Old Lar...Up here in cold Minnesnowta I just went to my local Mpls./St.Paul Sam's Club the p-215 55R/16 Goodyear Assurance's are $114.99 a tire but there's a "instant" Goodyear rebate you get right on the spot making them approx. $100.00 a tire and with tax,mounting/balancing ect. the tire guy told it would be about $440.00 out the door had no clue if that was a good deal when I saw they were $114.99 each I said to him "are you kidding" ???!!! Where's the one's for $69.95 LOL!!!!!!

 

69.95...... Oh ! That's our leader ad price, it's a 175 x 70 x 14, special order only, Sir, would you like a set ??

 

A friend put 22” Bridgestone run flat tires on his BMW. There is barely an inch of rubber between the wheel and the road with that size wheel.

He loves them, he drives a lot in all kinds of weather, his office is in Chicago but he seems to always be on the road going to California or New York when they don’t have him somewhere overseas.

Of course he probably spent as much on one tire and wheel as you plan to spend on the set of 4 for your HHR.

When we bought our HHR last spring it had a new set of Prime Well tires on it. Since the car is new to me I don’t have a clue as to how good or bad they might be in snow but I’m guessing they will be fine.

We do sometimes get a pretty good dash of snow around here but many times it ice instead. No tire I have ever had is really good on ice, not even the tungsten steel studded tires, in the days those were legal to use, were really good in that crap.

 

I'm not sold on run flat tires even though they are the only choice from some manufacturers on their models. In this week's Autoweek they updated their long term test of a 5 Series BMW, in 8,000 miles they have gone through 7 run flat tires, only two have been taken out by road hazards, the rest have just failed. In one case they were forced to install to incorrectly sized tires in order to get home, no run flats available in their size.

The tire companies can keep the run flats and the dinky little cans of Fix-A-Flat.

 

Run flats have gotten better but they still have issues. The weight is one major issue. The other is the sidewalls are so stiff they have a poor ride quality. This is why they are only mostly found on performance models that the hard ride is not an issue.

In time most cars will have a small compressor and fix a flat as the spare is going the way of the 8 track. Weight of the tire and wheel is something they all want to shead for more MPG. Also space. Note some cars like the Volt and Cruze Eco do not have a spare or run flats but they do come with the small compressor.

At some point Run Flats may improve but they are not to the point many average drivers will be happy with them nor will they like the price. Tire companies only make em because the auto MFG's want them.

 

After my old firestones wore out I put on a set of Continental Extremecontact DWS on...probably the best tires I've ever bought, particularly in wet weather. In pouring rain car feels like its glued to the ground, even on hard turns. They were a bit more expensive, but I haven't regretted it for a second.

 

Must not rain much there I put DWS's on an they lifted in standing water, switched to Eagle F1's they will not lift, 80mph into 2'' in the ruts no lift, they were great in the snow and ice. We went to Edmonton 3 weeks in Dec. However the Gmax has a much more " cultured ride". And for an ultra high performance tire they are cheep.

 

I'm using 215/55R16 Michelin HydroEdge for the summer and 205/55R16 Uniroyal TigerPaw Ice&Snow II for the winter. No problems going a size smaller width wise as they are the same diameter in circumference.
Both tires offer good traction in the wet. It can get slushy here (just across from Detroit, MI )in the early winter and spring.

Clare

 

Goodyear Eagle GT's summer and winter..... no complaints at all

 

Am I the ONLY one that buys tires based on cents/mile? In modern times, I have NEVER had a tire wear out in less than the guaranteed mileage. I usually get 4 tire guaranteed for at least 70K for around $460 installed/out the door; for me that's almost a year. But I do go with 215 60 X 16 tires and save about $75 a set. I don't know why, but 215 60 X 16 are around $20 each cheaper than 55's. Shop around! If you want to know a specific brand to buy: Ask anyone that has an A__, since that's the number of opinions you'll get.