List Only

What specifics should I look for when purchasing new tires?

I have a 2000 Mercury Villager, which is a mini van. I know what I need is P225/60R16. But what about the other ratings to consider? Like the load, speed, should I lean more toward all weather or better rating for winter? I live in Wisconsin so I know I need something good for the snow, but we do get summer here too. LOL. I travel 4 miles to work on fairly good road. But when it snowed I felt like I could have floated off the road and I had the darnedest time driving up the hill to my apartment parking lot. Both the driveway and the car were new to me last winter, so I am looking for the right tires to remedy the problem. Also my daughter is new driver, I know there is no way she could handle the car the way I did under those conditions. So please help me out with the combination I should look for so I can start checking prices.

Public Comments

1. first thing i look for in a tire is roundness oh and it has to have a hole in the middle
2. Load rating for sure speed rating not so important. get Snow tires for winter for traction and all season for summer I know that it is two sets but snow tires wear fast on dry pavement. and all seasons are great summer tires. I would get both myself. but if you could only get one set then I would go with a heavy all season. By heavy I mean an aggressive all season. remember to keep properly inflated and drive slower in the winter, good luck
3. I'm in Wisconsin also. That's a FWD van with a solid rear axle, so I would strongly recommend winter tires/light off-road, even during summer. The Goodyear Fortera Triple-Tread is a little pricey, but very good for your situation. Speed rating, don't worry about, your minivan won't exceed S-rating anyway. Load rating, standard should do. I've got a pair of General Grabber AT2s, which work great in everything except sticky mud (But tires for that situation are too aggressive for on-road)
4. you need an all season tire where you live, it will give you better traction in the winter (not as good as snow tires) and will run decent for you in the summer.
5. Your tire size is correctly represented as "P225/60r16 97S" - the "97S" part being the Load Index and Speed Rating, and yes, it is all important which is why it is on there. Happily though P225/60R16 97S is the most popular passenger tire size on the planet which limits you to just 300 or 400 choices in replacement tires. This should be easy :) Forget about the light truck tires the other poster above listed - none are even made for your van, much less appropriate for it. The fundamental problem is that the American public has been duped for 3 decades into thinking that "all-season" means real winter. It doesn't. An "all-season" tire is really a 3-season tire adn is only meant to handle light snow and moderately cold to barely freezing temps. States like Wisconsin or Minnesota (where I reside) see real winter with deep snow, ice and sub-freezing temps. All-season tires are not built for that, therefore always recommend to people living in this climate the same thing our friends north of the border do - have two sets of tires with a dedicated winter-only set like the Bridgestone Blizzak and a set of all-seasons. In this way you optimize performance all-year round, no comprimises. Not everyone (most people actually) are willing to do that however due to the hassle and up-front expense, plus the prevailing attitude that "all-season tires work just fine." As someone who has driven just about every tire sold in North America in every type of weather I can assure you the best all-season tire ever made can't hold a candle to the most mediocre winter tire in real snow and ice. If you REALLY care about winter traction but are one of those who won't commit to owning 2 sets of tires you do still have one good option. The Nokian WR G2 This is the ONLY "all-season" tire on the market that is certified for use in severe winter conditions just like a dedicated winter tire. Unlike a dedicated winter tire though that wears quickly and gives poor traction in warm/dry weather, the Nokian WR G2 can be happily driven on all-year round and has a reasonable mileage warranty of 50k. I have a set of these and they work. My underpowered FWD minivan never gets stuck and in fact I have even used it to pull neighbors cars out of the street or their driveways when they get stuck! Normally only a 4WD truck could do that. With nearly 35k miles on them they are also barely half-worn and still working extremely well. The downside of the Nokian's are their cost, which is on the high side, availability which isn't bad in places like Sconi but still not as widely distributed as big brands like Bridgestone, Goodyear, etc. and they don't wear as long as a comparably priced conventional all-season tire. But the first time you drive in a real snow storm you won't care about any of that. On dry pavement the Nokian's also won't have quite the traction of a really good high-end conventional all-season tire but on a minivan your not going to be doing a Mario around the cloverleafs anyway so this really will not matter. Its a difference you would only feel on a test track, not in the real world. If the Nokian is too radical for you the next best choice is the Goodyear Assurance Tripletread. When new these are as good in winter as a conventional all-season tire gets (but still nowhere near as good as the Nokian or a dedicated winter-only tire), have a long treadwear warranty and have great traction in the rain and on dry pavement. They are also readily available.