Tire recommendations for 03 GLS Golf?

[SKM348]

Any suggestions? I have 25k miles and the fronts are worn already. I'm the second owner and it appears the original owner didn't rotate them. I've moved the rear to the front but the rear treads are uneven causing road noise. They are the stock Goodyear Eagle LS 195-65R15. I'm not looking for a high-performance, racing tire, just a smooth, good handling, good mileage tire that will last to 60k or more and is reasonably priced. Would up-sizing to a 205-65 tire improve the ride without sacrificing fuel economy? I consistantly get 51/52mpg and don't want to give that up.
Thanks

 

[SoCalJames]

Continental Touring Contact CH95. Size 195/65 15
They're inexpensive, quiet, have great water siping, and look German.

 

[SKM348]

Thanks James, what about 205's vs 195's?

 

[SoCalJames]

I would stick w/ the 195s if you are going to stay w/ those rims. I believe if you were to go w/ larger rubber on the same rim, 1. it will look really ghetto, 2. it may not even fit, 3. mileage may suffer ever so slightly, and 4. driving dynamics may be adversely affected. Perhaps you could check out the 16s from the NB or some GTI 17s.

 

[Neil Womack]

SKM

I just went from the Goodyear Eagles to the Continental Contacts. My Eagles went about 38k. Rotated every 5k balanced every 10k. At 38k they would not take a balance anymore.

Once the Conti tires were on. The car was quieter then ever before and of course vibration free. I can't tell any other differences. MPG remains the same.

 

[tjl]

Continental CH95 and Michelin Energy MXV4+ are the two other OEM tires used on VWs with 15" wheels. They have low rolling resistance.

If you choose one of them, be sure to specify the version with the load rating of 91 (instead of 89) when getting the 195/65R15 size.

 

[Neel]

I have had uniformly bad experiences with Goodyear; wear, mileage, uneven wear, tread separation. So, any(almost any)
other tire will be better. Michelin have always been good tires, long lasting and low rolling resistance. Bridgestone seem to give a harsher ride, although they last a long time. For what its worth: Go with Michelin!

 

[Diesel_rally]

I agree.

 

[RSTX]

Check out Cooper tires. I've had them on other cars and currently have them on Wifey-Poo's 2001 NB. Reasonably priced, look good and great warranty. Plus they are made in America.

 

[alex wetmore]

I have had uniformly bad experiences with Goodyear; wear, mileage, uneven wear, tread separation. So, any(almost any)
other tire will be better. Michelin have always been good tires, long lasting and low rolling resistance. Bridgestone seem to give a harsher ride, although they last a long time. For what its worth: Go with Michelin!

I don't agree with the Bridgestone and Michelin comparison. My (used) 1998 Jetta came with Bridgestone Potenza RE92 tires on it. They were nearly worn and hydroplaned a little too easily, so I swapped them with new Michelin Energy MVX4+ tires.

The ride quality didn't change noticably. The Michelins seem to have slightly better fuel economy, but also break loose more easily.

My current cars are an A4 Golf and an A4 Jetta Wagon. The Golf has 16" wheels (VW Montreal) with Bridgestone Potenza RE950 205-55/16. The Jetta Wagon has the stock AVUS wheels with the stock Michelin Energy MVX4+ tires. Obviously this isn't apples to apples because the cars are different (in particular the Golf also had the sport suspension from a GTI VR6), the tires and wheels are different sizes. However the tires on the Golf have much better traction. The Golf does have a harsher ride, but I don't know how much of that is due to the tire model since it also has a different suspension and wheel size.

I expect that the next tires on the Jetta Wagon will also be Bridgestones, unless we can find something else good (like the Conti's) for cheap.

alex

 

[dag]

If you choose one of them, be sure to specify the version with the load rating of 91 (instead of 89) when getting the 195/65R15 size.

