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Feb. 2, 2010 2:13 p.m. neon4891 SuperDork
Looking for "summer"(may 1-oct 31) tires for my Mother's '07 Taurus. Size is 215/60R16. Looking for good water evacuation/hydroplane resistance, and life span. Beyond that I have no clue for what to look for in "regular" tires.

The 2 front runners are the
1. Nokian WR
2. B-stone Potenza 960AS. These would be plus size at 225-55R16. I have then for the summer on my car and I love them. Great in the wet and I have yet to push them to "protest" in dry condition. Life span is my only concern, I expect only 2 seasons(1 down, 1 to go) total out of them on my car. With my Mother's driving and rotation at every oil change(7k miles, full sythetic) I can see 3, maybe 4 seasons. And the performance potential is absolute overkill, unless I barrow it for an AutoX
So, any sugestions?
Feb. 2, 2010 2:54 p.m. Bobzilla Dork

kumho Platinum LX. Sold tons of these for Acura customers, and have a set of my own. They wear really well, great ride, great traction and have a bee a great 4 season tire here in central IN.
Feb. 2, 2010 3:02 p.m. Dusterbd13 New Reader

falken 912

had them on my P5. loved them. never hydroplaned, never showed any wear, and even worked in light snow and mud.

rode good, very quiet.

another good choice is nexens. i just put a set on our subie. did well in light/medium snow, heavy water. quiet. dunno about wear yet, and ive only put 5k on them. 60k rating.
Feb. 2, 2010 3:11 p.m. neon4891 SuperDork

another look thru the Rack turned these upGeneral altimax

Bobzilla, how are those Kumhos in the rain?
Feb. 2, 2010 3:14 p.m. Bobzilla Dork

We had them on for 2 weeks and went to NJ in Sept for a wedding. It rained...nay, it downpoured, for 4 days straight. We made the trip at speeds without issue. I have 25k on them now, still have 6/32 (of the original 8/32) and they are just as good as new. Handle our small amounts of snow as good as any A/S tire I've owned.

From friends that had the altimax, DO NOT BUY THEM! They wore out FAST, were extremely loud after the first 20k miles and were hard to keep balanced.
Feb. 2, 2010 3:46 p.m. Matt B Reader

I also like the Falken Ziex 912, but I'm not sure they're a "mom" tire. Great wet weather traction and plenty of grip for most anything you should be doing on the street (remember what mom said! hehe). However, I'm using 205/45 16's and they're not especially quiet (not noisy either). Maybe the larger sidewall sizes are more forgiving, but they seem more like a hi-performance all-season than a nice well-rounded summer tire.
Feb. 2, 2010 3:48 p.m. wbjones HalfDork

I've been very happy with the Kumho Ecsta AST ... not in your exact size... 215,225,245 - 50 - 16
Feb. 2, 2010 3:54 p.m. alex Dork

wbjones wrote:

I've been very happy with the Kumho Ecsta AST ... not in your exact size... 215,225,245 - 50 - 16

Seconded. I run these on my ZX3 four seasons in St. Louis. Good grip, good wear, good wet weather. Moderately sucky in the snow, but no more than any non-snow tire.
Feb. 2, 2010 4:11 p.m. kreb Dork

My Miata has the Falken 912s (soon to be replaced with something more track friendly). They're a competent, well-mannered tire at a good price point. I'd recommend them.
Feb. 3, 2010 11:02 a.m. stumpmj Dork

If you don't mind spending the money, I'm of the opinion that you can't buy a better steret tire than what Nokian sells. I run their "all weather" tires on my wife's Element year round and they are truly excellent in every condition, dry, wet, snow, ice.... They are the perfect street tire.
Feb. 8, 2010 11:43 a.m. CivicSiRacer Reader

x2 for the Falken 912s (not because I'm biased) but have them on my wife's Odyssey and my Civic and a great spring/summer/fall tire. Wife's van through the snow with traction control on is fine especially after this HUGE dumping of snow we got this weekend. I take mine off during the winter and put snows on. Great tire for the price, no hydroplaning, no problems, quiet too.
Feb. 8, 2010 12:08 p.m. GameboyRMH SuperDork

Ecsta SPTs are great in the rain and last a long time, but they're more on the performance side.
Feb. 8, 2010 12:45 p.m. Tom Heath Marketing / Club Coordinator

I had Nokian WRs a while back. GREAT rallycross tires, and not bad as daily street driven tire. Might be overkill; they are super effective in the snow and mud.