I was thinking Tire Rack, but when you consider you still have to pay some one to mount and balance them, then some of the major stores can be competitive.

 

I always get my Michelins at Costco. I like the Pilot Sport A/S3+.

 

Did you ever use Contis? I am up in the air, Conti. vs Michelins.

 

I have had touring Contis on another car, so I can't really judge their performance tires. Michelin is my default.

 

I got my Conti's @ Discount Tires in Nevada

 

I always find tires wherever cheapest online, then go to Hunter's website and find where there's a RoadForce 9000 near where I am at the time and utilize that location for mounting and balancing.

Regarding Conti vs Mich - they're both top-tier. Personally I went with Continental on my daily driver (VW Tiguan w/ some mods - makes more power than most R53s) due to being lighter than the Michelin option and offering better light snow performance (DWS 06). 1lbs of unsprung weight is equivalent to 8lbs in the car. Tire weight matters as well due to centrifugal force (delivered force increases as distance from center increases).

 

Bullcrap. 1# at the tire tread is like 2# at the
chassis in terms of rotational inertia.
That’s 1 extra lb of rotational inertia and
1 lb of extra weight.
More like 1.75# for a typical tire, and 1.5
or less for a rim.
Simple physics. Math beats myth.
Lighter tires are still a good thing, though.

 

You could say that 1# per tire at the
tread is equivalent to 8# on the
whole car.

 

I used to like Discount but I have had bad experiences with them in Idaho and Arizona. Both wanted to sell me new tires when the punctured tire was repairable. So now I use the little guys.
I have not bought tires at Costco but all my other experiences there have been good.

 

I get mine from Discount Tire. I prefer Continentals as I just can't justify the price of Michelins.

 

The entire vehicle is listed as 2540lbs, and each wheel / tire combo amounts for approximately 37lbs for the X-Lite wheels using 195/55r16 tires. 17.5lbs per wheel, 19lbs per tire. Multiplied by 4, and that's 148lbs. Less than 6% of overall vehicle mass, and yet removing 20lbs in total from this (unsprung mass) results in massive performance increases. Now, go on a weight-reduction endeavor, and let me know how much physical mass must be removed from the chassis / interior in order to account for the same performance increase that was attained from removing 5lbs per wheel / tire / braking combo. Call it snake oil if you'd like, but this is something that lap times show easily enough.

The resulting ratio having a greater delta results in better control (all forms of acceleration) over poor traction surfaces - and that's everywhere that 'the public' is allowed, for sure.

If someone "can't feel" the difference between heavy wheels and light wheels, then they need some more driver mod, at the least.

 

So now I am convinced to go with the Contis, how is the longevity and ride quality on the DWS06? I don't track the car.

 

I get my tires from Tire Rack. I just found out something disappointing about their free road hazard protection - it's only good for 2 years. My wife curbed the Michelin tire on our other car which ripped the sidewall. I thought we were covered for at least part of the replacement cost but I bought the tires 3 years ago.



Does it cost extra to RoadForce balance tires?

I have worked in shops with that machine in it and the only time anyone ever road force balanced wheels/tires was in diagnosing a difficult vibration problem. For routine tire balancing, the machine was used with the road force feature turned off.

 

Discout tires gave me my best deal

 

Tires Costco sells no matter the brand, Michelin, Conti, Dunlop...they're not same model tires as one would find from the authorized Tire Shop or MINI dealer. While they may have same model name, not the same quality....I believe Tire Rack started selling the "star" branded Conti's few years ago. Those are top tier for each model type which at one time could only be purchased from a MINI dealer. MINI Dealers and authorized factory tire stores are willing to pay the extra to avoid wheel balancing issues which crop up.

 

Costco tire difference, proof of your statement? I'm not defending them and I never purchased tires from them but I don't believe it to be true.

 

This is not true. You can get exactly the same Michelin's or Continentals at Costco that you would get at Tire Rack . . or the Mini dealer

 

I've had friends that worked for Wal-Mart state the same... but they're also not the type to pull up research articles to provide empirical evidence of their claims, so I don't take that as gospel.

I pay $20/wheel to get tires mounted and balanced at the local Toyota dealership - they're the closest facility to me with a Hunter Roadforce machine. If I wasn't going to get them Roadforced, I'd just build a quick jig and mount / balance my own tires. Hair spray and a lighter, hub-suspension, and stick on the weights until it doesn't fall to a heavy point anymore.

Regarding the DWS06 - I have them on a 2016 VW Tiguan (they're fat GTIs) that's lowered a little, more aggressive alignment, and some mild power tweakers. I drive it like folks drive their Minis (weight handicap aside) and have put maybe 20k miles on the tires and have worn them perhaps 30-40%. 3400lbs, around 260hp / 300tq, FWD with a heavier foot. If the DWS06 existed in the tire sizes I want, I'd use them again for sure.

 

This is starting to get silly.

Point one: Yes, some Costco models are made for them. They previously had a version of the Michelin Defender XT that was named differently than what others got. Having been through one set from NTB and to from Costco, if there was a difference in performance, I couldn't find it. Many of their tires, however, are exactly the same, including in name.

Point 2: "Conti vs. Michelin" is meaningless. Which Conti? Which Michelin? Every brand makes a good tire, and every brand makes a stinker. We all have personal preference, but you simply cannot say one brand is better overall than another without comparing specific tires. A Max performance tire from either will handily outperform a touring the from the competition. How about we start comparing apples to apples?

 

The pedantry has arrived!

Yes, please compare a Michelin X-Ice to a ContiExtremeSport tire. /rolleyes

One would think it reasonable to assume that any individual, not in an appliance-vehicle such as a Camry, would be sensible enough to compare tires within the same classification - typically treadwear. But I guess you're right, the OP could be asking us to provide comparison between a DOT slick and some rock crawling tires. Amusing of us to make such assumptions and provide feedback.