V6 tires, Performance or Regular ?

[eddywei]

all,

I have a 98 Camry V6 and it "requires" performance tires.
For all you know, performance tires will cost more than regular touring tires. Can I put S rated instead of H rated on this vehicle ?

Does it will damage anything ?
My wife drives this car. she is not very aggressive driver.

[trexx85]

wouldnt be a good ideato go against what the factory recommends. i suggest the BF Goodrich traction series, i have them on my 93 v6 and its the best tire i have ever had. No loss of traction even in the snow.

[Blitzgray]

I have a 92 V6 that had 205/15 H rated Michelins on it and I let a guy looking for a quick sale at the tire store talk me into going the cheap road and put some little cheapo s rated Gillettes on it.. Dont make the same mistake... I will be glad when they need replacing!!

[hontoy]

Originally Posted by eddywei

all,

I have a 98 Camry V6 and it "requires" performance tires.
For all you know, performance tires will cost more than regular touring tires. Can I put S rated instead of H rated on this vehicle ?

Does it will damage anything ?
My wife drives this car. she is not very aggressive driver.

USE WHATEVER THEY RECOMMENDED ON YOUR CAR MANUAL..

[GSS123]

Went through the same process trying to decide staying with an H rate performace tire or something else for my 2002 XLE V-6. The H rated OEM tire just barely got 40,000 mile.. I decided I really didn't have to many trips that I drove over 130 mph so I choose some Goodyear Regatta tires and have been real happy with their traction and wear. I don't have the car with me today but I believe they had an S rating. They ran $89/tire mounted and balanced included. The original equipment Firestone H rated tire was going to run $130.

[Mike Gerber]

I would recommend sticking with the H speed rated tire that came on your car. It's not just the speed rating that Toyota is looking for here. The higher the speed rating, the stiffer the sidewall of the tire. This keeps more of the tire tread in contact with the road surface when cornering. The speed rating of the tire also affects the handling characteristics of the car.

I have found that the Dunlop Sport A2's are a good value in an H speed rated tire. That are actually rated as good as if not better than the Michelin Energys at about half of the money. This was from a Consumer's Reports study I read a few years back. They are actually rated better in snow traction, which comes in handy in the Chicago area this time of year. I now have them on both of my Camrys. I previously had the Michelin Energys on my 98 Camry and I don't see or feel any difference with these Dunlops. YMMV.

Just a side note here. When I wanted to replace the tires on my 94 Camry XLE 4 cylinder a while back, I too thought of downgrading the speed rating of the tire for longer tread life. I went to Sams Club and they informed me they would not put any other speed rating on my car but the H speed rated tires the car came with from the factory. They didn't want to assume any liability with changing that.

Mike

[Blitzgray]

Thanks for answering my question about Dunlop. Thats what Sears recomended for my car

[AstroPete]

My Dunlop A2s wore very quickly. They were always there to stop my 94 Camry quickly, but they don't seem to live up to their warrenty mileage.