[catalystgod]

I was just going to tag on my question/dilemma to another thread, but as I typed along, I felt I was too good for that thread . Right, enough of being cocky, its time to change the tires on the V10. I am in the middle of a costly motor build on my Mitsubishi (~20K) and my financial compass landed on the number 800 as the upper limit to my expenditure on a "Reasonable Tire" on the Treg. Full Disclosure: I am a fan of Costco's tire program in general. I have so far looked at the following options:

Michelin and Bridgestone: Love Costco's free balance program but out of the question due to price. Definitely not spending 1300$ on a set of tires. I have my track car for that kind of indulgence. If I get these brands, it would be pointless for me to get from anywhere else anyway.

BF Goodrich: Always had good experience with their tires for other cars, but nothing shows up for stock size (255 55 R18 ). I am sticking to this size for warranty and other reasons. The brand is also available from Costco but I don't think it will be in my budget through Costco.

Continental: Reading very good things about the "CrossContact LX20 with EcoPlus Technology", but looks like they get noisy about half way into their life. Not a huge negative, but want to practice due diligence in considering other options.

General: The "Grabber HTS" is the cheapest option of all considering it has 50$ rebate. It seems like it offers a soft ride and great wet and snow manners for an All-Season. Its basically strikes me as similar to the continental except that it has more sidewall flex and consequently, poorer steering response.

Pirelli: Everyone seems to be raving about the "Scorpion Verde All Season". The OEM VW specific version seems to be different from the open market version from some research I have done. The OEM version has very poor ratings, especially the 19" wheel owners seem to have bore the brunt of its poor performance. The ML and X5 owners have reported the open market version to be a very good tire for the money and I am inclined to believe them.

Yokohama: I currently have the AVID Envigor in stock size that I bought from the seller in this thread:
http://www.clubtouareg.com/forums/f47/yokohama-avid-tires-4-brand-new-and-monster-mats-59608.html
They lasted me 35~40K miles and considering the way the Touareg is driven, we are happy with the life. Biggest complaint is road noise. Handling was decent, but experiencing tire-flex driving downhill on the freeway in the mountains of western NC was just nasty. They are very reasonably priced though. Any other options in this brand?

I couldn't find/overlooked worthwhile contenders form Dunlop, Goodyear, Sumitomo, Fuzion, Hankook and Kumho. If anybody has suggestions that fit the budget limit and are a quite and comfortable ride (wife's biggest complaint), I would love to hear about them.

 

[murraycod]

There was an Australian thread about these choices recently. No doubt the price and availability in the US may be different, but it may point you where to look.

Federal have a road tyre that is good, quiet and cheap. I have also used Kumho and Maxxis on other SUVs in the past and have been happy about noise, wear and price. You have to choose a non-aggressive road pattern if you want a quiet highway ride.

The "quality brands" such as Michelin or Goodyear are much more expensive here than the above mentioned budget brands.

My worst performance and noise issues were with Bridgestone and Continental road tyres. However, no doubt others would swear that these are good.

 

[pilottim]

Several here have had good luck with Toyo Proxes II (no mileage warranty) or Toyo Versado (50k warranty). Both will be close to your $800 budget. Also look at Nitto tires - the 420S and Terra Grapplers get good reviews.

 

[Kryspyx]

Well, I guess I will throw my 2 cents in here....albeit my 2 cents isn't quite as valuable as 'most' other owners' because I only put about 2k on my Treg a year now. Am disabled and don't leave home much.

I will say emphatically...don't even consider Goodyear Eagle LS2's, unless you plan on replacing your new set in 18-20k. Crap for a Treg in longevity, but ride is ok and handled very nicely in 1-inch ice-covered roads though.

That being said, I guess my first question to you is: what kind of driving do you plan to do with your Treg...city/hwy or off-road/mudding? Big difference in choice of tires.

