Deciding which 21" summer tires to buy...

[TSLA Pilot]

I was told by my tire guy, who I do trust, that the Michelins were the only tire with the proper load rating for the weight of the P85+. So now I am in a quandary. I really want the Conti Silents and I'm not sure what to do. I have read a lot and have seen many opinions. I want to make sure I am buying the right product. Handling is very important. But at only 6K mi on my Michelins, I'd be happy to give up a little handling for a bit more tire life.

Any advice is very greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!

This part should have you looking for a new tire guy:

the Michelins were the only tire with the proper load rating for the weight of the P85+.

Pure bunk.

Does he think that the other brands are simply making up their load ratings?

Crazy.

We've used the 21" Hankooks now on both of our MS's and are quite pleased with them, especially given the rate at which our cars eat tires.

Having said that, the Conti's with the foam insert are apparently very quite, a major consideration with these cars.

 

[HankLloydRight]

I've learned that "tire guys" will tell you anything to sell the 'tire of the day' or whatever makes the most profit or what they have overstock in. Which is why I've spent the time to learn what's right for my cars and my needs, and never, ever again take any advice from "tire guys".

 

[gnelson]

I have a P85+. I replaced the original set of tires at 14,000 mi. I bought Pilot Super Sports as replacements. All the tires were 245's, and I kept the 9 in rims on the rear. I didn't care about rotating tires. I went back to a staggered configuration at 33,000 mi since the PS2 and Pilot Super Sport price differential is now reasonable. I prefer the staggered configuration even thought the Pilot Super Sports were better tires. I am surprised that the Pilot Super Sports didn't last that much longer than the original PS2's. I bought my last set at Firestone. Their installed price was about $1000 less than the installed quote from the SC. They also did a great job with installation and a lifetime alignment. I was able to keep my Alloygators intact. The SC would not have reused the Alloygators.