Its time for tire change for my toyota camry hybrid 2007. OEM tires are V rated. Is there any issue going down to H rated? I don't drive above posted limits but my concern is for handling while turning etc.

Any feedback on Falken Ziex ZE-912 (load/speed rating 99H) will be appreciated.

What are the other good all season tires for TCH?

Regards

 

I use this Tire Tack site for my tire comparison. Be sure to look at the Survey Results and Tire Review links. You can also search for your model car and you can see a list of brands of tires that will fit your car. Sorry, I don't see your Falken tires listed on this tire rack site.

The new November issue of Consumer Reports magazine is now available. The cover shows 396 Top Products. See Best Tires, pages 46 to 51. Your Falken Ziex tire you mention is also rated in this magazine.

http://www.tirerack.com/index_w.jsp

 

I have the Falken ZE-329 tires on my TCH for the last 20K miles. It looks like I might get 45K to 50K out of them. They are H rated, 51 psi max pressure. They are quieter, and improved the traction (dry and wet) and handling noticably over the Bridgestones. Wet traction is an immense improvement over the Bridgestones. Gas mileage is about the same as the OEM Bridgestones. I do notice a slight tendency for the Falkens to tramline.

Both H and V rated tires have a cap ply. The difference between H and V rated tires is mostly in treadwear and handling. H rated tires are optimized for all weather performance and longer tread life. V rated tires have stiffer sidewalls and a softer tread compound, optimized for dry road traction and handling. H rated tires tend to have a longer tire life and a more comfortable ride than V rated tires.

A tire seeing lots of interest is the new Goodyear Assurance FuelMax tire

 

desi,

The V rated tires will (as a general rule) be a higher performance tire with slightly stiffer sidewalls and a slightly better resistance to heat at higher sustained speeds. Unless you are planning to drive your TCH at speeds of over 100mph for long periods of time, I would not worry about it. As far as handling goes, increasing the tire pressure will do more for turn in response and crisp handling than anything else. Most of us old road racers ran the max sidewall pressure when running road courses.

I replaced my OEM tires with the new Michelin A/S tires and have been very pleased with them. The mileage has been great, the tire has a very good wet weather stability, does good in the dry and is quieter and smoother riding that the OEM tires (Bridgestones).

 

Much has been written on tires in the posts. I have used Michelein MXV4s on car before my TCH and got 60000 on a set so I was very pleased to find them on my 07TCH. At 30000 miles they're in great shape so I'll get MXV4s again. I get them at Costco

 

When I read up on this a year or so ago, I was surprised. Most of the "low rolling resistance" tires are also V or Z rated. Apparently, in order to reduce the rolling resistance, they make the tire stiffer. A stiffer tire deforms less from the weight of the car, and less deformation allows the tire to roll with less energy loss. As a side effect of making it stiffer, they end up with a tire that is also stronger. The extra strength makes for a higher speed rating.

 

That sounds good but, buying from tire rack I had one night to really examine one of these new Energy Saver tires with a bright light. The tread was very solid but the sidewalls did not seem as stiff as the Energy tires it replaced. I also noticed the 4 new tires on the specs were 12 pounds lighter than the 4 oem's. Forgot to mention, the Saver tires are T rated.

 

I have a 07 TCH with 35k the wet traction / stopping had diminished although I probally could have passed inspection by a small margin. I chose the Michelin Primacy MXV4 in Tire Racks (purchased from) ratings and Consumer Reports in beat the OEM Michelin MXV4 in every category except the speed (down one category, Toyota dealer said was no big deal) which was an issue for me but I hope the additional tread 500 vs. 400 will be worth it.

 

The Primacy MXV4 is a good choice. I see it's the #1 choice for the H speed rating tires in the November 2009 Consumer Reports magazine. This tire choice also shows excellent in the low rolling resistance category.

 

Hello to all

Look for the placard on your vehicle. The placard, among many things, tells the original tire size and the proper inflation pressure for that size. The placard is usually located on a doorpost or in the glove box.
I get better fuel economy, better tire wear, better wet traction, better snow traction, better steering response, better tire durability, and only give up a bit of ride harshness.
They say you should check your tire pressures once a month. Don't trust the guys at the shop to do it. These guys are paid by the hour and this is one of the easiest things to shortcut. Besides, there are a lot of mechanics you don't know where to look for the proper inflation. No, it is not on the sidewall.
Buy yourself a tire gauge - a $5.00 pencil gauge works just fine, but I prefer the pistol grip digitals because they are remarkably accurate. The check takes all of 5 minutes and it is the cheapest safety check you can make.

Thanks for sharing