width is? If it's 5.5" or so. 195s are still acceptable, but if the steel wheels are narrower than that (or that the OEM tire size was even as low as a 175), then I'd look at the 185s instead. The concern is worrying about pulling it off the wheel under hard cornering, as well as adding extra heat to the sidewall (especially since you're running softer sidewalls like on a non-competition tire).

If you can get a decent 185 width tire, it'll outperform an average 195 in both handling and braking. Plus, there's a ton of tires out there in the 185 size, so your selection will be a lot better.

But, out of the list you've provided, I'd go with either the Hankooks or the Kumho Solus KH16, in that order. Going off the specs of all the tires, I think those two will come the closest to what you're looking for. Just don't expect them to have you cornering on rails. Save those kinds of tires when you have a second set of wheels. :cool:

Well the hankooks are what I have now... And they only lasted 20k.... Now I have done alot of suspention work over the last year, so that may have had something to do with it. They handled fine untill a few months so when they started churping on gear changes... On an auto.... Gonna look locally and see if I can find a place locally that will let me make payment on 15"s... Get a summer set put on thouse and save my 14"s for winter tires

I've had really good luck with Kumho tires. The Kumho Solus KR-21 is a great all season 80K mile tire (if your alignment is straight...)

I put KR-21's on my mom's van and she drives my kid sister around all over the place. I put KR-21's on two of my sisters' cars too. My old ugly CRX rims had KR-21's on them. I like them a lot.

About the alignment... I know the toe is dead on, but the camber is off becaus of the drop.. -1 front and around -2.5 rear... Nothing bent but I think the bushing are going.

OE size for your car is 185/60R14. Going to a 195/60R14 is a bit oversized. I actually run that size on my daily driver because I just like a meaty tire, but, gas mileage suffers a good amount, acceleration suffers, your speedometer will be off a bit and because the sidewalls are a bit beefy, response is slightly sluggish. I would recommend sticking with the 185/60R14.

As for those tires you listed, I wouldn't let any of them touch any of my cars lol. Judging by your selection it seems like you're budget is around $250 for a set of all-seasons. Those tires are typical "over the counter" tires. No performance out of them, just a tire for average joe to get around on.

The Kumho Solus tires are garbage. Scary in the rain and not much better in the dry. Used to install hundreds of these on customers cars when I worked at a Toyota dealer. They'll last you a long time, but there's a reason..

The performance tires Kumho produces are pretty good. The ASX's are a good all-season(installed these on my brothers car), the Kumho SPT's are really good high performance summer tires(used to have these as my street set for my race car) and the Kumho XS's are a pretty solid "extreme performance summer tire"(ran these for half a season in my friends RSX-S for autox).

195/60R14 will fit on an OE wheel, it's what I have on my daily. But, like I said, there are drawbacks.

And yes I agree, any all seasons for any performance driving, especially circuit track, is not good.

Narrower does not always mean less grip. The way the tires are designed and created along with the compound have a much larger impact on overall grip than width. Take for instance my 195/50R15 Toyo R1R's that I race on. The 195/50R15 Toyo R1R is actually BETTER than the SAME exact tire in a 205/50R15. This is due to the tire being a single compound tire. The 195/50R15 Toyo's I race on are also better than my 205/50R15 Bridgestone RE-11's I have for my other race car.

Pretty sure stock is 5.5".

If you can afford a set of 15"s and up your budget for tires, you'll open a much large selection up to some great tires. But, if you want to stick with you 14" wheels, I'd strongly suggest either the Falken ZE-912's or Falken ZE-512(discontinued so may be hard to find). I have the Falken ZE-512's on my daily and they are very good all seasons. I drive pretty spritely around town and they hold up well.