Some helpful tips on tire shopping

[2020Telly]

If you are shopping for tires you may want to look carefully at the quote. Some places add in a TPMS kit and labor automatically for cars with a TPMS system. I don't think this is necessary on new vehicles still covered under warranty. You may want to consider removing to save yourself ~$40-50. Also some newer vehicles with automated driving capabilities have a second type of tire mounted sensor. I discovered the Telluride is not one of these vehicles, so don't get suckered into the other sensor.

If my information is incorrect or misleading, please feel free to reply so we can get the right information into the forum.

 

[PittPa]

I just picked up sensors from Ebay that were used but KIA OE for $30. I bought 18" Kia wheels for snow tires for next season.

 

[2020Telly]

After 34k miles and having to plug a hole in the OEM 20” Pirellis, I pulled the trigger on better tires. I went with Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza Plus all seasons. Slightly wider by .8” and a little bit taller (255/50R20) than the OEMs by .4”. Also looks a little more like an SUV tire to me.

 

[PittPa]

What made you go with that size? Just liked the tire and they don't make it in the OE? My tires at OE tires at 12 k look to have many miles on them and were good on highway but I wanted something better in the snow next year so I picked up 18" Kia wheels and will shop for snow tires in the fall.

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[2020Telly]

What made you go with that size? Just liked the tire and they don't make it in the OE? My tires at OE tires at 12 k look to have many miles on them and were good on highway but I wanted something better in the snow next year so I picked up 18" Kia wheels and will shop for snow tires in the fall.

I have a FWD and I wanted a little wider for a little more grip in weather. The Pirellis wore out too quickly in my opinion, but I never expect to much from the OE tires. The height is nice too because I notice my speedo is off by 1mph so I think a little taller will help there.

 

[PittPa]

I have a FWD and I wanted a little wider for a little more grip in weather. The Pirellis wore out too quickly in my opinion, but I never expect to much from the OE tires. The height is nice too because I notice my speedo is off by 1mph so I think a little taller will help there.

That's funny you mentioned the speedo error because mine is also 1 mile slower from GPS and radar sign comparison!

 

[DarkMossJustin]

That's funny you mentioned the speedo error because mine is also 1 mile slower from GPS and radar sign comparison!

How well-calibrated are the radar signs?

 

[DarkMossJustin]

After 34k miles and having to plug a hole in the OEM 20” Pirellis, I pulled the trigger on better tires. I went with Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza Plus all seasons. Slightly wider by .8” and a little bit taller (255/50R20) than the OEMs by .4”. Also looks a little more like an SUV tire to me.

View attachment 16611

@2020Telly:

Those look great!

Do they pick up lots of small crushed rocks in the gaps?

My OEM Michelins pick up so much road crap in the gaps. Makes me think of flossing my teeth after a neighborhood barbecue with lots of corn on the cob.

As long as the tire performs well, that's what actually matters.

Just wondering about the other thing that make me slightly OCD.

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[2020Telly]

How well-calibrated are the radar signs?

I was comparing to my apple carplay with Waze and GoogleMaps. Then in a caravan I set the cruise in both cars and confirmed the same discrepancy.

 

[2020Telly]

My OEM Michelins pick up so much road crap in the gaps. Makes me think of flossing my teeth after a neighborhood barbecue with lots of corn on the cob.

No road crap that I’ve seen but they are still brand new. I’ll take road crap over a tiny screw that tore through the Pirellis like a bullet hole.

 

[DarkMossJustin]

No road crap that I’ve seen but they are still brand new. I’ll take road crap over a tiny screw that tore through the Pirellis like a bullet hole.

Do you think a screw would just as easily tear through the OEM Michelin Primacy Tours? I’m liking the grip and overall performance, but when it’s time to replace, are they still the ideal option?

I’m set on eventually getting a set of 17-18” rims for winter Blizzaks and/or A/T wheels for some easy trails

 

[PittPa]

How well-calibrated are the radar signs?

Pretty accurate, it always agreed with the GPS on waze everytime and the speedo was 1 mile slower consistently.

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[2020Telly]

Do you think a screw would just as easily tear through the OEM Michelin Primacy Tours? I’m liking the grip and overall performance, but when it’s time to replace, are they still the ideal option?

I’m set on eventually getting a set of 17-18” rims for winter Blizzaks and/or A/T wheels for some easy trails

It's tough to say, comparing tires between manufacturers without actual experience riding on them is really difficult. There is this thing call the Uniform Tire Quality Grading UTQG system which is really a joke. It's meant to compare treadwear universally but it's a useless rating because even though each tire maker is required to grade, they are responsible for grading themselves and there are no real standards to go by. There is one spec tire that every company is given to compare to that is rated a 100, but one company's rating of 500 could be the same as another company's rating of 600. We just don't know. But if you have success with one brand, then I like to stick with that brand until something proves to me otherwise.

