Proper tires...

I'm not sure if this is the right section to ask about what tires to run on my 2013 MK6 but if it's not please excuse me I'm still getting to know this place.
I just picked up a Golf with 129k manual miles and it has mixed matched tires.
Lots of choices out there but wondered if you guys has some recommendations.
Thanks for any help.
joe

Tire rack is the best for this. They will show what came OEM and what ever other brands will fit along with a lot of other info and reviews.

https://www.tirerack.com/content/tirerack/desktop/en/homepage.html

Just a couple suggestions (from someone who actually has installed countless sets of tires over the years and sees first hand how they do on all kinds of cars):

Stick with the OEM size/load/speed. This information will be on the tire placard on the car, either in the door jamb or on the inside of the fuel filler door.

Stay away from anything directional. They'll turn square, and you cannot cross rotate them to keep this from happening.

No one tire is going to provide everything to everyone. High treadwear numbers mean long lasting, but also mean a harder compound, which means less traction, especially when wet. Tires rated for "all seasons" will be mediocre in all seasons, because the tread pattern is a compromise. They won't be as good on dry, hot, summer roads as a "warm weather" tire, and won't be NEARLY as good in snow and ice and bitter cold as a "winter" tire. If you actually have a sizeable winter weather potential where you live, you may be better served with an extra set of wheels shod with winter tires.

Price is: you get what you pay for. Most of the el-cheapo no-name tires that are made in places like Taiwan, Indonesia, China (especially China), Philipines, Thailand, etc. are going to be garbage. The Korean brands are marginally better, but still vary from not good to worse.

These cars bend wheels easily. No idea how (mine don't), but I see Volkswagens with bent wheels in here every week. Don't assume the person installing your tires will know to look for this, let alone tell you. You can balance a new tire on a bent wheel, and it will balance out to zero... but it still is not round, and it'll still shake. And in many cases, a NEW tire may shake WORSE than the old tire, because the old tire may have worn itself uneven due to the bent wheel. This happens a LOT. I see people on this very site constantly describe this exact same thing. All it takes is someone to LOOK at the tire/wheel combo spinning on the balancer to see an 'out-of-round' situation. Most places, even "real" shops like ours, employ low level "tire buster" guys to do this work, and they often butcher this seemingly simple job up. I do not allow our guy to touch any Volkswagen wheels/tires if I can help it, I do them all personally. No mangled wheel bolts for me.

And above all else, keep the tires aired up and rotated properly.

I've had great luck with LRR (Low Rolling Resistance) Yokohama Avid Ascend tires:
https://tires.tirerack.com/search?p...ew=list&sli_jump=1&af=brand:yokohama type:all

TDISlowroller said:

I'm not sure if this is the right section to ask about what tires to run on my 2013 MK6 but if it's not please excuse me I'm still getting to know this place.
I just picked up a Golf with 129k manual miles and it has mixed matched tires.
Lots of choices out there but wondered if you guys has some recommendations.
Thanks for any help.
joe

Click to expand...

I found out over the many years that tires are like wine & women; the cheaper the better!!! All you are paying for with "name brand" tires is their ADVERTISING! They are not any better, and I've come across name brands that were WORSE than the dirt cheapest tires.

You must have REALLY low standards then.

I have bought good cheap tires and bad cheap tires. I have also bought good expensive tires and bad expensive tires. Read the reviews at Tire Rack and decide what you want. Performance, all around, snow or something special. I prefer a very long lasting tire that is quiet and has good traction and LRR. Although the Continentals that have come on the new cars I have bought performed very well they were very short lived and expensive.

I would be looking for something like this, personally:

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...el=Golf TDI&autoModClar=4-Door#RatingsReviews

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...sidewall=Blackwall&partnum=25HR7TCT&tab=Sizes

Excellent reviews both by Tire Rack and buyers, high UTQG rating and warranty 85k miles/6 years. Fairly priced. Should do excellent for normal driving. Now if you are a race driver or snow bound you probably want something different or two sets or different tires, as suggested above.

What tire works well on a car also depends on the car. Lately I've been buying General Altimax RT43s for my MKIV cars, because they're pretty inexpensive and have been for me, on the VWs, a great tire. On the other hand, I bought two different sets of Continental tires for my BMW and both were awful: Rode poorly, loud, not sticky. Finally gave in and bought Michelin Primacy run flats. The difference was from night to day. Those tires suit that car. And I don't think I'd ever put anything but Michelins on a Mercedes.

I would 100% agree with Oilhammer about sticking to OEM tire size, Load, and speed rating (you can go for something better than H, but not less). I had some bad tire experiances on my 2000 Beetle on not following Load and speed rating, and it bit me in the butt. Now - I stick to all 3 at all times.



My personal prefernce has settled to Firestone / Bridgestone All season, in stock size , speed, and load rating. I haven't lived where I would do Summer / winter tires, but if I lived where snow tires would be noticeably better - I would.