I replaced my factory GY Eagle LS2's with Comti Extreme Contact DWS's. at the time I bought mine, the warranty was non-prorated 60k treadwear and included the road hazard direct from Continental...no extra cost. I have 7k on them now and they show no signs of wear and are very quiet. even here in Texas where our roads are all segmented concrete...not nice soft asphalt. They handle well, even in standing flood waters here in the 100+ degree flat lands.

Someone else, I believe nickm, said he bought the same tire for his a year after I got mine, and said he had a weird treadwear pattern on his leading to a bit of noise...but I will point out that he had 10k on his tires without an alignment (could be a possible reason for the uneven treadwear). He also said the warranty changed to a pro-rated after 2/32 of an inch. Still a sight better than NO warranty like most others in my size.

All that being said...I bought mine from TireRack.com. At first was a bit apprehensive about buying online, but the were at-least $500 cheaper than anywhere else---$870(US). They are contracted with NTB tire stores in the US for installation...cost $85, including lifetime balance & rotate. Just took it in last week for my yearly bal & rot'd for nothing.

One final note: I personally would recommend these, but would strongly recommend making sure you balance and rotate every 3k, and have alignment checked at every 5k...no matter what tire you get, if you want your tires to last. 2.5 tons wears down tires very fast if you are out of alignment and have a bit of the "lead foot" driving habit.

PS....my tire size is 275/45/19...if you wondered

Good luck!
Peace

 

[Phalanx_71]

Im using the same size tires on my 08 treg v6

 

[volkswagendude]

I'm shopping around for tires as well, and based on feedback on here, I'm beginning to lean on the Toyo product. Very good reviews, and the price seems to be right.

Alas, not on catalystgod's Costco list.

 

[noobytoogy]

Balancing and rotating tyres every 3K with an alignment every 5K is totally OTT and is just chucking money down the drain.

My tires - and those of several other Touareg owners who are immediate neighbours - do 27-30K to 50% worn [at which point we change] without doing any of this.

If you see abnormal edge wear, then, yes, get the alignment looked at, but the tires will normally wear evenly.

 

[Kryspyx]

This is where I will undoubtedly disagree with you Nooby. Oddly enough, i have the same tire as the other guy, model and size...yet without balance, rotate & align, his are wearing unevenly at 10k. I am at just over 7k and no sign of wear with the maintenance i suggested. Furthermore, if you read the manufacturers suggested maintenance for tires. I bet you see i am dead on for what they recommend. The other guy was told by the manufacturer that the wear issue was his cars fault and refused replacement under the warranty. With the paper trail on my service, they wouldn't be able to. Rather have them replaced under warranty than out of my pocket.

If you wait till you see uneven wear in your tires to align, you have most likely voided your replacement warranty on them.

But it's ok...to each their own.

Peace

PS...I said have alignment 'checked' at 5k, not "align every 5k"....BIG difference. If wheels fall in spec, than change is not required. But the slightest bit out of alignment specs can show no drivability issues and will still wear your tires unevenly.

 

[noobytoogy]

We can agree to disagree!

 

[nickm]

I just made the choice on a set of Falken 453cc tires (in 19" size). They come highly recommended by the local tire dealer (who moves a lot of Toyo product, I like Toyo - A LOT). I've got no experience with Falken yet, but it'll be the umptenth tire I've tried on a Treg. IMO Michelins and Pirellis are great if you like supporting big ad budgets, in my experience both suck.

Azenis FK-453CC | Falken Tire

 

[catalystgod]

I'm shopping around for tires as well, and based on feedback on here, I'm beginning to lean on the Toyo product. Very good reviews, and the price seems to be right.

Alas, not on catalystgod's Costco list.

i love toyo, just did not think they made an suv compatible tire. which specific one are you looking at? I use RA1 on the Mitsubishi.

Sent from AutoGuide.com App

 

[catalystgod]

I balance at every oil change (5k) and an alignment check every other change (10k). it has served me well on the T1 V10.

