Life Expectancy for the Original Tires?

[Calculon]

I'm coming up on 30,000 on the Sonic. Winter is approaching and I'm thinking maybe some snow tires might not be a bad idea. The original tires on the Sonic are fine on the road, but my driveway is where I have trouble. It's narrow and has an incline to it, so if I can't get a bit of a head start to it, which is tough when there's 5"+ in the street, I can get stuck in my driveway. It happened to me three times last year and was a pain to dig out at midnight, though we had about double the normal amount of snow last year.

So I'm definitely getting some snow tires, but I thought since it's coming up on 30,000, maybe some new tires all around is worth considering if they're getting close to the end of their life. Sound like a good plan? Thanks for any help.

 

[jgrote]

You'd need to measure the tire tread depth to find out, but I assume you're probably at 75% wear at this point. They will not do so good in the snow. I will be buying snows soon too (waiting on the sales), and will get wheels for them too. I recommend going to a 15" wheel for the snows because they are cheaper and you can have a bit more sidewall. This would require you to buy a second set of wheels though. (and TPMS sensors if you care)

 

[KartRacer]

I am at 25,000 on my Sonic and wife's Encore, there is still plenty of tread depth for another year +.

 

[RobbyS]

My stock tires on my old 15's were balding at about 15k miles. I'm not sure if I just needed to get an alignment or if it was the tires themselves. I have gotten an alignment and new wheels/tires since though.

 

[Eric Smit]

I used my stock tires to like 38k, and they had threads showing.

 

[ahtoxa]

Removed stock tires at about 3/32 tread depth, at about 26k miles.

 

[Papasonic]

I rotated my stock 17'' Hankook's this evening at 17,600 miles. I measured the tread depth at 8/32". These tires when new measure 10/32" tread depth. Assuming replacement ~ 4/32'', I predict about 52,800 miles service life, barring road hazards or alignment issues. Your results may vary.

I will be getting winter tires for the upcoming winter driving season, as the stock 17" Hankook's did not perform well at all last winter. They wouldn't start, stop, or turn in the ice/snow.

 

[SourKandi]

I had to get rid of stock tires at 10k. They were not holding air and tread was bad. On a 500 mile trip I had to stop and fill air in all 4 tires 3 times. Thankfully my mother paid for a new set, but if you ask me, stock tires were pieces of *^~+. Haven't had any trouble since. Well, except the occasional screw in the tire. Ahh city life.

 

[ahtoxa]

You've had more than the occasional screw, if all 4 tires needed to be filled 3 times in a trip. Stop running over the porcupines when you drive.

 

[Papasonic]

I had to get rid of stock tires at 10k. They were not holding air and tread was bad. On a 500 mile trip I had to stop and fill air in all 4 tires 3 times. Thankfully my mother paid for a new set, but if you ask me, stock tires were pieces of *^~+. Haven't had any trouble since. Well, except the occasional screw in the tire. Ahh city life.

Your experience with your tires isn't the norm. We have two Sonic's with the same 17" Hankook tires. Both vehicles tires' hold air pressure well, and the tread wear is as expected. I'm curious as to why your tires prematurely failed to provide you with reasonable service. Some of the factors contributing to premature tire failures are operating with too low or too high pressures: improper alignment; adverse road conditions/hitting potholes etc. Could any of these factors have contributed to your early tire replacement experience?

 

[KartRacer]

Your experience with your tires isn't the norm. We have two Sonic's with the same 17" Hankook tires. Both vehicles tires' hold air pressure well, and the tread wear is as expected. I'm curious as to why your tires prematurely failed to provide you with reasonable service. Some of the factors contributing to premature tire failures are operating with too low or too high pressures: improper alignment; adverse road conditions/hitting potholes etc. Could any of these factors have contributed to your early tire replacement experience?

+1
Have never understood complaints on these tires, they are good enough that I will replace them with the same great value tire, bet it's over 50,000 miles!

 

[ScarabEpic22]

+1
Have never understood complaints on these tires, they are good enough that I will replace them with the same great value tire, bet it's over 50,000 miles!

If they work well for your needs then keep running them. If you're looking, please buy my RS 17s off me or John's LTZ 16s with the Hankooks, we'd be happy to sell them cheap. Think John (NewZJ) has a FS thread with his rims/tires posted already.

---------------------------------------
My quick Hankook Optima H428 tire analysis:
1) meh dry performance: had worse tires in the dry, not the end of the world.
2) bad wet performance: hydroplane resistance is downright poor. This is a huge issue for someone who lives in Seattle and deals with rain on a constant basis in the fall/winter/spring.
3) snow performance: yea, not going to even try after #1 and #2
4) LOUD

Yes I keep them aired to the proper 34-35psi cold per the door, tried 32 as well with no change except a worse ride. Rotated normally as well. They've scared me on more than one occasion, these are worse than the Goodyear RS-As my TBSS came with stock and those were pretty bad. (Probably fine on a sedan but they're not a good SUV tire.)

Solution:
Buy a tire that wasnt designed because GM said we need a tire that meets xx thousand mile treadwear, decent traction, and costs $xx per tire. Continental ExtremeContact DWS for example is a much better all around tire that costs a mere $13/tire extra per TireRack.com today ($130 vs $117). There are other tires for a similar price that cost the same, I just have personal experience with these Conti's on my dad's car and my buddy's Focus so I know they will do what I want.

Working on this now, trying to find a set of 18/19s I like first then Ill get some new rubber to go along with them.