AFAIK, the Contis only come in 91. The Michelins do come in 89 or 91, though.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

I just replaced the Michelin Energy tires on my 02 Jetta wagon. I looked long and hard and ended up with Kumho Ecsta K11 tires. I thought about buying three Michelins and using the spare as the 4th, but the Michelins were $150 at my local dealer and I got the Kumhos for $45 from Tire Rack, $213 for four with shipping. I have driven about 5,000 miles on them and they're quieter than the Michelins, ride better, and grip much better, especially in the rain. They have a lower treadwear rating, but at the price I don't care. They are also summer only tires, but I have snows, and the Michelins were lousy in the snow anyway.

If I had to do it again I'd get 205s to eliminate the speedometer error. And I don't see any difference in mileage yet.

 

[GotDiesel?]

I replaced my Goodyears with Yokohama Avid Touring tires in 205/60-15 size.

Purchased through TireRack and installed locally they were less than $260 for four.

They are quiet, comfortable riding tires and excellent in the rain and at least as good as the GYs were in the snow.

They are not a high performance tire, but they have a 80,000 mile warranty.

Highly recommended!

 

[POWERSTROKE]

The stock Michelins and Contis are great. I am going to say that the contis are a bit more quiet. I have 40k on a set of contis and the look real good.

 

[Hamsterdiesel]

'99.5 Golf

Changed from Michelin MXV4's (which are waaay over priced if you try to buy them as a replacement) to Bridgestone Potenza RE950's at 45K miles. I now have 100,500 miles and am just noticing wear.

I will NEVER EVER buy another type tire again! I absolutely LOVE the Potenzas. Great in the rain, too.

 

[dag]

If I had to do it again I'd get 205s to eliminate the speedometer error. And I don't see any difference in mileage yet.

Wouldn't this induce odometer error, since the odometer is typically dead accurate while the speedometer usually reads slow?

 

[Whitecloud1]

I've changed my 02 Jetta from the Michelin MXV4+ to Toyo Proxes and have been pretty happy with them for the last 35M. Not quite the same side to side control but much better traction for Wisconsin(rain and snow). Over all....good! $350 mounted, balanced, etc.
There are a bunch of posts on tire replacements. You may want to do a search.
Tim

 

[gdr703]

Anyone tried the Michelin Energy MXV4 S8 ??
They are rated better than the MXV4 Plus.
ta.

 

[Slave2school]

I was wondering about the Goodyear Assurance? I need something that will work well in the winter and not squeal like a pig all the time like my continetal POS tires on the front.

Plus Patrick Stewart has a cool voice

 

[SoCalJames]

How aboot some winter tires? Bridestone blizzaks? They're awesome!

 

[Drizzten]

I replaced the stock 195/65/15 ContiTouring Contact with 205/60/15 Kumho ECSTA HP4 716 and prefer the latter over the former. I don't pay attention to mileage so I can't speak to that (I consistently get 520-530 miles per tank, if that helps). I also can't compare the wet traction of either tire because neither have given me problems in puddles or wet roads in high or low speeds. I think the Kumhos have a slightly higher level of road noise. They didn't seem any harsher than the Contis, ride-wise. I know the Kumhos grip better and they don't give in to squealing as easily as the Contis did (I have a tight 180º turn that I have to take to get home). I also like the Kumhos' price: $43 each at Tirerack compared to $59 for the Contis. They don't look too bad, though some may not like all the lettering/graphics on the sidewall.

 

[BratscheMan]

I was wondering about the Goodyear Assurance?

Tire Rack has a test on the Assurance TripleTred, and on the basis of the scores given it's a home run! Here's the link:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Goodyear&tireModel=Assurance+TripleTred&
Goodyear Assurance TripleTred

You won't find much better ratings for wet traction and hydro resistance; and the snow traction is pretty impressive as well.

I have Nokian WRs on my 2000 NB. I like them a lot, but they are pricey, and they don't have the life span SKM348 is looking for.