It seems to be an adventure every time as they stop making the one I have if I liked them. Just have to choose another.

Thank you everyone, this is very helpful and gives me something to work with.
The car came with some really cheep tires from Taiwan and I hear a little screech every time I stop, turn or drive.
Once I find the right tires I'll also get it aligned.
Thanks again.

Lightflyer1 said:

Tire rack is the best for this. They will show what came OEM and what ever other brands will fit along with a lot of other info and reviews.
https://www.tirerack.com/content/tirerack/desktop/en/homepage.html

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Thank you for the picture link

oilhammer said:

Stay away from anything directional. They'll turn square, and you cannot cross rotate them to keep this from happening.

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this this a million times this

I'd also avoid asymmetric tires, as with the low profile tires it's oftentimes worthwhile to flip them on the wheels inside out halfway through the tread life. So many times I see tires with the nubs still on them on the outside shoulder, but the inside shoulder totally bald.
People get all touchy when you ask them to put them on 'wrong' when it says "inside, outside" on the sidewalls.

ETA: and add me to the list of people that doesn't mind cheap tires within reason, uniroyals and the like are often derided without good cause, where 'changyanwangdangrongdong good tire company of lingzang' gets their deserved bad reputation. That one came off a honda civic, the name might not be anywhere near right, but it wrapped around 3/4 of the sidewall.

I deal with tires daily and I agree with most of the comments on here.
my .02
Big brands aren't all marketing cost. Some patterns I've seen, however not always the case, is that most big tire brands (eg. conti, michelin, bridgestone) just do a better job engineering there tires. They also seem to have less abnormal wear and noise issues down the road. That being said:
- Stay away from directional tires
- Stay away from V-tread designs. I seriously don't think I've ever had a v-tread tire that was quiet. Maybe when new, but not long after it was making noise
- Check the ratings/reviews
- stick to oem load/speed ratings.
- Get your tires road force balanced. Not all shops have this equipment. As oilhammer already stated. You can balance a triangle but that doesn't mean it will roll smoothly down the road. Road force balancing will help negate or eliminate most tire vibration issues.
-Possibly get two sets. If you do live somewhere with a sizeable winter. It's probably better to get two sets unless you're strapped for cash. All tires suck on ice/snow except winter tires.
I have these Continentals I purchased for my golf. I'm no racer and do a lot of highway miles and they wear excellent. They are also a really good deal ATM.
Continental TRUECONTACT 195/65R15


btw check the tire manufacture's websites for promotions. They run them several times a year and are usually $50-$100 off a set.

You can bet that if you are only buying tires every few/several years they won't still be making the same ones you now have. It seems to be a trial by fire every time. Hit or miss no matter what you do.

I've lived in Colorado for more than 45 years. I've driven on dry snow and wet heavy snow. The summers can get up into the high 90, so I'm sure the asphalt is pretty toasty. When I drove rear wheel drive cars I used Nokian Hakkapeliitta studded snows during the winter. I drove Michelins the rest of the year. A Miata with studded snows is a blast to drove in the snow. My front drive VWs have had Nokian WR G2s and G3s. This last winter I bought a set of General Altimax RT43s for my wife's Accord. She felt very confident driving in the snow with those tires. I am going to buy a set of those for my Golf next time I need new tires.

35 Yr Dsl Veteran said:

I found out over the many years that tires are like wine & women; the cheaper the better!!! All you are paying for with "name brand" tires is their ADVERTISING! They are not any better, and I've come across name brands that were WORSE than the dirt cheapest tires.

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You come across as someone who doesn't notice differences very well. I have noticed massive differences with tire choices.

I've worked in tire shops and driven cars reasonably hard with several different tires to see what works well and what doesn't.

I was selling a 98 Beetle, it needed tires, but since I was just getting rid of it anyway, I went with what was cheapest and most convenient. There's a certain very tight hairpin on-ramp I drive on nearly every day and if there's no traffic, I like to push the limits around it a little. Those tires gave up adhesion FAR sooner than the many other brands I've used on different cars around the same corner. And the 10 year old Goodyears that were on that car previously still had better grip than these no name brand Asian tires.

On another car, I had read some positive things about Sumitomo HTR P02s and decided to try them. They were fine in the dry, decent enough grip for what they are and especially for their price point, but driving in the rain was one of the more white-knuckled experiences I've had.

I've never been overly impressed with Continental ProContacts that are used all over the place as OE tires, but I had been hearing good things about the PureContacts they came out with a couple years ago and tried them out. The steering felt lighter than I was used to, the overall grip in the dry was maybe not as good as some Michelins and grippier summer tires, but the grip in the rain was actually very good. Not as insane as, say, Michelin Pilot Sport A/S3s (which have a lower treadwear rating), but I was happy with their performance nonetheless. They sing a little bit on certain types of pavement but have otherwise proven to be overall good tires.

