Re: [DML] Tires (again, sorry)

[Henry Breer <hbreer@xxxx>]

Steve,

Not a direct answer to your question (sorry) but a counter-question.

Which Goodyear T/A's did the tire store recommend? As I read BFGoodrich
site, and as you stated, they don't carry the same tire in both sizes in the
Comp T/A line. Their Comp T/A HR4 comes in the 195/60HR14 needed for the
front, but you would have to go to a 235/60VR15 in their VR4 series for the
rear. From the pictures, they don't appear to have the same tread pattern.
And from the chart, they have different tread wear indexes.

If you go to the Radial T/A line, you can find the correct sizes in the same
tread and rubber compound, but you drop to an "S" speed rating (up to 112
mph), whereas the original NCTs had an "H" speed rating (up to 130 mph). 112
mph doesn't give much of a safety margin. The Yokohama have a "V" speed
rating (up to 149 mph)

The attraction of the Yokohama's is that you will have the same tread and
rubber compound on all 4 corners. True, they are V rated where you only need
H rated tires for a D, but most view that as an extra margin of safety. The
'conventional wisdom' is that if you ever have to take your car to the edge
in a panic maneuver, it would be safer to have the same rubber on all 4
corners. The original Goodyear NCT's had this.

My personal (cynical) opinion is that the profit margin is greater on the
BFG's than the Yoko's.

Hank Breer
VIN 1141