2003 Toyota Corolla tires OEM vs. alternatives

[bogusmailmark]

I've been very happy with the Goodyear Assurance tires on my 03
Matrix.

On Jun 8, 7:55*am, edspyhill01 <edspyhil...@**********> wrote:
> I replaced the OEM Bridgestone tires on my 2003 Corolla LE with
> Michelin Energy MXV4 S8 tires. *The tread noise is loud on surface
> roads but almost unbearable on highways (concrete or asphalt). *I
> didn't check the Michelin site before ai purchased the MXV4 tires.
> Michelin recommends all weather models - Harmony Destiny, X-Radial,
> Weatherwise II.
>
> Should I go back to the Bridgestone tires that came with the car?
>
> Can anyone recommend a Michelin model?
>
> Ed S.

[Ed]

I also have Michelin Energy on my Camry I have 47k miles on them and
would still buy the same tires when I need to replace them. I wish the
Scion tC came with Michelin instead of Yokohama.

On Jun 8, 7:55*am, edspyhill01 <edspyhil...@**********> wrote:
> I replaced the OEM Bridgestone tires on my 2003 Corolla LE with
> Michelin Energy MXV4 S8 tires. *The tread noise is loud on surface
> roads but almost unbearable on highways (concrete or asphalt). *I
> didn't check the Michelin site before ai purchased the MXV4 tires.
> Michelin recommends all weather models - Harmony Destiny, X-Radial,
> Weatherwise II.
>
> Should I go back to the Bridgestone tires that came with the car?
>
> Can anyone recommend a Michelin model?
>
> Ed S.

[JoeSpareBedroom]

"edspyhill01" <edspyhill01@**********> wrote in message
news:f939d3de-8e5b-4e37-9835-ef66b6817798@u10g2000vbd.************.com...
>I replaced the OEM Bridgestone tires on my 2003 Corolla LE with
> Michelin Energy MXV4 S8 tires. The tread noise is loud on surface
> roads but almost unbearable on highways (concrete or asphalt). I
> didn't check the Michelin site before ai purchased the MXV4 tires.
> Michelin recommends all weather models - Harmony Destiny, X-Radial,
> Weatherwise II.
>
> Should I go back to the Bridgestone tires that came with the car?
>
> Can anyone recommend a Michelin model?
>
> Ed S.

There are user reviews at www.tirerack.com, and some are actually
intelligible & useful. Might be worth a visit. Obviously, if someone says
they live in Tennessee and their tires were awful in snow, you can ignore
that review, since nobody in TN knows how to drive in snow regardless of how
good their tires might be.

[ron]

We had the Michelin MXV4's as OEM on our 05 Avalon - I don't recall any
particular noise with them and they did fine even up here in Idaho this past
record snow year. They had 27k (but pretty worn) on them when my wife opted
to get a RAV4.

I put Michelin cross-terrains on my 02 Highlander and they were better in
the snow at around 50k than the duellers were at 18k when I changed them
out.

FWIW, my 08 Highlander came with Toyo 245x55x20's wore out at about 21k -
had to go to 255's - michelin doesn't make this size so went with Toyo's
again

Ron

[JoeSpareBedroom]

"edspyhill01" <edspyhill01@**********> wrote in message
news:5c0e7564-2813-475f-a1c7-d5b54e2b8bd8@3g2000yqk.************.com...
On Jun 8, 7:55 am, edspyhill01 <edspyhil...@**********> wrote:
> I replaced the OEM Bridgestone tires on my 2003 Corolla LE with
> Michelin Energy MXV4 S8 tires. The tread noise is loud on surface
> roads but almost unbearable on highways (concrete or asphalt). I
> didn't check the Michelin site before ai purchased the MXV4 tires.
> Michelin recommends all weather models - Harmony Destiny, X-Radial,
> Weatherwise II.
>
> Should I go back to the Bridgestone tires that came with the car?
>
> Can anyone recommend a Michelin model?
>
> Ed S.

