In June 2004 I got a set of the newly released Michelin HydroEdge tires for a crazy deal at Costco ($78 ea.) and posted my impressions of this tire--everything was better--ride, handling, cornering, wet traction, dry traction, and wear. This year I needed some tires for the Lincoln Town Car I just bought. In the ensuing several years, the HydroEdge has emerged as the category leader. With increased demand plus rising oil prices, this time around they would have cost me $135/tire, even from Costco. With balancing & sales tax, that's about $656 out the door.
So I searched for an alternative, and boy, did I find it. At Sam's Club I got the BF Goodrich Radial T/A Pro Touring Series (model 97T) in the not insubstantial 225/60R-16 size for $88.77 per, or $458.89 out the door with balancing and sales tax, a full $200 less. Sam's always has a $70/set of 4 discount for a featured brand, so every 4 mos. or so it's Goodrich's turn, so they can be had as low as $388 out the door (or less if you have a lower sales tax rate).
Anyway, this is a helluva set of tires. My other tires were new but cheap--some no-name the dealer slapped on to get the car off the lot. Putting on these Goodriches felt like I'd spent $1500 in chassis upgrades--better shocks, adjusted spring rates, and anti-roll bars. Cornering is far flatter. Ride is much improved. Noise is lower, but where these really kick ass is how they track on any road surface--macadam, concrete, pothole patches, striated for water drainage--these tires are unflappable and continue to go exactly where you point'em. I didn't realize how much my other tires were making the car drift and wander until I realized how much more relaxed I am driving now because I'm not subconsciously correcting for drift, road abberations, and general tire squirreliness. On top of that, the tires turn easier when doing tight maneuvers in a parking lot. How do they do that while having better traction in all other circumstances?
The wear rating on these is very high (640), though not quite as high as the HydroEdge (800). On top of all this, though, these Goodriches are M&S rated, which the HydroEdges are not.
So anyway, performance at/near the top of class, stupid cheap, great traction in all conditions, and as good at tracking and cornering as you're going to find for a passenger car short of stupid money. Highly recommended.
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JohnnyB
In June 2004 I got a set of the newly released Michelin HydroEdge tires for a crazy deal at Costco ($78 ea.) and posted my impressions of this tire--everything was better--ride, handling, cornering, wet traction, dry traction, and wear. This year I needed some tires for the Lincoln Town Car I just bought. In the ensuing several years, the HydroEdge has emerged as the category leader. With increased demand plus rising oil prices, this time around they would have cost me $135/tire, even from Costco. With balancing & sales tax, that's about $656 out the door.
So I searched for an alternative, and boy, did I find it. At Sam's Club I got the BF Goodrich Radial T/A Pro Touring Series (model 97T) in the not insubstantial 225/60R-16 size for $88.77 per, or $458.89 out the door with balancing and sales tax, a full $200 less. Sam's always has a $70/set of 4 discount for a featured brand, so every 4 mos. or so it's Goodrich's turn, so they can be had as low as $388 out the door (or less if you have a lower sales tax rate).
Anyway, this is a helluva set of tires. My other tires were new but cheap--some no-name the dealer slapped on to get the car off the lot. Putting on these Goodriches felt like I'd spent $1500 in chassis upgrades--better shocks, adjusted spring rates, and anti-roll bars. Cornering is far flatter. Ride is much improved. Noise is lower, but where these really kick ass is how they track on any road surface--macadam, concrete, pothole patches, striated for water drainage--these tires are unflappable and continue to go exactly where you point'em. I didn't realize how much my other tires were making the car drift and wander until I realized how much more relaxed I am driving now because I'm not subconsciously correcting for drift, road abberations, and general tire squirreliness. On top of that, the tires turn easier when doing tight maneuvers in a parking lot. How do they do that while having better traction in all other circumstances?
The wear rating on these is very high (640), though not quite as high as the HydroEdge (800). On top of all this, though, these Goodriches are M&S rated, which the HydroEdges are not.
So anyway, performance at/near the top of class, stupid cheap, great traction in all conditions, and as good at tracking and cornering as you're going to find for a passenger car short of stupid money. Highly recommended.
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