Best Looking Tire

Cliff, Michelin is also one of my go to tire brands, but unfortunately in your tire size the only thing available is made for mini vans and economy sedans.  Look at the UTQG rating.  They are a hard coumpound made for longevity.  They are made for cars with anti-lock brakes and traction control systems.  If you are just a cruiser that won't even matter.  If you drive spirited and are interested in road rallying you will be better off with a UTQG rating between 200 and 400.   This will also get to a quicker stop in an emergency.   Yes, they will wear faster but who cares.  Most of us drive these cars 2-5k miles per year.   Ok, I'm done raising you guys when it come to tires.  

Marty,

I'm taking notes... and found these reviews:

(1) The Sportrac 5 from Vredestein is a summer / four-season tire that offers high performances and shorter braking distances. The silica tread compound offers a better tread life and a more comfortable drive while its tread design proposes a precise and stable handling on both wet and dry roads. It comes with a sporty design by Giugiaro, perfect to complement your vehicle’s appearance.

(2) The Vredestein Sportrac 5 is notable for its outstanding grip and exceptional durability. The central grooves of the tread feature special design elements which provide the flexibility necessary to achieve low rolling resistances and enhanced road holding. The tread ensures that stresses are distributed evenly over its entire surface, resulting in an optimum and balanced performance. The designers used the Handling Tuned Sidewall technology to guarantee sporty performance and dynamic driving. All in all if somebody likes fast riding Vredestein Sportrac 5 is ideal.

(3) Only driven 1500 miles on the Vredestein Sportrac 5s and have not been in the wet yet so I can't speak on tread life or hydroplane resistance yet, but they are fantastic tires on a stock Miata. No issues with rubbing. They do look a lot bigger than the 55 height tires I had on before, but that's not a big deal to me. The biggest positive to me is how the car handles now. Previously it had all season tires and they would give up on that whole traction thing if I even thought about entering a corner fast. Now, the car turns in precisely how I want it to, and amazingly, I can push the car as hard as I thought possible and then turn into the corner even more and hit the best line I could imagine!

Thanks for the additional input Marty.

Cliff

Marty Grzynkowicz posted:

Cliff, Michelin is also one of my go to tire brands, but unfortunately in your tire size the only thing available is made for mini vans and economy sedans.  Look at the UTQG rating.  They are a hard coumpound made for longevity.  They are made for cars with anti-lock brakes and traction control systems.  If you are just a cruiser that won't even matter.  If you drive spirited and are interested in road rallying you will be better off with a UTQG rating between 200 and 400.   This will also get to a quicker stop in an emergency.   Yes, they will wear faster but who cares.  Most of us drive these cars 2-5k miles per year.   Ok, I'm done raising you guys when it come to tires.  

 

Said much the same thing earlier I did, Marty, but when your specialty is the Force no one listens to Yoda about tires... 

Cliff, the classic Vreds are just as good and much easier to find in the US.  I guess you need to decide what looks best on your car.

Beautiful Chia!

Chia pet? or Ghia?