You are NOT going to believe what I found. I never checked the tire
pressure. The rear tires were 44.5 psi and the front tires were 41.5
psi. In the 40 years I have been buying tires for our 2 cars I have
never had this happen. I don't know how the tires did not fail. I'm
going to call Michelin tomorrow to find out how much damage was done
to the tires. I checked the tires cold. The car was not driven for
almost 5 hours. I bought the tires as Costco. Never again.

==

Wanna hear something hilarious? I go to an independent mechanic. I buy tires
from him and they're never more than $10 higher per tire than the big
discounters. His labor rate is slightly higher. It costs me about $80 more
(tires & labor) to buy from him. Divide by 3 years, the average life of
tires for me. $26 extra per year. It's cheap peace of mind. I check
inflation & fluid levels once a week, but no matter what kind of work the
mechanic is doing on my truck, he always checks those things.

I just don't understand going to the discounters and getting inconsistent
service on your vehicle. People like to say they drive defensively, but
they're OK with taking major risks with mechanical failure due to bad
service.

[Hachiroku]

On Mon, 08 Jun 2009 04:55:03 -0700, edspyhill01 wrote:

> I replaced the OEM Bridgestone tires on my 2003 Corolla LE with Michelin
> Energy MXV4 S8 tires. The tread noise is loud on surface roads but
> almost unbearable on highways (concrete or asphalt). I didn't check the
> Michelin site before ai purchased the MXV4 tires. Michelin recommends
> all weather models - Harmony Destiny, X-Radial, Weatherwise II.
>
> Should I go back to the Bridgestone tires that came with the car?
>
> Can anyone recommend a Michelin model?
>
> Ed S.

You may not be able to find them, or maybe on a web dealer or a Toyota
dealer (at a premium at the latter)
OEM tires aren't always available for resale, which sometimes is a good
thing, other times is a shame.

Check some place like TireRack or 1010 tires and read reviews before
buying. You can find out from owners what they think of the tires, and
they have a rating system as well.

[Hachiroku]

On Mon, 08 Jun 2009 08:35:34 -0700, edspyhill01 wrote:

> plus I know she can
> ignore any noise her car makes.

This is NOT a good thing, Ed!

[SMS]

JoeSpareBedroom wrote:

> I just don't understand going to the discounters and getting inconsistent
> service on your vehicle. People like to say they drive defensively, but
> they're OK with taking major risks with mechanical failure due to bad
> service.

Costco consistently has the best service _and_ prices on tires. I've
been buying tires there for at least 20 years. Never have they screwed
up the inflation.

-Road hazard warranty is included at no extra cost.

-New valves are included at no extra cost.

-Nitrogen inflation is included at no extra cost, a big advantage (most
tire dealers charge at least $5/tire for nitrogen).

-Mounting/balancing charge is very reasonable.

-Tire prices are consistently lower than any other retailer.

-Wide variety of tires are available, if not in the store, then on-line
and shipped to the store.

-They actually honor the manufacturer's tread life warranty, unlike
other retailers.

[JoeSpareBedroom]

"SMS" <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote in message
news:UzuXl.18469$jZ1.3425@flpi144.ffdc.sbc.com...
> JoeSpareBedroom wrote:
>
>> I just don't understand going to the discounters and getting inconsistent
>> service on your vehicle. People like to say they drive defensively, but
>> they're OK with taking major risks with mechanical failure due to bad
>> service.
>
> Costco consistently has the best service _and_ prices on tires. I've been
> buying tires there for at least 20 years. Never have they screwed up the
> inflation.
>
> -Road hazard warranty is included at no extra cost.
>
> -New valves are included at no extra cost.
>
> -Nitrogen inflation is included at no extra cost, a big advantage (most
> tire dealers charge at least $5/tire for nitrogen).
>
> -Mounting/balancing charge is very reasonable.
>
> -Tire prices are consistently lower than any other retailer.
>
> -Wide variety of tires are available, if not in the store, then on-line
> and shipped to the store.
>
> -They actually honor the manufacturer's tread life warranty, unlike other
> retailers.

And yet we still hear stories like Ed's about overinflated tires and other
stuff.

[SMS]

JoeSpareBedroom wrote:

> And yet we still hear stories like Ed's about overinflated tires and other
> stuff.

Yeah, it's a story anyway.