New tires on 03 Camry yet?

[Bossman]

I have an 03 Camry, 4-cyl w/auto trans and about 21,500 miles. The OEM Continental tires are wearing out very quickly and I believe it's time to get new ones. Anyone else have this premature wear issue? Has anyone else purchased new tires for their 03 yet? Brand?

[Daniel M. Dreifus]

The main qestion is:
Are the tires wearing evenly?
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Not uncommon for original equipment tires to be lower quality.
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I have an older version Camry, but have been very pleased with Yokohama tires - good value and quality.
Mine are Avid Touring (quiet, comfortable, long wearing). If you have other priorities, check the other Yokohamas on TireRack.com, or at

http://www.yokohamatire.com/searchresults.asp?id=p

Although planning to purchase from TireRack, when I brought in a printout the local dealer matched their price.
BTW, if you have alloy wheels, insist the final tightening be done by hand with a torque wrench.

[Bossman]

The tires were wearing badly around the edges indicating an alignment issue and the center tread was worn also. I contacted Continental via their OEM warranty and they of course said it was probably either an inflation or alignment problem and they would not cover any adjustment/replacement. It was possibly a partial alignment issue but definitely not an inflation one, as I check the pressure once per month. I will stay away from Continental tires in the future.

The same day I went out and bought the Futura LTE Touring radials from Pep Boys. Now, don't laugh too hard, please. I actually have them on my Land Rover too and they perform exactly as I desired. Quiet, smooth, plenty of traction, 70,000 mile warranty and after the $10 rebate per tire, they cost all of $37.55 each. It's the best deal I could find on a P205/65R-15.