 

[Papasonic]

---------------------------------------
My quick Hankook Optima H428 tire analysis:
1) meh dry performance: had worse tires in the dry, not the end of the world.
2) bad wet performance: hydroplane resistance is downright poor. This is a huge issue for someone who lives in Seattle and deals with rain on a constant basis in the fall/winter/spring.
3) snow performance: yea, not going to even try after #1 and #2
4) LOUD

Regarding the 17" Hankook H428's on our LTZ Sonics. I agree that dry road performance is definitely acceptable. Wet road performance for me has been marginal but acceptable. Snow and ice performance is just not acceptable in my opinion. I didn't notice excessive noise, but haven't had the opportunity to experience other tires on the Sonic.

Although I am generally satisfied with the Hankook's performance, I wouldn't buy them for replacement, as I agree that there are better choices for ~ the same price.

 

[KartRacer]

Here is the problem as I see it. True that I had no issues with winter snow, and yes wet is not great but. Part of the issue in my opinion is that this is a light car ( as apposed to my truck), front drive which requires a little finess of the throttle especially when the boost kicks in.
breakaway has been very predictable.
Then there is the issue of which alternate tire will perform better. Unless they have been used on this car you cannot predict how they will be. That is unless you are willing to buy a very soft tire which will deliver lower life and decreased fuel economy.
Just my opinion.

 

[ahtoxa]

Here is the problem as I see it. True that I had no issues with winter snow, and yes wet is not great but. Part of the issue in my opinion is that this is a light car ( as apposed to my truck), front drive which requires a little finess of the throttle especially when the boost kicks in.
breakaway has been very predictable.
Then there is the issue of which alternate tire will perform better. Unless they have been used on this car you cannot predict how they will be. That is unless you are willing to buy a very soft tire which will deliver lower life and decreased fuel economy.
Just my opinion.

The bolded part is mostly an excuse for a poor-performing tire.

I'm running a different tire now, which replaced the stock set and my replacement set is:

- cheaper than the stock tires (priced on tirerack)
- better dry grip
- better wet grip
- much better hydroplaning resistance
- wear is a little better


It's a well-known fact in the auto world that most OEM-mounted tires are a very large compromise. Manufacturers will outfit their cars with consideration to requirements for the vehicle, and cost. Cost isn't to be ignored here, and it undercuts a lot of the value and performance. Inexplicably, OEM replacements are also priced somewhat high (to consumers, not manufacturers) as opposed to competition.

OEM tires are fine, they aren't as horrible as people make them out to be, but they are also far from offering the best combination of value and performance, either. You can certainly get a cheaper or equal cost tire that performs better than OEM.

 

[NR552]

31000 on my stock Hankooks...took a chunk of pottery? into my right front tire. Done, not fixable yesterday. So I bought 2 Falken Ziex ZE-612+, with a treadwear of 360, traction and temp A A, with a 40k mile warranty.

I'm going to run the Hankooks up front for another 5-6k miles then get 2 more Falken Ziex ZE-612+ to complete the set. They have a softer compound, and I can tell they are more grippy than the original tires.

 

[KartRacer]

[/B]

The bolded part is mostly an excuse for a poor-performing tire.

I'm running a different tire now, which replaced the stock set and my replacement set is:

- cheaper than the stock tires (priced on tirerack)
- better dry grip
- better wet grip
- much better hydroplaning resistance
- wear is a little better


It's a well-known fact in the auto world that most OEM-mounted tires are a very large compromise. Manufacturers will outfit their cars with consideration to requirements for the vehicle, and cost. Cost isn't to be ignored here, and it undercuts a lot of the value and performance. Inexplicably, OEM replacements are also priced somewhat high (to consumers, not manufacturers) as opposed to competition.

OEM tires are fine, they aren't as horrible as people make them out to be, but they are also far from offering the best combination of value and performance, either. You can certainly get a cheaper or equal cost tire that performs better than OEM.

I would not disagree with your last statement. I have never repurchased oem tires before. I know they are a compromise. I know that tires are available with better grip wet, better grip dry and in snow, generally not all three at once. Better dry comes as a trade off to mileage life.
Statements on this forum of wear outs in 15,000 miles are rediculous, won't happen unless abused. Snow tires are not an option for me, have not used them since the 70's. If a tire is proven to be better in all around use and will last the mileage, I am in. But I will take all information on this forum as suspect until verified. Many claims on the forum are pure trash. Just have to sort out those that are knowledgeable and those that are full of it

 

[ahtoxa]

"Many" is a gross understatement. Vast majority of all information read on forums and taken from such sources is trash.

On the flip side, it's subjective trash, because what works for one person and has been proven to work will not work for another due to variables in circumstances, usage, expectations and a myriad of other factors. Yet, the info isn't completely irrelevant or incorrect, it's just not applicable (or incomplete).

I always read the forums with a huge block of salt right next to me. Local horses and deer a jealous.

 

[SouthFLSonic]

I'm pushing 63K miles and my stock 16" tires look almost new. I corner faster than I should sometimes I even get a little wheel spin now and then but other then that I am all highway and these tires have done great.

 

[5.0]

I'm pushing 63K miles and my stock 16" tires look almost new. I corner faster than I should sometimes I even get a little wheel spin now and then but other then that I am all highway and these tires have done great.

Wow that's very good for a stock tire. I have to say I have no problems with the stock tires wet or dry as I adjust for driving conditions. They ride fine, wear fine, and it seems like people are getting decent mileage out of them. Yes they are no good in the snow and that's why I have snow tires. Fact is for 99% of the drivers going from point A to B the stock tires are fine. I think people just like to jump on the bashing bandwagon.