Tires last different lengths of time as well. As Oilhammer mentioned, many all season tires tend to have harder compounds that aren't great for grip in most conditions, but they do last. Though some of the more modern compounds out there have gotten much better in this regard, it's still generally true that a softer compound tire that lasts for less miles does return better grip levels in rain and dry.

And if you've ever driven in the snow on snow tires, you'd also notice a massive difference in grip levels and even in braking performance. It's not even a contest. To say effectively that all tires are the same, it's just brand marketing that you're paying for is patently false if you actually pay attention to the details and feelings or even try to find what the limits of adhesion are. Every set of tires I get I notice varying performance levels in different conditions, noise levels and even steering effort.

It's fine to be price-conscious, but to label all tires as effectively the same could not be further from reality.

To the original poster:

There are a great deal of choices out there, depending on what you value most. Being in Southern California, probably safe to assume driving in the snow is the furthest from your mind.

How important are high grip levels in the dry and rain to you? How aggressive of a driver are you? Or is there a higher importance on fuel economy and tire longevity?

There often is a trade-off between tires that return good fuel economy and last a long time vs. tires that grip better.

Michelin Premier A/S or Defenders are very good, long lasting tires that should return decent fuel economy. I've been pretty happy with Continental Purecontact tires for similar reasons. And the grip levels really aren't bad at all for a relatively long-lived tire. But if you don't rotate them religiously, they will start to wear and make a little noise. Not as bad as many other tires I've tried, but the rear tires do tend to cup slightly if not rotated somewhat frequently. Either of these should last for about 70,000 miles give or take.

If you value overall grip in wet and dry but still don't want an insane summer tire that doesn't last very well, I've been super impressed with Michelin Pilot Sport A/S3s. You might only get 40,000 miles out of them, but there absolutely is a step up in performance/grip levels with these tires compared to the previous group I mentioned. Fuel economy might suffer too, though.

And there are tires that are worlds more aggressive for grip that also last for far fewer miles and may even decrease fuel economy further. For the average TDIer, the AS/3s are probably the most aggressive for grip you'll need while also still lasting a reasonable amount of miles. For most other people, the first group of tires I mentioned are some of the best in their class for longevity while still maintaining good grip levels and fuel economy.

I pay particular attention load range numbers, all other things being equal. It's not uncommon for load ranges to vary widely for a single size of tire. If it is less than the OE spec, chances are the car is going to handle like it's running on gummi-worms.

My Nokian entyre 2.0 have been great for the 15000 miles I’ve put on them, great in the dry and the rain. Can’t speak to snow though..

I just bought a set of tires and looked at reviews for the Entyre, since I like Nokian snows and they're inexpensive. Reviews I read said they get loud and wear fast. And they're horrible in the snow. The car I was buying for probably won't get snows, so that mattered. I passed. Got another set of General Altimax RT43s.

I had my Wagon aligned on Monday and can't see any appreciable wear on the Generals on that car. They've probably got about 25K miles on them.

We sell the dickens out of the General RT43. It has become our "price point + value" tire over the last several years. It is a pretty good tire. The previous Altimax was awful. Amazing improvement. We also get such a fantastic deal on Continental-General products that even I have taken advantage. Normally I just buy Michelins, but my last four sets have been Continental (Golf, Vanagon), General (F150), and Continental (Sprinter). Although to be fair, I did want Michelins for the Vanagon, but they refuse to sell the Agilis here anymore, which is an excellent Euro-truck tire. I had them on my previous Vanagon and they were absolutely fantastic.

My only complaint with the Continentals, and I expected this as it is pretty common, is they tend to flat spot if the vehicle sits for a while. The Sprinter this is especially noticeable as it may sit for a couple weeks or more at a time.

Every Nokian tire I have ever seen gets rock hard, noisy, and square. I have some customers that insist on them, and they repeatedly do the same thing. No idea why they actually want something that after 30k miles makes the car sound like it has four bad wheel bearings.

35 Yr Dsl Veteran said:

I found out over the many years that tires are like wine & women; the cheaper the better!!! All you are paying for with "name brand" tires is their ADVERTISING! They are not any better, and I've come across name brands that were WORSE than the dirt cheapest tires.

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you have no clue what your talking about

oilhammer said:

My only complaint with the Continentals, and I expected this as it is pretty common, is they tend to flat spot if the vehicle sits for a while.

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This drove me crazy when I had Contis on my BMW. I don't drive the car often and it's very sensitive to wheel balance. Took a long time for the flat spotting to go away. The Contis were also loud on that car. Odd thing is I sold them to a co-worker who now has them on her Jetta (17s, same size) and they seem fine on that car. The Michelins on the BMW now are quieter and ride better, despite being run-flats.