# Tire Recommendations requested.



## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

I'm enjoying my Perelli Centuranto (sp?).


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## BowtieGuy (Jan 4, 2013)

Take a look at standard touring tires. This category of all season tires should be what you are looking for. If you want a little more "sport" take a look at the grand touring category.

As a personal note, I purchased the General Altimax RT43 for our Grand Prix and it has been a great tire so far that fits your stated needs exactly. It is also the highest rated standard touring tire on TireRack. And for $85 per tire with a 75k treadwear warranty, its pretty hard to beat on the price. The 95T rated one is the one you would want.

If you are looking for a little more "sport" in the grand touring class the Michelin Premier A/S ($149 per tire) seems good, although the Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season and Continental PureContact with EcoPlus Technology seem to be almost as good at $107 and $106 per tire respectively on TireRack.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Don't go with any tire with less than a V speed rating or a lower load rating. You want your tire's safety margins to match the car. Post the load/speed digits/character (95T, 92V), etc and we can let you know what to look for.


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## Tonyb92681 (Aug 2, 2014)

They are not cheap by any means, but I was very satisfied with them on my old Monte Carlo. I had 4 Goodyear Assurance TripleTred tired installed at about 68,000 miles, and they were replaced at 172,000, with a bit more life left, but the wouldn't hold air any more, and Goodyear wouldn't guarantee any more repairs. Best tires I ever purchased. I recommend them to anyone and everyone. 


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

> Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season and Continental PureContact with EcoPlus Technology


Within the next month, I'll be putting the Pirellis on our Camry and the Conti's on the Cruze based on the excellent reviews of both tires I've read. The Cruze could use a little more of a handling boost (1LT) and less squishy sidewall; the Camry could use a softer, quieter ride as the OEM Bridgestones are absolutely freaking terrible.

Michelins (at least the Primacy) are overpriced for what you get, but the Premier does look like it's worth the $.

I'll let you know what I think if you haven't decided on a set by then.


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## revjpeterson (Oct 2, 2013)

The Firestone Firehawk Wide Oval A/S that I drove on my Grand Prix the last year I had it are available in the sizes for the Cruze. They were comfortable and great-handling tires, and they really stood out in wet or snowy roads, but they weren't so good on ice. If you're looking for a quiet ride, though, I would stay away from them. They started to get really loud after about 20,000 miles. 

I thought about the Pirelli and Continental tires referred to above, and I'm confident they would be good tires if I were to choose them. However, I have found another that is my ultimate choice for when it's time for tires (might try to hold out another year, but might just go ahead and get them before winter since I don't like the OEM Goodyears) - The Kumho Ecsta PA31. 

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Kumho&tireModel=Ecsta+PA31&partnum=16VR6PA31&vehicleSearch=true&fromCompare1=yes&autoMake=Chevrolet&autoYear=2014&autoModel=Cruze&autoModClar=1LT

Outstanding test results, excellent reviews, and I've been very satisfied with the Kumho tires I tried out on my Jeep (RoadVenture KL61) and my wife's mini-van (Solus KR21). They aren't marketed as Low Rolling Resistance like the OEM tires on my Diesel, but in one of the Tire Rack tests, they got better fuel economy than 3 tires that were LRR, so I'm not too concerned, and at only $86/tire, I can't see spending 50-60% more to get the other tires I was considering. If you're looking for an inexpensive tire that performs reasonably and will go 85,000 miles for you, their Solus KR21 is another one to consider.


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## Aerogeek (Aug 23, 2014)

BowtieGuy said:


> the Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season and Continental PureContact with EcoPlus Technology seem to be almost as good at $107 and $106 per tire respectively on TireRack.


I quickly swapped out the OEM Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max for the Conti PureContacts. A vast improvement in the wet with no hydroplaning.


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## Earle (Sep 24, 2014)

I would suggest with cooper they make a nice tire that fits the cruze that lasts down here in florida


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## nobog (Oct 25, 2011)

I just stuck with OEM - Firestone FR710 (P215-60-16). 60K on the originals and would have gone 10K more but with winter coming up I wanted some new tread. Never had any problem with traction or hydro planning, reasonably quiet. $408 installed + tax.

Jim


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

nobog said:


> I just stuck with OEM - Firestone FR710 (P215-60-16). 60K on the originals and would have gone 10K more but with winter coming up I wanted some new tread. Never had any problem with traction or hydro planning, reasonably quiet. $408 installed + tax.
> 
> Jim


Did you stick with the OEM S-rated FR710 from tire rack or did you go for the T-rated? 

I had to replace one of my FR710s with one directly from Firestone and it ended up being T rated with much more tread depth, and wore much more slowly than the other 3. Might have been happier with them if they all wore down as slowly as that one did, but the OEM tires are all near shot at 30K.


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## Damitz (May 11, 2014)

I had the bridgestone potenza pole position tire on my last car great performance in wet weather and they have a nice sporty look to them as well.