Of course tires and performance are relative to your driving location and tire availability for what is sold in your area. Just like shoes some people could wear the same rubber sole but to one person it is good for walking and to another it is horrible for running.

I rotate my tires like clockwork every 5,000 miles and I hope that gives me the longest lifespan. But for me the best tires are #1 the one that is on sale for a deal, #2 widely available and will be in stock for the next couple years and #3 gives me a pretty decent manufacturers warranty on miles. This way if a tire blows early, I can at least get the same one to replace it and possibly get it prorated at a discount. Then down the road after there is some uneven treadwear, since I have a FWD, I can replace in pairs, otherwise I will replace when all four are worn down. But if I had an AWD, they don't recommend replacing just 1 and it's not even a good idea to replace pairs. AWD is usually more sensitive to uneven wear on the tires so you should look to replace all four at once.

I have also read that some times OE tires from the vehicle purchase may not even be the same as what you can buy yourself with the same name. For example you can have a Michelin Primacy Tour made specifically for Kia or a Pirelli Scorpion Zero made for Kia but then if you buy them on your own you might be buying a Pirelli Scorpion Zero Plus. That just reminds me that they aren't selling the same tire to us as they are to the auto makers because the auto makers are reselling it to us so they need get a huge quantity and probably a deeper discount. I don't know if that means they are getting a different product or not, but it does make me wonder if corners were cut or you are getting slightly less quality or more generic rubber with the same name and tread pattern. Like buying a name brand at an outlet store, it looks like a deal but the quality isn’t always the same. Bottomline, the choice the auto maker is making when they sell a vehicle is not going to be the best for your region and your driving terrain. It's going to be the best they could buy at large quantity to meet manufacturing demand that meets the most common driving conditions.

Right on for the Blizzaks. When it comes time for the all seasons, I wouldn't have your heart set on the OEM Michelin Primacy Tours but if you like the Michelins, I would check to see which are the most widely sold that have the best reviews. Additionally consider that an 80,000 mi warranty vs. a 30,000 mi warranty might not mean that it will actually last you 50,000 miles more. But it could be a relative comparison that the tire manufacturer feels the higher mileage warranty tire will last longer.

 

[DarkMossJustin]

It's tough to say, comparing tires between manufacturers without actual experience riding on them is really difficult. There is this thing call the Uniform Tire Quality Grading UTQG system which is really a joke. It's meant to compare treadwear universally but it's a useless rating because even though each tire maker is required to grade, they are responsible for grading themselves and there are no real standards to go by. There is one spec tire that every company is given to compare to that is rated a 100, but one company's rating of 500 could be the same as another company's rating of 600. We just don't know. But if you have success with one brand, then I like to stick with that brand until something proves to me otherwise.

Of course tires and performance are relative to your driving location and tire availability for what is sold in your area. Just like shoes some people could wear the same rubber sole but to one person it is good for walking and to another it is horrible for running.

I rotate my tires like clockwork every 5,000 miles and I hope that gives me the longest lifespan. But for me the best tires are #1 the one that is on sale for a deal, #2 widely available and will be in stock for the next couple years and #3 gives me a pretty decent manufacturers warranty on miles. This way if a tire blows early, I can at least get the same one to replace it and possibly get it prorated at a discount. Then down the road after there is some uneven treadwear, since I have a FWD, I can replace in pairs, otherwise I will replace when all four are worn down. But if I had an AWD, they don't recommend replacing just 1 and it's not even a good idea to replace pairs. AWD is usually more sensitive to uneven wear on the tires so you should look to replace all four at once.

I have also read that some times OE tires from the vehicle purchase may not even be the same as what you can buy yourself with the same name. For example you can have a Michelin Primacy Tour made specifically for Kia or a Pirelli Scorpion Zero made for Kia but then if you buy them on your own you might be buying a Pirelli Scorpion Zero Plus. That just reminds me that they aren't selling the same tire to us as they are to the auto makers because the auto makers are reselling it to us so they need get a huge quantity and probably a deeper discount. I don't know if that means they are getting a different product or not, but it does make me wonder if corners were cut or you are getting slightly less quality or more generic rubber with the same name and tread pattern. Like buying a name brand at an outlet store, it looks like a deal but the quality isn’t always the same. Bottomline, the choice the auto maker is making when they sell a vehicle is not going to be the best for your region and your driving terrain. It's going to be the best they could buy at large quantity to meet manufacturing demand that meets the most common driving conditions.

