Tire recommendations for 2000 Camry

Short term evaluations probably will not reveal problems like out-of- round or side pulls on many cheap tires. That's why I'm hesitant to use Yokohama, Bridgestone/Firestone (remember Ford roll-over accidents?). Toyo seems OK, and GoodYear is a minimum. I would go to Costo (or other tire stores) and look at the constructions of the tires. It's one of the many sources of information.

Considering factors such as price, convenience, road hazard warranty, rotation/balance service, tread wear, fuel economy, etc. I settled on the Michelin X-Radial Energy-Plus Green series of tires from Costco. Service available just about anywhere in the US. The Green series has less roll resistance and can contribute up to 3% fuel economy. But the disadvantage is less grab in some situations. No problems for me.

I needed H-rating tires, otherwise I'd go with Michelin HydroEdge (T- rating). Performance alone is not enough unless you drive on the track or street race.

wrote

You NEED H-rated tires? Does that mean that you actually intend to drive

110 mph? When I had an STS, they tried to sell me Z-rated tires too. How stupid!

As for the HydroEdge, I got a set for my SLS based in part on reports from Tire Rack. I should have known better. It appears that they WILL last a long time...........if I can stand it. On another car, they might be OK but I just absolutely HATE them, to the point of thinking about replacing them with only 20% of the tread used. They don't have a smooth ride at any air pressure, below or above the recommendation, and tend to wander in a straight line. If I was a Nascar driver, I would say it feels like I'm "tight" when going around a curve. Had to replace one due to out-of-round. I like Michelin but the HydroEdge has not been good to me.

H-rated tires are specified for many mainstream cars today. Tires are an integral part of the suspension system and they are selected for more factors than their speed rating. In fact, Costco WILL REFUSE to install tires of a lesser rating.

So to answer your question, I don't need H-rated tires for the speeds I drive. But the car does. And it can get expensive sometimes because of it.

My 99 Camry 6 cyl. came with H rated Dunlops. Twice since I have had the tires replaced with the next lower grade--never any lectures or problems with doing that. It sounds like someone is trying to get more money out of you for unnecessarily higher rated tires.

Sears will only allow you to go down 1 step from the factory equipped speed rating.

wrote

What you say is true......mostly. I think you are, however, drawing an invalid conclusion.

The speed rating is just that and ONLY that. Your point about tuned suspensions is correct but in order to BE SURE you don't upset the suspension, you must stick with the specific brand, style and type of tires that came on the car. Just selecting the same speed rating in a different tire guarantees you NOTHING as far as the suspension goes because the parameters that effect the ride are not necessarily the same as those making up the speed rating (and the suspension parameters are not generally available).

I have the suspension problem you are talking about right now. It is not, however, because I selected a tire of a different speed rating. It IS because OTHER parameters of the tire are too much different from the originals; tread design, sidewall stiffness, etc. The same thing could (easily) happen if you change brand/style of tires but keep the same speed rating.

As for the Costco thing, I ran into that somewhere when I had the STS. Walked out and went somewhere else. Got a lower speed rating but (that time) stayed with the same mfg. and general style of tire and had no trouble with the ride characteristics changing.

This last time I relied on some bad information (found on the net.......duh!), got an entirely different style of tire (which just happened to have a different speed rating) and screwed up the tuned suspension. Won't do that again.

Larry,

It truly depends on what you're looking for in a tire. Do you want cheap tires or do you want high quality? Do you want it to last

80,000 miles or is traction more important to you? Are you an aggressive driver or do you want a smooth quiet ride? Did you like the factory ones? Why don't you just buy that?

Like most people, you probably want something in between. You may wish to consider the Sumitomo HTR 200. It's very well priced, last a reasonable amount of time, and handle well. For less performance but slightly quieter and better riding, you can get the Sumitomo HTR H4. The Bridgestone Turanza LS-H will give you even better ride and noise suppression. It's wet traction is amazing while lasting a long time. The downside is price. You get what you pay for there.

Me personally, I believe that tires for you car is akin to sneakers for you when you run. You'll lose the game if you have cheap, slippery sneakers on. I'd personally give up long life for traction, especially when you have to hit the brake hard due to some inattentive driver.

Yeah, some places used to just ask you sign an acknowledgment that you are putting a lower grade tire on the car. But Costco no longer does it -- printed policy they can point to.

Ahhh yes. After re-reading my own post I should clarify that I meant car companies select tires based on many factors than the speed rating. (Eg. cost, fuel economy, etc). :) :) :)

I agree with you that H-rated snow tire and H-rated summer tire will have very different ride.

n Aug 10, 6:12 am, "Ken Abrams" wrote: