Tire recomendations
 

I have a 2003 sante fe front wheel drive. It currently has Continental Cross Contact 225/70/16. They are worn and need replaced. I am in Seattle so want a good rain tire. off-road is not needed, niether is snow. I am somewhat partial to Goodyear, and I am curious about going bigger to 245/70/16??? Whats worked good for you guys?

personally im a huge fan of michellin tires, bought some back in 94 for my blazer and fell in love ever since. Theyre a bit pricey but well worth it.

Why? Why do you want to go bigger?

The original 225/70-16 tires are 28.4" tall (722mm)
The larger 245/70-16 tires are 29.5" tall (750mm)

That's a height increse of 1.1" and will change the speedometer and odometer readings by 3.9%. That's way too much. You want to keep it closer to 1%. You will run the risk if rubbing the fenders.

So I'll ask again? Do you want a taller tire or just a wider tire? If you want a wider tire that is the same height you would want a 245/65-16 tire.

A 245/65-16 tire would be 28.5" tall (724mm)

That a height increase of only 0.1" and will only change the speedometer and odometer readings by 0.3%.

If you want rain traction you probably don't want to go wider. A wider tire will hydroplane easier. Narrower tires will cut through the water. I'd stick with the factory size.

As far as brands go, Goodyear and Michelin are okay but you will pay more just for the name. Personally, I'd go with the Yokohama Geolander H/T-S G051 or the Yokohama Geolander A/T-S.

The H/T-S has a 500 Treadwear rating 60k mileage warranty.
http://www.discounttiredirect.com/di...w=false&cs=225

The A/T-S has a more off-road look to the tread and has a 40K mileage warranty.
http://www.discounttiredirect.com/di...w=false&cs=225

I also like the BF Goodrich Long Trail T/A Tour tires. I have a set on my wife's minivan. They also have a 60k mile warranty but are a little more expensive than the 2 Yokohama tires.
http://www.discounttiredirect.com/di...w=false&cs=225

Hey thanks for the input. It's not that I really want a bigger tire that bad, just want to look at different options before I make a purchase. So it looks like I'll stick w/ stock size. I'll look in to those Yokohamas, if they are just as good as Good year, I'll probally go w/ them and save a little money.

I agree with the BF Goodrich Long Trail T/A Tour tires. I just replaced
the originals I had on my 2005. They had 73K miles on them and
could probably have gone up to 80K, but I didn't want to push my luck.

The originals were called something like Long Trail Touring T/A. I replaced
them with the aforementioned tires and like them very much.

John

i AS WELL would agree that BFG long trail T/A is the way to go.....you can go off road or on road very easily and at 68,000 and looks like plenty more to go! i will replace these with the same tire...why change it if its not broke?


Peace