 

[Little Jack]

I vote for the Nokian WR's. I located a set for less than the Good Year Assurance TripleTred. I live in an area that sees sporatic heavy snow fall, so I like a tire that is a true all season tire. If I didn't see much snow, I'd stay with the Conti CH-95's

 

[SKM348]

James - NTB (National Tire and Battery) wants $101 each for the Conti's, not including tax and all the add-on's etc! You had said they were inexpensive, does this price seem right??

 

[SKM348]

FYI..
NTB (National Tire and Battery) said these tires weren't recommended / rated by Goodyear for the Golf and would possibly give them an 'out' regarding warranty issues. You may want to confirm that b4 you buy. They do look like good tires though.

 

[SKM348]

After reading the reviews in Tire Rack I'm not so sure about the Cont's anymore. The majority of the reviews were poor - from vibration issues (NTB had the same comments, totally unsolicited) to terrible tread wear etc. I'm starting to think about the Goodyear Triple Treads. The Tire Rack reviews were wonderfull, and it has a 80k pro-rated warranty. They are a bit more than the Conti's ($84 vs $50 from Tire Rack) but they rated very high in all the categories. Any comments?

 

[ufoguy]

'99.5 Golf

Changed from Michelin MXV4's (which are waaay over priced if you try to buy them as a replacement) to Bridgestone Potenza RE950's at 45K miles. I now have 100,500 miles and am just noticing wear.

I will NEVER EVER buy another type tire again! I absolutely LOVE the Potenzas. Great in the rain, too.

ditto. <font color="blue"> bridgestone turanza or potenza series.</font> best tire on the market as far as i am concerned. my main criteria are smoothness and quiet ride. turanza and potenza meet both. reasonable tread life, but i am out for comfort and performance. i will always buy bridgestone, that is how satisfied i have been with four sets on three previous cars. bridgestones aren't cheap, but IMHO michelin and goodyear are way overpriced and do not deliver for that premium.

i am looking forward to dumping the contis and switching to bridgestones. i am not even rotating the contis - don't care about their tread life.

 

[TDI_YWG]

I just replaced the Good Year tires that came on my '03 Golf a couple weeks ago with Michelin Hydroedge 195/65/15s. Tread life was the major thing for me. I hated the Good Years. They were the worst tire I have ever driven on for hydroplaning, they broke loose far too easily and the sidewalls began cracking at about 75k km. A tire manufactured in Brazil can not handle the -40 temps we get in the winter here.
So far I am very happy with my decision. No hydroplaning no matter how much water is in the ruts on the highway, and they don't squeak on my favourite interchange until about 15 km/hr more than the GY's did.
I have Arctic Alpins for the winter. Best winter tire I have ever had.

 

[attappman]

I have 83K on my 99.5 Jetta. The OEM tires were the worst I've seen in my life - wore out after 13K (yes, that's not a typo).

After that I had Michelins, which lasted a while, were slighly on the expensive side, and after that Dunlops (sport A4 something or other), which were also good but only lasted about 20-23K miles.

Just had Yokohama's put on yesterday - initial impressions are good, but remains to be seen how well they will stand up to wear. They are quiet and handling is decent.

Wear has been a major issue for me, but I think its in part my own fault - I prefer softer tires for better cornering and lower noise, but that also means they wear out quicker. The TDI low end torque is also a factor I'm sure - too easy to spin the front wheels.

I guess my vote would be for mid-grade michelins. I would've had them put on yesterday, but NTB I go to did not have my size and I needed tires pretty urgently.

Oh, the OEM tires were GoodYear and I am never ever using GoodYear tires on this car again.

 

[2REDTDIS]

My wifes TDI has Toyo Ultra 800s...a great long life tire that handles surprisingly well. I'm hoping to put Nokian NRWs on my Golf in a couple of months, although I may be swayed to the Ultra 800s after seeing how well my wifes car likes them.

Ken