Hey guys,
I have been tasked with picking out some tires for my grandmothers Camry. I guess being the resident family car geek has lead me on this path. I don't think it should be too tough to pick tires for an appliance, but figured I would ask the hive. The car is an 07 Toyota Camry LE that is driven by an 88 year old woman on a pretty regular basis. We live in New England, so I think a simple all season tire works the best for someone like her who doesn't want the "hassle" of changing over to winter tires. I think dedicated winter, and summer tires is a better idea, but she doesn't agree, and you can't argue with someone of her age. Any ideas? Wheels are 17" on there now, and are steelies with wheel covers.
jstand
Reader
10/31/14 6:16 a.m.
I just had General AltiMAX RT43 on my retired mothers car, also in New England.
They have a nice tread pattern, reasonable cost, and good review on tire rack.
In these cases (someone that doesn't need to be out during the storm) I've weighted wet traction higher than snow traction when selecting tires. That's not to say I ignore snow traction, but if one tire has significantly higher wet traction and similar or slightly less snow traction, I'll go with the wet traction.
My reasoning is that the people will go out in the rain, but Are unlikely to be out before roads are plowed.
Wet and snow traction are key. At 88 she will not be able to exploit the extra grip of a performance tire; she isn't going to have the strength to do a full ABS stop in the dry and she would probably freak out if it ever kicked in.
If you send me your e-mail I'll send you the consumer reports tire test results which include snow traction ratings.
wbjones
UltimaDork
10/31/14 7:22 a.m.
my Sonic won't need tires for a while, but since it came with the 16" rims instead of the 15's … this will allow me to buy Conti. DW's for the first time …
Nokian makes some all-season tires that look better than most snow tires.
http://www.nokiantires.com/winter-tires/nokian-wrg3/
Leafy
Reader
10/31/14 8:18 a.m.
DaveEstey wrote:
Nokian makes some all-season tires that look better than most snow tires.
http://www.nokiantires.com/winter-tires/nokian-wrg3/
And from what I've heard as snow tires they work better than some snow tires, but they're totally fine to drive in the summer too.
I just want to say that I hope to be as awesome as your grandmother and to still be driving in the snow when 88.