Sent from AutoGuide.com App

 

[catalystgod]

I just made the choice on a set of Falken 453cc tires (in 19" size). They come highly recommended by the local tire dealer (who moves a lot of Toyo product, I like Toyo - A LOT). I've got no experience with Falken yet, but it'll be the umptenth tire I've tried on a Treg. IMO Michelins and Pirellis are great if you like supporting big ad budgets, in my experience both suck.

Azenis FK-453CC | Falken Tire

It may prove to be a great tire in it's own way, but a wear rating of 300 on a V10 would be an utter waste of money for me.

Sent from AutoGuide.com App

 

[nickm]

It may prove to be a great tire in it's own way, but a wear rating of 300 on a V10 would be an utter waste of money for me.

Sent from AutoGuide.com App

wear ratings are simply a ranking of the wear vs the makers own tires...its not something you can cross compare from one tire maker to another.

My toyos had a 280 wear rating and I got an wasy 40K out of them!

 

[catalystgod]

wear ratings are simply a ranking of the wear vs the makers own tires...its not something you can cross compare from one tire maker to another.

My toyos had a 280 wear rating and I got an wasy 40K out of them!

I understand, but they are pretty close to one another from different brands these days. Considering their track tire, the 615K is rated at 200, I wouldn't imagine 300 is a very confidence inspiring rating.

Azenis RT-615K | Falken Tire

 

[catalystgod]

Wish I could edit the first post to add the following entries:

Dunlop: Signature CS seems to have some great reviews and is also in the desirable price and wear ratings ranges. The Grandtrek ST 8000 had great reviews, especially from Touareg owners, but is only available in 20" sizes.

Bridgestone: Both the Dueler H/L 422 Ecopia and the Dueler H/L Alenza seem to have great reviews and prices are within reach from tirerack before shipping, taxes and install. Higher end of my budget but do look promising. I will have to contact the local Costco to see what price they can get these for as the website does not show them.

Michelin: The only one that comes the closest is the LTX M/S2. However, it is unavailable in any of the stock Touareg sizes. It is also the tire with THE best average review rating from users. If I had to buy a set, I would need to get the 265 60 18 that will fix the speedometer 5% error. However, they are also 864 after MIR for a set of 4....also available from Costco at the same price. I'm tempted.

Pirelli: The scorpion Verde's are actually beyond my budgeted amount, 936 after MIR. Too bad. They are off the list for now.

Goodyear: The Assurance CS TripleTred All-Season seems to be as good fit for my needs. Road noise seems to be an issue after half-life. Very well rated/regarded otherwise and excellent price.

Fuzion: Seems to be a bad choice in general for a Touareg's needs.

Sumitomo: HTR Sport H/P@133/tire, extremely cheap and has decent reviews. Worth a try for those on a budget such as myself. noise levels supposed to be low.

 

[volkswagendude]

Interesting entry list

Thank you for the Dunlop entry, albeit in only 20in, which is perfect for me.

Users chime in with feedback please!

 

[nickm]

I understand, but they are pretty close to one another from different brands these days. Considering their track tire, the 615K is rated at 200, I wouldn't imagine 300 is a very confidence inspiring rating.

Azenis RT-615K | Falken Tire

They rate their 80K mile tire as a 720 rating
Sincera Touring SN211 | Falken Tire

So that should put their 300 rating at somewhere around 33K miles. That's about all I'd expect out of any tire on a Touareg.

 

[rinaic]

My brother's has Dunlop, but not sure what model. IMO I don't like the look of them or the tread pattern, although his wear looks perfectly even.

DW 2011 had a brand new set of Nexen Rodian HP SUV when we took delivery. It's a decent looking tire on the Touareg.
Ride and noise level seemed ok on a recent highway trip and so far so good around town.
Definitely in your price range, but no idea how long they will last.


Verde has been ok for me so far, except in deep snow and icy/muddy roads. I didn't expect much out of in those conditions anyway.
A buddy has them on his Navigator (20's I think) and hates them with a passion says they are terrible even in the rain. . .

 

[e90diesel]

op, the Bridgestone Dueler h/l 422 Ecopia and the Verde are both lrr tires. Just fyi if that matters.