Like the title says, I'm looking for a new pair of tires. I'm going to start off by saying my knowledge of cars is lacking at best.

I live in (BC) Vancouver island (southern end) and as for weather, its Rain, rain, and more rain. When it does snow its more slush, and ice at night/morning.

So I thought a good pair of winter tires would be best. I'm thinking that they would cover me for all the heavy rain and the few times it snows here.
The tires I have been eyeballing are the GoodYear Nordic tires that were suggested in another tire thread on this site. (go for ~$115 each)

So,
are winter tires good for heavy rain, or should I be looking into a 'rain tire'? (Someone told me all seasons were best for heavy rain)

I will not be changing my tires for summer driving as I don't have money or the storage for that.

Car:
1997 Pontiac Sunfire (Don't laugh )

Thanks for the help.

 

If its more rain then snow go for a rain tire.

 

Michelin Hydroedge...Michelin | HydroEdge® | Tire Overview
I had these on my '02 Chrysler 300M and loved them. I used to have bad hydroplaning in puddles when it rained, and these fixed it almost completely. Did very good in the S.Ont snow as well. Not the cheapest tires out there especially for the 300, but well worth the money IMO. The fronts were just over $500 all in for both.
http://www.activegreenross.com/asp/tire_search.asp
Should be around $300 for 2 installed for your Sunfire.
HTH
Nick

 

Snow tires usually are made of a softer rubber compound better suited to colder temperature and a driving surface with little friction, like ice and snow. If you were to use snow tires year round, they wouldn't last too long. They might be decent in a rainy climate, but you're going to spend a lot of tires since they'll wear much faster than all-seasons.

Check out www.tirerack.com. Find the survey section. Select all-season. The chart will show you which tires performed well under what conditions, as well as treadwear.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Sizes.jsp?make=General&model=Altimax+HP <<< Consider these tires. I use them as summer tires on my 17" rims. The price is right. These are the best tires I've used.
They're not winter tires by any stretch of the imagination. But you might be better off getting these for most of the year, and a decent set of dedicated winter tires in the winter months.

What's the rim size? Probably 15" for a 97 Sunfire. What are the numbers on the sidewall? 195/60/15? Should be something like that.

The Generals probably aren't ideal for you... let me know what the numbers are and I help you out some more. How much are you willing to spend per tire?

 

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=General&tireModel=Altimax+RT&ve hicleSearch=true&partnum=965TR5AMAXRT&fromCompare1 =yes&place=36&speed_rating=S&speed_rating=T&speed_ rating=U&speed_rating=H&speed_rating=V&speed_ratin g=Z&speed_rating=W&speed_rating=Y&speed_rating=(Y) &minSpeedRating=S

These'll be a good choice too. One of TireRack's best sellers. The treadwear is 600! That's beautiful. They'll last a long time. The Yokohama AVS E100's I first had on my 17's were a 220, they didn't last more than 8000KM. Terrible. The price is good on these too.

Looks like your car might be a 195/65/15. This tire doesn't come in that size. I would suggest going up to a 205/65/15. It'll throw your speedometer out a bit - you'll actually be going faster than your speedo says, 2% faster. So if your speedo reads 100KM/H, you're actually moving at 102KM/H. No biggy. AND, every kilometer you travel the slightly larger tire will revolve 10 times less than your stock tires. Which means you travel the same distance, but put less wear on your tires.

 

Thanks for all replies!

I do think my car tire size is 195/65/15 (If I remember correctly)
My budget I think would be $140 a tire. Those Michelin HydroEdge look good though. If treadwear is a good measurement, then these should do great. Michelin says they're 800.

What would I gain with 205/65/15 tire size VS what I have? Would have to buy new rims too?

thanks again.

 

I'm look at these Michelin HydroEdge on costco's website and they say this is included:
Costco.ca: Shop for Tires
"Shipping & Handling, Mounting, Balancing, Lifetime Services, Nitrogen Inflation, New Rubber Valve Stem and the Costco Road Hazard Warranty."

Whats with the Nitrogen Inflation? How does it compare to regular air?

 

Sorry for the multiple posts, but I cant edit the last one.

I was talking to the tire guy at costco and he suggest to get the Michelin X-Radial. He said it would offer the same traction in rain, but be a lot quieter.
Any thoughts? Is the HydroEdge that much louder? Does it really mater if its louder, I don't think I've heard my tires before.
If they do offer better same traction, and no one objects, I might save my self the $10per 1.

 

Nope, you wouldn't need new rims.

The 195 represents the width of the tire's cross section in millimeters, from sidewall to sidewall. 205 would mean you have a tire that is 10mm wider. This is not the width of the tread, as the tread is not the widest part of the tire.

The second number, in this case 65, represents the height of the sidewall as a percentage of the width of the tire. So, your width is 195. Your sidewalls are 65% of that, or 126.75mm. Now, if you went to a 205/65/15... Your sidewalls are now 65% of 205, or 133.25mm. So your tires would be 6.5mm taller than what you have right now. Keep in mind that this means you'll increase the overall diameter 13mm, as the sidewall is on both sides, if that makes sense. I don't think its enough to cause a fitment issue.


http://miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html <<< Link to a great little tire calculator.

Some drivers are concerned with the amount of noise their tires generate when driving. Personally, I couldn't care less about that. Unless of car I was using knobby mud tires or something, then it might be a little much. I'd save the $10/tire.

As far as the Nitrogen inflation, from what I've read, its a bit of a gimmick. If it were anything more than that, you'd think you'd hear more about it. Regular ambient has nitrogen in it anyway.

 

I did not notice any increase in noise levels going from the factory installed all seasons on my 300M whatsoever, and no it does not matter just turn up the tunes more. LOL The same traction, but not the same hydroplane handling. They are engineered to push the water away from the tread to prevent loss of traction. My 300M used to almost rip the wheel out of your hands going through big puddles, pretty much gone with these on. In your case don't worry too much about the nitrogen inflation, it is so that there is not a big difference between summer and winter inflation pressure. As nitrogen is not affected by changes in temp. As air warms up it expands, so if you fill your tires in summer they will need to be topped up once it gets cold and vice versa fill in winter and they will be over inflated in the summer. Nitrogen filled tires do not do this. Still new and starting to get talked about more I have noticed lately. The 205s will be fine on your car with the factory rims, I have a 97 Cavalier that has the 205/65/15s on it and have had no trouble at all.
HTH
Nick