Right on for the Blizzaks. When it comes time for the all seasons, I wouldn't have your heart set on the OEM Michelin Primacy Tours but if you like the Michelins, I would check to see which are the most widely sold that have the best reviews. Additionally consider that an 80,000 mi warranty vs. a 30,000 mi warranty might not mean that it will actually last you 50,000 miles more. But it could be a relative comparison that the tire manufacturer feels the higher mileage warranty tire will last longer.

Thank you for the thoughtful and informative response.

I'm not even aware of the UTQG but I am aware of the uneven wear in AWD and that the next set of tires to replace the OEM Michelin PTs will be purchased and installed as a set of 4. I don't want to take any chances.

I've had good experience with Michelin Defenders, the top ones warrantied for 60,000 miles. Don't know if they'll work with Telly.

Open to other brands, although I refuse to buy Goodyear anymore after the crap they pulled last year.

 

[2020Telly]

I've had good experience with Michelin Defenders, the top ones warrantied for 60,000 miles. Don't know if they'll work with Telly.

If you move up to 255/50R20 from 245/50R20 you can get Michelin Defenders.

 

[DarkMossJustin]

If you move up to 255/50R20 from 245/50R20 you can get Michelin Defenders.

If you were me, would you consider that move?

I'm happy with the ride/performance of the Primacy Tours that are currently on my Telly that just went over 10K miles. Yay!

I have no idea how long these tires that came with the Telly will actually last me, but if I end up choosing between Defenders and Primacy Tours, generally speaking, does one have significant advantages over the other?

To be clear the extra set of 17-18" wheels with the Blizzaks or A/T tires would only be put on during the winter/snow/ice/mountain/off-road/trail conditions and I'd be driving most of the year with the Michelin (Primacy Tours or Defenders).

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[2020Telly]

If you were me, would you consider that move?

I'm happy with the ride/performance of the Primacy Tours that are currently on my Telly that just went over 10K miles. Yay!

I have no idea how long these tires that came with the Telly will actually last me, but if I end up choosing between Defenders and Primacy Tours, generally speaking, does one have significant advantages over the other?

To be clear the extra set of 17-18" wheels with the Blizzaks or A/T tires would only be put on during the winter/snow/ice/mountain/off-road/trail conditions and I'd be driving most of the year with the Michelin (Primacy Tours or Defenders).

They appear to be very comparable but the Primacy Tour is more of a touring tire and that might mean softer and quieter while the Defenders may last you longer. The mileage warranty on the PT is 55,000 while on the Defender Michelin gives it 70,000. Most websites have more reviews on the Defenders so that makes me think they are more common. Also the speed rating is the same in both but the Defenders have a higher load rating which makes me think they are more SUV/Truck like vs the PTs that might be geared toward a quieter ride. Since some Telluride AWD owners have complained about noise that might be why Kia opted for the PTs, they didn’t want to add to more. Between the two I would go Defenders. I have plenty of noise in the vehicle that drowns out any possible road noise. If I made longer road trips with fewer passengers I might opt for touring tires, but that’s not where I am in life.

 

[RockOut]

We are on our second set of Continental TrueContact Tour on our AWD Pilot. Very happy with this tire and it was an excellent upgrade from the Michelin’s. There are quite a few different Continentals so I had to be very specific with tire dealers this time because they all wanted to sell me Cont. Pros or other versions. These tires ride well and wear well. Not sure if the Telly will like these as much as the Pilot does, so YMMV. I’ve got 8k on my 21 Telly so don’t need tires yet, but only had it since mid-January, so at this rate it won’t be long

 

[2020Telly]

We are on our second set of Continental TrueContact Tour on our AWD Pilot. Very happy with this tire and it was an excellent upgrade from the Michelin’s. There are quite a few different Continentals so I had to be very specific with tire dealers this time because they all wanted to sell me Cont. Pros or other versions. These tires ride well and wear well. Not sure if the Telly will like these as much as the Pilot does, so YMMV. I’ve got 8k on my 21 Telly so don’t need tires yet, but only had it since mid-January, so at this rate it won’t be long

What size wheels do you have on your Pilot? From what I can tell the TrueContact Tour doesn’t come in the the Telluride sizes.

 

[RockOut]

What size wheels do you have on your Pilot? From what I can tell the TrueContact Tour doesn’t come in the the Telluride sizes.

I think they are 17”. I hadn’t looked but the sizing did seem pretty limited on the Conti’s