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## nobog (Oct 25, 2011)

jblackburn said:


> Did you stick with the OEM S-rated FR710 from tire rack or did you go for the T-rated?
> 
> I had to replace one of my FR710s with one directly from Firestone and it ended up being T rated with much more tread depth, and wore much more slowly than the other 3. Might have been happier with them if they all wore down as slowly as that one did, but the OEM tires are all near shot at 30K.


Not sure - don't see anything on the tire,
treadwear - 560
traction - B
temp - B

dealer ordered the tires


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

nobog said:


> Not sure - don't see anything on the tire,
> treadwear - 560
> traction - B
> temp - B
> ...


I wouldn't use those tires, even new. Basically I won't purchase a tire that has Traction and Temp ratings below and A.


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## nobog (Oct 25, 2011)

obermd said:


> I wouldn't use those tires, even new. Basically I won't purchase a tire that has Traction and Temp ratings below and A.


Well ... I'm not going to chuck 'em now. I don't have the OEM tires to look at the sidewall but Tire Rack (amongst others) only offered one variant of the OEM 710. As mentioned I never had a problem with any weather related traction or handling issue. I pretty much drive in a straight line for 50 miles - and repeat. If these wear close to OEM I will be happy. 

Jim


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

nobog said:


> Well ... I'm not going to chuck 'em now. I don't have the OEM tires to look at the sidewall but Tire Rack (amongst others) only offered one variant of the OEM 710. As mentioned I never had a problem with any weather related traction or handling issue. I pretty much drive in a straight line for 50 miles - and repeat. If these wear close to OEM I will be happy.
> 
> Jim


Understood. When your tires need to be replaced make sure you get H or V rated tires with Temperature and Traction grades of A. Even the LS can exceed the rated speed for anything below H. My son's 2012 LS MT's OEM tires are rated 94S. I replaced them with 94V rated tires.

Here's the speed ratings you need to know:

S - 112 MPH
T - 118 MPH
U - 124 MPH
H - 130 MPH
V - 149 MPH

The Cruze's speedometer stops at 130 so H is the minimum speed rating I would use, even on the LS. Road & Track Magazine track tested the ECO MT and found a top speed of 134-135 MPH, which is why GM switched from H to V rated tires on this trim. The one exception to this is dedicated snow tires. These usually have speed ratings of S or T, with the reasonable assumption that even that's too fast for safe driving on snow and ice.

The load rating is the number before the speed rating. Here are some load numbers.

92 - 1389 lbs
93 - 1433 lbs
94 - 1477 lbs
95 - 1521 lbs
96 - 1565 lbs

This is the maximum load the tire is rated for. Each tire, when driving in a straight line handles half of that axle's load. The Cruze is a 3,000 +/- 200 lb car (The CDT is significantly heavier). I don't know the empty weight distribution but I'd guess 65-70% of the weight is up front, meaning that the front axle puts ~1,000-1,100 lbs on each tire. When turning the outside tires take more of the load. Bottom line, don't go below 92 for the load indicator.

The temperature rating is a measure of how well the tire rubber compound handles internal heat buildup. Traction rating is a measure of how sticky the tire is under "idealized" testing. Both of these values are graded A to D with any tire below D failing and not being allowed for sale as a street tire.


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

I have for quite some time been very impressed with the specifications of the Bridgestone Turanza Serenity Plus. Available in a 235/50/17 for the Eco or 2LT, an LRR tire, 12/32" of tread depth, 70k-80k mile warranty, very quiet.


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## Robby (Mar 1, 2013)

Although the speed rating can be used as a purchass decision it is not critical.

The speed rating is defined as the ability to safely be operated at the maximum speed rated at full load (meaning no one tire is carrying more weight than the sidewall maximum) for one HOUR with the tire inflated to its maximum cold sidewall pressure.

I cannot think of anywhere in this country.......maybe Montana..... a car, fully loaded, can be operated at maximum sidewall speeds for an hour or more.......and frankly, there a few drivers out there that should even try such a thing.

So, although important, I question using the speed ratings as a factor in making a purchass decision.

Just stirring the muddy water a bit more,
Rob


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Robby said:


> Although the speed rating can be used as a purchass decision it is not critical.
> 
> The speed rating is defined as the ability to safely be operated at the maximum speed rated at full load (meaning no one tire is carrying more weight than the sidewall maximum) for one HOUR with the tire inflated to its maximum cold sidewall pressure.
> 
> ...


All the ratings are guidelines, however everyone needs to be aware that both the speed and load ratings on a tire are for the sidewall PSI and not the manufacture's door placard. Lower the tire pressure and both the speed and load ratings drop. Lower tire pressures generate more internal heat due to more sidewall flexing. This is why using a higher rated tire is a good idea. Driving all day in the heat on the interstate in between Kansas City and the Sierra Nevada mountains will put a lot of stress on your tires. Having the engineering margins is a good thing. Remember, these states all have 75 or higher posted limits with actual speeds even higher and they all routinely experience 100+ temperatures during the summer. High speed and high temperatures are a guaranteed way to stress your tires.


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## Dvan5693 (Jul 8, 2014)

Just put the Goodyears from the ECO on it lol. They're rated for like 149 or something obnoxious, last at least 60K and are not expensive. Either that or some Michelins that will last you like 90-100k.


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