That's what I originally thought, but then some people were saying it would affect the braking, handling and even insurance - it's the insurance issue that I wanted to clear up? Have you ever heard of it affecting insurance?

 

No I never heard of it affecting insurance. As far as handling and braking goes, as long as you don't exceed the speed rating of the tire, or allow the treads to go below minimum wear, any tire sold by a legit tire dealer in the US or Canada has to meet minimum government standards and will be fine. Tires go through extensive testing by the manufacture and are subject to government regulations regarding their safety.

Here in the US I believe the highest speed limit is 80 mph on some western highways, and let's be honest if you're drive 110 mph+ and get stopped or have an accident you have a much bigger problem than the speed ratings of your tires.

 

lol agreed....
I'll tell ya, I am having trouble picking out a tire replacement. The reviews vary so much within each tire!!!

 

Based on tirerack.com and Discount tire's website I narrowed my choice down to either the BF Goodrich Long Trail Touring or General Tire's Grabber HTS. Both were highly rated and I finally went with the BF Goodrich and are very happy with them. I also stayed with the P215/70/16 size.

 

So in everyones opinion, does going down a speed rating from H (OEM yokos) to a T or even an S affect handling characteristics? If I recall, there aren't many H rated tires in the 215/70/16 size.

I am still shopping for tires (haven't had too much time to look lately), but alot of the ones I am intersted in are S or T rated....

I am looking at:

1. BF Goodrich long trail TA tour (T rated)
2. Bridgestone Dueler HL Alenza (T rated)
3. Good year fortera tripletread (T rated)
4. General Grabber HTS (S rated)

Thoughts on this?
Thanks!

 

There's been no change in handling on my BF Goodrich T rated tires. However being in the desert southwest 98% of the time I'm driving on dry roads. When it rains here I slow way down because the oils and rubber that have built up on the road can make them slick. I guess what I'm really saying is because of where I live, I'm not an expert on how any brand of tires handle in the rain.

 

My Dueler's are holding up pretty well...as well. I've changed out brakes to Wagner Thermoquiet pads and this thing will stop on half a dime.

Your speed rating should have nothing to do with the speed rating...that'd be totally dependant of tread sipping and tire composition. My Dueler's perform better than the Yoko's...except for fuel efficiency. At the end of the Yokos, I got 27.5mpg @ 70. When I got the Duelers, that went to 24.5...now on this last trip I was getting 25.5.

 

Has anyone decided to put 225/65/16 on their mitsu?

I just did a tire calculation, and using the stock 215/70/16 and the spare (155/90/16), the diameter difference is about 3.1% whereas using a 225/65/16 with the spare is out only 1.93%.

Based on this, there would be more difference in revolution using the spare with the stock size tires than the 225/65/16???

I was just thinking this could open up more tire choices (I don't want to go 235 wide)

Any comments on this - I used the 1010tires.com calculator.

Thanks!

 

That's interesting about the spare. I guess I never really thought much about it. I have a 2WD, but I've always heard with 4WD it's important that all 4 tires match, otherwise damage could occur. I guess if you had to use the spare you would need to make sure 4WD is off. For the heck of it, I'm going to check my owner's manual to see if they give any warning about this.

EDIT: Checked the owner's manual. No warning given about spare tire being different in diameter, but on pages 3-106 & 107 of the 2008 owner's manual there's a warning that if all 4 tires are not the same size the 4WD system may turn itself off (going back to 2WD) to protect it from damage.