what 13 inch tires are you guys running?
09-15-09, 04:18 PM
#51
I like the Yokohama Avid Tourings for my mostly highway daily driving. Great ride and performance and I got way over 100,000 miles on my last set. But they aren't available in the stock size any more (185/70/13) so I'm trying Kumho KR21's this time.
The Kumhos come with an 85,000 mile warranty (similar to the Yoko's at 80,000) and they are the highest rated stock tire on most web sites. They have excellent performance stats, look great and are very reasonably priced - I got my set for $325 with all the bells and whistles, including tax and regular tire balancing and alignment check (I spent another $16 to have my old Yoko Avids put on a spare set of rims, they still have another 10-20,000 miles on the tread, good for around the house).
Here's some pics, I just had them put on today at a local tire shop (way less expensive than discounttire, the closest competition, Discount wanted $400+ for the same package):
By the way, unless your car is heavily modified or and/or used on the track, the stock tire sizes are best for overall handling and performance.
Wider tires will give you better traction but they also increase drag that can adversely affect steering and gas mileage. In addition your speedometer and odometer will read accurately with stock tires (the wider, lower profile tires over rev, making you think you are going faster than you really are - maybe a good thing? - and adding false mileage to the odometer - probably a bad thing). Also the stock tires look better because they fill out the wheel well, unlike those stiletto Sumitomo's HTR 200's that have that Fast and Furious look because they are shorter that the stockers.
After all, the Mazda engineers designed the car for the 185/70-13 tire size for a reason - This is the best tire for the car. The 185 is actually the performance upgrade over the original 175 width.
The Kumhos come with an 85,000 mile warranty (similar to the Yoko's at 80,000) and they are the highest rated stock tire on most web sites. They have excellent performance stats, look great and are very reasonably priced - I got my set for $325 with all the bells and whistles, including tax and regular tire balancing and alignment check (I spent another $16 to have my old Yoko Avids put on a spare set of rims, they still have another 10-20,000 miles on the tread, good for around the house).
Here's some pics, I just had them put on today at a local tire shop (way less expensive than discounttire, the closest competition, Discount wanted $400+ for the same package):
By the way, unless your car is heavily modified or and/or used on the track, the stock tire sizes are best for overall handling and performance.
Wider tires will give you better traction but they also increase drag that can adversely affect steering and gas mileage. In addition your speedometer and odometer will read accurately with stock tires (the wider, lower profile tires over rev, making you think you are going faster than you really are - maybe a good thing? - and adding false mileage to the odometer - probably a bad thing). Also the stock tires look better because they fill out the wheel well, unlike those stiletto Sumitomo's HTR 200's that have that Fast and Furious look because they are shorter that the stockers.
After all, the Mazda engineers designed the car for the 185/70-13 tire size for a reason - This is the best tire for the car. The 185 is actually the performance upgrade over the original 175 width.
09-17-09, 02:53 PM
#53
The price on the KR21's is fantastic and the ride in phenomenal - smooth, quite and steady. I've got several hundred miles on the Kumhos now and they are every bit as good as the Yoko Avids. I'd buy them again if I could but it will take me 4 or 5 years to get the 85,000+ miles out of the set I have, by then 13" tires will be extinct.
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