Sometime in the near future I have to take my car in and get the tires replaced on it. Without a doubt, the tires on it currently (the ones that came on it when I bought it brand new) are pretty much the worst tires I’ve ever had. The handling in rain is pretty bad, and totally horrible in the snow. In fact, I nearly bought the farm a few times in Vancouver when it snowed. One time I was coming up to my place (which was at the bottom of a slight hill) and couldn’t stop, so I ended up sliding down to the end of the cul-de-sac. Had a car been there, I wouldn’t have been able to stop myself from smoking it.
Sadly though, I only have around 30,000 kms on my car, so it seems surprising that the treads are nearly bare on all of them. But sure enough, having looked at some of the reviews, pretty much everyone else thinks they totally suck too. One of them actually went flat on me on the way to Seattle last year, and I had to replace it at the last minute. So right now my car has one unmatched tire on, which is not only dangerous from a traction perspective, but actually somewhat illegal I think.
Unfortunately for me, my car takes performance 17″ tires, which means they are not only expensive (close to $200 a tire), but also generally soft (which means they wear out faster). So I’m probably looking at dropping close to $1,000 sometime soon to replace all of them. But I only have about 20% of the tread left on them, and don’t really want to go through another winter with a car that feels more like a toboggan on the road.
I scanned Costco online, but all the tires they have for my car pretty much suck. Canadian Tire was no different either. So I’m not sure where to go. I’ll probably have to do a pile of research online and try to find something that is decent for my car. If anyone has any suggestions, let me know.
Can’t recommend any specific tires, but I’ve always received good service, advice and prices from Canadian Tire.
Ack… typing while paying attention to something else… I meant to say Kal Tire!
Hi Duane. We haven’t met yet, but I’ve been enjoying your blog. I’m a friend of Amanda’s and Chris Braun’s wife. I don’t mind looking into what tires are best for you at Kal Tire. My son-in-law works at the one in Hope. What type and year is your car?
Thanks, it’s a 2006 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback. I believe it takes 205/50/R17’s.
Try Kal-Tire by O’Conner RV. I’ve always dealt with Tom there and have always been happy with them. Worth a look.
My dad has a car with a similar issue: performance wheels hard to fit for decent & economic tires. He ended up getting a spare set of wheels with winter tires that he swaps in when the weather turns. It was actually cheaper than any snow tires that fit. New wheels might be worth looking into.
Don’t you drive a Mazda 3? My boyfriend ordered tires for his from some website and picked them up from Point Roberts. One year he was able to get tires and rim for a really good deal. This year he just purchased four tires for less than $1000 USD. He says his new tires are fantastic. Let me know if you want more info!
I’m a big fan of Kal Tire – never had any issue with them and have always received good service. That said, I’ve also been to National Tire Warehouse and found myself a good deal on tires as well.
Mind you, we are talking about putting ’em on a Pontiac 6000 too..
I had to get winter tires 2 winters ago and all-seasons 2 years before that. In any case, I did some homework and reading up on different makes of tires. For the winters, I ended up getting a set of Toyos. My all-seasons are BF Goodrich. You might want to check out this site to see what sort of tires are available for your size and make. There are also reviews on the tires too.
http://www.tiretrends.com/wheel2/iuc_pview/winterFinder.php?model=3134&year=2006&tireSpec=205/50/17