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Most important purchase for me…. lots of engine oil. Change oil regularly will give you a happy engine forever. 🙂
Honestly I would say that tires can’t stand alone as important purchases for a car. Because good tires won’t really do much better if your suspension is shot, or your brakes are bad. Same as good brakes won’t help with bad tires or suspension, or good suspension with bad tires and brakes.
Suspension/tires and brakes are the 3 most important things to keep in order since those 3 single things determines how much grip, stopping power etc you will have in any given situation.
Cool video, and an interesting question. The first thing that popped into my head when I read it was ‘Fluids and filters!’ One of the very first things I do is change fluids and filters on every vehicle I have owned. Have done ever since opening the radiator of the first car I brought to see it half filled with a brown rusty soup. And engine oil as black as the ace of spades. As far as reliability and longativity go, for me it has gotta be filters and fluids.
That said, I completely agree with the tyres brakes (and suspension) arguement as clean filters and fluids aren’t any use if the car is wrapped around a tree. As this one was. I got to see it’s lovely green coolant drip and steam away. All because I was too young and dumb to fix a leaking axle seal that was alowing differential oil to ‘lubricate’ the left rear brake shoes. :ohmy: To this day I am thankful I was the only one in the car. And that what I hit was big and ugly enough to come out on top.
As far as safety and driving pleasure go, I guess you are right. It can only be tires. I had to get a set for a friends 1999 Opel Astra. The salesman was good, he talked me out of the cheapies they wanted me to get. I convinced them to spend a little more, and when I went to pick it up, it did indeed feel like a brand new car. Smooth, quiet, and incredibly grippy :cheer:
Hey Eric, just found your videos/website and they’re great. Anyway, I’m looking at your video re: POS vs new ride and I totally agree. Why pay for depreciation?
My question is, do you like the Michelins on the Odyssey? Did you get the Defenders? My wifes 07 Altima had a hole that Discount Tire could not repair and they had to replace it for free….well, almost free with the new Defender tire, which, according to the tech, replaced 3 other Michelin passenger tire lines.
Anyway, if you got the Defenders, how do you like them? I only have one, but the other 3 will be getting replaced when the other 3 wear out and wondering if I should go with Defender or another Michelin. My 08 Expedition is getting new Micheys this month because the 2nd set of Pirelli Scorpions, that were on the unit when I bought it in 2012, are bald and are not safe.The Defenders are great on the Odyssey. I would recommend you check out the ratings and reviews of the tires you’re considering on Tire Rack before purchasing anything for your vehicle. It really is the best way to find out of the tires you’re considering work well on your vehicle. What works well on one vehicle, might not work so well on another. Good luck.
I agree tires are a very important investment, tires absorb bumps in the road, tires provide traction for acceleration, braking, cornering in all conditions, tires are what connect the vehicle too the road therefore they have a huge effect on how the vehicle behaves and feels…
but i think another huge investment you can make too your vehicle is regular maintenance, along with tire rotations balancing and changes and checking pressures, oil changes, grease, filters, the more you keep up on things the longer your car will last, a tune up, a new set of plugs wires, air and fuel filter, a MAF sensor clean, and a oil and oil filter change can make a car run like a top…
[quote=”13aceofspades13″ post=85273]I agree tires are a very important investment, tires absorb bumps in the road, tires provide traction for acceleration, braking, cornering in all conditions, tires are what connect the vehicle too the road therefore they have a huge effect on how the vehicle behaves and feels…
but i think another huge investment you can make too your vehicle is regular maintenance, along with tire rotations balancing and changes and checking pressures, oil changes, grease, filters, the more you keep up on things the longer your car will last, a tune up, a new set of plugs wires, air and fuel filter, a MAF sensor clean, and a oil and oil filter change can make a car run like a top…[/quote]
Great point on the maintenance. A lot of people have brought that up stating that it’s important. I wasn’t trying to indicate that it wasn’t. I just wanted to put out there that if you’re going to spend money on your vehicle, tires are always a good investment.
