Re: Time for New Tires on the NC. Ideas?

Iva wrote:
> John McGaw wrote:
>> Well, the second set of Michelins on the '06 Sport has come to the 
>> end of its useful life at less than 28K miles. Obviously pretty bad 
>> tread life. It seems providential that the government wants to give 
>> me $600 so that I will feel stimulated. A free new set of tires 
>> would be stimulating enough so that is what I intend to spend it on. 
>> I've been considering trying a set of Eagle F1 All Season tires this 
>> time. They are $114 each at TireRack.com and there is a $50 rebate 
>> per set going on. Any clues as to how well these tires are likely to 
>> work? Stock size, stock wheels, fairly energetic driving. on paper 
>> the specs seem good but you know how that usually goes...
> 
> You might want to take a few moments to look at tirerack.com - they'll 
> give you a *lot* of suggestions for new tires.
> 
> Are you sure you want to go with all-seasons?  I've had a lot more fun 
> with 4 high-performance summer tires and 4 Blizzaks for winter. And 
> Tire Rack does offer wheel/tire packages at very reasonable prices.
> 
> No connection, just a satisfied customer.  And that's for both Miatas 
> that have owned me so far! <g>
> 
> Iva & Vixen
> 2004 Classic Red
> No more winkin' Miata
> 
> 

I understand the trade offs involved in going to an all-season tire over a

summer-only tire but given where I live having a set of winter tires and 
wheels would be downright silly and wasteful. What I'm looking for is a
set 
of the best all-seasons I can find -- ones that will give the best
possible 
performance day-to-day in my own generally-benign weather but which would 
not let me down completely if I decided to do something silly like driving

to Maine in November on a whim (which I've done). I'm also looking for a 
bit better tread life. Hitting the wear bars after 14,000 miles is just 
ridiculous given the price I have paid for the OEM-type Michelins.

I have been through a bewildering number of tire comparisons at 
tirerack.com but decided that some feedback here would be worth seeking. 
Often it seems to me that Tirerack offers so much information and so many 
brands and models that a decision becomes more difficult rather than 
easier. The last time I did that research I finally threw my hands up and 
bought another set identical to the OEM tires but promised myself to do 
better the next time around.

-- 
John McGaw
[Knoxville, TN, USA]
http://johnmcgaw.com