Thanks for your input.
Quick question, I have a 95 prelude and I bought the car with with the tires that are on it now. The fronts are both 215’s and the backs are low profiles with 205. I get horrible response when I go over bumps of anything in the road it just goes the way it pleases. Would the car drive better with the 215’s on the rear? I’m doing the switch tomorrow to find out but I would like your knowledge on this. Thanks! Btw it’s very easy to “drift” in my fwd car but I like safety more.
[quote=”95hondaprelude” post=100552]Quick question, I have a 95 prelude and I bought the car with with the tires that are on it now. The fronts are both 215’s and the backs are low profiles with 205. I get horrible response when I go over bumps of anything in the road it just goes the way it pleases. Would the car drive better with the 215’s on the rear? I’m doing the switch tomorrow to find out but I would like your knowledge on this. Thanks! Btw it’s very easy to “drift” in my fwd car but I like safety more.[/quote]
It would actually be best if you had the same size tires all around. In some cases that difference can even set off the ABS.
I wish I had the money to buy all new tires but I don’t but which do you suggest? The 215’s on the back or the front? I swapped the front to back today and it’s a lot smoother of a ride so I think I’m sticking with the wides in the back
[quote=”95hondaprelude” post=100608]I wish I had the money to buy all new tires but I don’t but which do you suggest? The 215’s on the back or the front? I swapped the front to back today and it’s a lot smoother of a ride so I think I’m sticking with the wides in the back[/quote]
I would suggest, if you want the vehicle to ride properly, you do what you can to get all 4 tires the same on the vehicle. Preferably the size recommended by the manufacturer.
I agree with that. Unless its something special, or pretty much a “hard parker” or show car going with what the car came with is the best route for normal circumstances.
That was a good video. There is nothing more important on the car that effects safety as well as how it drives like the tires. And buying cheap tires just sucks. Tires aren’t cheap and yes some people just cant drop that kind of money when its needed. Cheap tires work well if all you do is drive in the city at slow speeds but on the highway they just plain suck. My one experience with cheap tires was a lot of road noise and that inside of the first year of them being driven on I had to re balance them 3 times. That was enough of a lesson. Now I drive on good summer specific tires because its more fun and drive better than an all season and spent good money on a very good set of winter tires – something too many people buy cheap only to find out that they might as well have been driving on bald all seasons. Granted by location not everyone needs a set of winter season tires but too many people who do live in the snow, ice, or just lots of rain rely on one set of tires year round.
The other thing to consider too is that good tires add to the value of the vehicle. I’ve found that a vehicle with good quality tires in good condition always sells fast. Add to that if you have a set of good winter tires to sell with the vehicle it sells even faster.
I’m gonna have to say Tires as well. Over the years I’ve really learned that you get what you pay for with tires.. Wet traction especially!! But think too a dedicated season set of tires is the best way to go. “All Season” = No season… If you have a car, a dedicated set of winter wheels and tires are invaluable! You may sacrifice some handling because the sidewall is softer, but the traction is phenomenal. I had a set of aggressive snows for the winter on my R32 and holy crap was it worth it!
for my “performance” car, there was a few things that shook me, and the obvious.
Tires, yes, tires!
Front ones, veeery expensive all the time, just don’t skimp on it, but if you have a rwd and want spirited driving you can go for less grip in the rear, but they should always have a good wet rating.
manufactures do this all around to decrease traction intentionally do make it a more exciting car.
Check out Scion FRS/Subary BRZ, Prius tires all around, they don’t stick very well.I personally think they could have done that in the rear but changed the fronts.
and the most important purchase have been.
Subframe bushings, or first I just purchased locking collars that costs 40 bucks, and that made the car so so so much more confident, but replaced with harder rubber bushings, and that’s really what have transformed the car most out of all the single mods.anything beyond that is for my own car nerdism, as the standalone ECU which comes at a 3rd 🙂
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